The Smile

Sometimes a smile can convey more than words. A smile can complete your day. A smile can give you a good night’s sleep.

A long time ago we went to a beach to spend the evening. We grabbed some chips, a bottle of Pepsi and we drove off to have some good time. It was nothing less than a picnic. In fact it was a picnic.

The beach is a beautiful place with lovely parks throughout the stretch of the beach. On either sides of the road you will find families having a good time and kids playing football, flying ‘spiderman’ kites, riding tri-cycles. It is a place full of life. And there is always the appetizing aroma of barbeque in the air.

After a while I wanted to take a walk in the grass, barefoot. I love the feel of grass on my bare feet. My friend joined me. We then noticed a shadow, from the park lights, of a little girl, not more than 6 years, following us. We turned back and she ran away laughing. I noticed that girl a while ago running around and playing with someone who I thought was her father. She again slowly started walking behind us and we turned back. She seemed to enjoy this small game as she kept doing it and laughing. She gave us 2 pamphlets that she picked up in the park. I made a boat out of it, my friend made a rocket and gave it to her. She took it and ran away giggling to where her family was sitting.

She kept coming back with more and more such papers and we kept making the same things. She seemed to enjoy it all. She said something in Marathi that we didn’t understand but we knew she was having fun.

We started having our dinner and still the kid kept coming. We offered her to sit with us and eat but she handed over some more papers. We finally served some food in a plate and gave her thinking she will eat. She smiled, said something, took the plate and went back to where her family was sitting. After about 10 minutes, she came again and stood before us extending the plate as if asking for more. She again went back with the plate to where her family was sitting.

After some time, I saw her walking towards us with the plate in her hand and a smile on her lips. I was about to serve her some more food when she said “Khattam! Thank you!” (Finished. Thank you!).

She left the plate next to me and ran towards the beach, washed her hands, came back to us, gave a contented smile and said something and ran away. We couldn’t follow what she said except for ‘Thank you!’. But her smile conveyed more than her words.

What she did next was so unexpected. As we were packing our stuff and getting ready to leave, she came to me and gave me a small packet which had some leftover popcorn. She shoved it into my hand, again said ‘Thank you!’, shook my hand with her innocent smile and ran away.

Yesterday, for some reason I kept remembering the smile on that little girls face. It was priceless! And it made my day. Again.

Vote for me now! Blogomania 2012

The Starting of the End.

Ending everything isn't as easy as putting it to paper. To cut yourself away from what drives you everyday can be scary. Not everyone can deal with being self sufficient or live off the grid.

Most people don't know how to put up with living in a one bedroom apartment with five other people. Where your main goal is to find a $1 so you have enough cup of noodles for the week. Or finding a $20 dollar bill is the highlight of your life.

In order to see what truly drives a person to do what they do everyday, I cut myself off from what drove me. The things that took over my life are gone. A chance to start fresh, to give what

I took for granted a new meaning in my life. Most people say I'm stupid, why would I do such a thing. I will only end up asking for charity and fail in my "journey". But I don't care. I don't care if people look at me differently because of this. I'm not doing it for acceptance, for a chance to be considered "cool" by others, I'm doing it for me. I want to look 5, 10 years from now and say I was able to do what I wanted to do without regret. All that I earn is what I deserved and what I wanted from the beginning.

Nobody will pressure me to do what is expected of me. Nobody will force me to admit failure and seek aid from people I never want to associate myself with. I'm doing it on my own and I'm going to succeed.

So I'm starting now, with my laptop and my life savings of almost nothing to see what drives me in this world. What makes my heart flutter in the morning and makes me want to move during day. What job is the "dream job" for me? What car makes me want to "burn rubber"? Do I really need a phone to stay in touch with the ones I care about? I hope I find what many people strive for because I'm starting now.

Vote for me now!