Dearest Darling Friends,
I met a school friend Sanjay, after 25 years. Both of us had recently celebrated our 45th birthday As a formality, he asked me, ‘How are you?’ With excitement I shared about the had huge goals I had for life ahead. It was a mistake!!!
I met a school friend Sanjay, after 25 years. Both of us had recently celebrated our 45th birthday As a formality, he asked me, ‘How are you?’ With excitement I shared about the had huge goals I had for life ahead. It was a mistake!!!
He was not
looking for details about my life. Little did I realize, he was just laying the
base to express disgust about his life! My friend said, “Naren, I do not have
the drive any more. I feel so tired. Tired of competing, tired of proving,
tired of explaining,’ He threw up his hands in exasperation. Oh oh, I thought.
His wife
rolled up her eyes as if saying, ‘Here he goes again’. She then stared at him
coldly. He glared at her fiercely.
I was
surprised, to say the least. Their daughter, who was sitting next to me, said,
‘Don’t worry Uncle. It happens.’ She was unaffected as if this was a part of
everyday routine. I was even more surprised…and concerned!!!
She looked
like the only person there with whom I could have a conversation. Not knowing
what to else to ask, I blurted a question, ‘Do you like your father?’. The
moment the question was out of my mouth, my mind said, ‘Ouch. Naren, you are an
idiot.’
She looked at
me as if I had asked her, ‘Have you seen Hanuman prancing around here?’
She looked
away from me towards the TV screen and said, ‘I don’t know if I like my father.
What I know is, he LIKES to complain all the time. Especially about, he is old,
he is old’. She said it twice and it seemed to make it more emphatic.
I left the
house not knowing how to help my friend. I did a little research and I was
blown away by what I found. Do read till the end. It gets better and better.
At the age of
41, Christopher Columbus found US.
At the age of
44, Marie Curie won the Nobel prize in chemistry.
At the age of
49, Mario Puzo published one of my all time favorites, ‘The Godfather’.
At the age of
52, Beethoven composed the outstanding ‘Ninth Symphony’
At the age of
55, Alex Hailey published one of the most influential books in my life, Roots.
At the age of
59, Clara Barton found Red Cross.
At the age of
63, Francis Galton revealed to the world, no two people have the same
fingerprints. He revolutionized crime fighting in the process.
At the age of
64, Oscar Swahn won an Olympic gold medal in shooting
At the age of
69, Mother Teresa won the Noble Peace Prize.
At the age of
72, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister of India.
At the age of
79, Benjamin Franklin invented the bifocals.
This gets
better…...
At the age of
94, Leopold Stokowski, signed a six-year contract to conduct music !!! Wow….
At the age of
95, a famed union organizer called ‘Ma' wrote and published her famous
autobiography.
At the age of
100, Ichijirou Araya climbed Mount Everest !!!
Whew!!!
As I am typing
this ‘Life School Message’, I know how I can help my friend Sanjay. I am
sending this mail to him.
Do you think
it will be a great idea to forward to this to everyone you know? You never know
who might be needing it.
Do let me know
what do you think of this mail.
Just click on
this and you will find me on the other side.
No comments:
Post a Comment