It was 'Thank You Day' on Friday last week. I didn't know it. Not even when my boss held out a bag full of Eclairs and simply said, 'Thank you' to me. I asked 'Why?' and she repeated 'Thank you' again. So, I took one Eclairs and said 'You are most welcome'. It was only when we were told to head upstairs for the celebration did I realise what day it was.
On the way back home, it made me think. Who would I be thankful to? The more I thought, the more names and faces cropped up in my mind. There's so much to thank for and so many people to be thankful to in life. Our lives can never really be our own in its entirety. We owe a lot to many people right from the moment we were conceived in our mothers' wombs till the time we breathe our last. Perhaps beyond too.
One single life is never really a journey taken alone. There are too many people who shaped our way, created milestones for us, laid down the foundation of the roads we now travel upon. There are those strangers too who stood on the sides helping us replenish our energies by handing out drinks and food, and whom we may not even remember by faces forget about by names. But they made a difference somehow in our journey.
Several names appeared in my mind. My school teacher who made me realise that I mattered, I was somebody too, and encouraged me to voice my opinions and share my thoughts. My best friend in school who always stood by me and stood for me, even when he risked making enemies with few other classmates. He showed me what it means to be a friend. I am still learning to be one. My first love who showed me what it meant to be there for your love and how I failed miserably in doing so. I have always lived up to that lesson ever since. My best friend in college who knew me all too well and told me some harsh truths about me no one else could have or cared enough to tell me.
Over the past decade or so, I have truly come to know what a remarkable person my mother was and how much of her I see in all three of us. She was a person who lived in subtleties and expressed the most in silence. When I recall some of the innumerable moments I have shared with her, I see another side of her I never saw before. Maybe I was too young to understand then. I am thankful to have had those moments and to be able to relive them again. I see so much of her in my sister too, even though they are very different persons. I have lived most of my early years with my sister so we have a different kind of bonding than the one I have with my brother. And in the recent past I have grown to admire, respect and love her so much more. I am grateful to have her in my life. Although I can be a pain sometimes like most other brothers tend to be!
My life in Delhi brought few good friends and few mentors who took me under their arms ready to guide me in my professional life. I will always be indebted to my first boss for his trust and confidence in me. It will take me a few more years and a couple of other jobs to realise just how instrumental he had been in shaping my career. One of my colleagues played a vital role in my actual media world education. I have followed few of his rules and broken quite a few more! And as I find myself in a new job, I am grateful for all the past experiences and to my past mentors. I am thankful too for the opportunity that I have received at a time when the odds were against me. I know fully well the responsibility which entails this trust and I remind myself everyday of the work ahead of me.
I have been fortunate to have a family who supports me and loves me no matter what and who makes me feel I belong. I have been fortunate to find friends who somehow understands me better than I do and are not afraid to show me the mirror when I falter. I have been fortunate to have had teachers and mentors who nurtured and moulded me to better prepare for the world ahead of me. I have been fortunate to have had the chances which came my way despite the innumerable mistakes I have made. I have been fortunate and that's why I am grateful.
Our lives are never our own for so many people have had a hand in making it what it is. No one ever really makes it on his own. And as I laid down in my bed that night I offered a silent 'Thank you' before going to sleep.
On the way back home, it made me think. Who would I be thankful to? The more I thought, the more names and faces cropped up in my mind. There's so much to thank for and so many people to be thankful to in life. Our lives can never really be our own in its entirety. We owe a lot to many people right from the moment we were conceived in our mothers' wombs till the time we breathe our last. Perhaps beyond too.
One single life is never really a journey taken alone. There are too many people who shaped our way, created milestones for us, laid down the foundation of the roads we now travel upon. There are those strangers too who stood on the sides helping us replenish our energies by handing out drinks and food, and whom we may not even remember by faces forget about by names. But they made a difference somehow in our journey.
Several names appeared in my mind. My school teacher who made me realise that I mattered, I was somebody too, and encouraged me to voice my opinions and share my thoughts. My best friend in school who always stood by me and stood for me, even when he risked making enemies with few other classmates. He showed me what it means to be a friend. I am still learning to be one. My first love who showed me what it meant to be there for your love and how I failed miserably in doing so. I have always lived up to that lesson ever since. My best friend in college who knew me all too well and told me some harsh truths about me no one else could have or cared enough to tell me.
Over the past decade or so, I have truly come to know what a remarkable person my mother was and how much of her I see in all three of us. She was a person who lived in subtleties and expressed the most in silence. When I recall some of the innumerable moments I have shared with her, I see another side of her I never saw before. Maybe I was too young to understand then. I am thankful to have had those moments and to be able to relive them again. I see so much of her in my sister too, even though they are very different persons. I have lived most of my early years with my sister so we have a different kind of bonding than the one I have with my brother. And in the recent past I have grown to admire, respect and love her so much more. I am grateful to have her in my life. Although I can be a pain sometimes like most other brothers tend to be!
My life in Delhi brought few good friends and few mentors who took me under their arms ready to guide me in my professional life. I will always be indebted to my first boss for his trust and confidence in me. It will take me a few more years and a couple of other jobs to realise just how instrumental he had been in shaping my career. One of my colleagues played a vital role in my actual media world education. I have followed few of his rules and broken quite a few more! And as I find myself in a new job, I am grateful for all the past experiences and to my past mentors. I am thankful too for the opportunity that I have received at a time when the odds were against me. I know fully well the responsibility which entails this trust and I remind myself everyday of the work ahead of me.
I have been fortunate to have a family who supports me and loves me no matter what and who makes me feel I belong. I have been fortunate to find friends who somehow understands me better than I do and are not afraid to show me the mirror when I falter. I have been fortunate to have had teachers and mentors who nurtured and moulded me to better prepare for the world ahead of me. I have been fortunate to have had the chances which came my way despite the innumerable mistakes I have made. I have been fortunate and that's why I am grateful.
Our lives are never our own for so many people have had a hand in making it what it is. No one ever really makes it on his own. And as I laid down in my bed that night I offered a silent 'Thank you' before going to sleep.
