A Moment In Life, Life In A Moment

“Ahem! Ahem!”

I heard an old lady coughing behind me. I was waiting for my bus to Mumbai from my native place.

The bus was late by an hour. So I was waiting at the bus stop.

This lady was also at the bus stop. She saw that I was becoming restless because of the delay in the bus arrival.

She told me – “Child, you know the bus will come after sometime, yet you feel uncomfortable.”

Imagine the agony of those people who just keep on waiting endlessly for their loved ones to show up, yet never see them !!!”

At first I thought she was mad and was simply bothering me. So I started to search for a different place to sit. However then I saw a tear in her eye and realised she is not mad but sad. I asked her to explain me what she just said.

She continued – (read as her voice)

“Ten years ago I lost my husband. We were very poor. I somehow managed to make our only son complete his education. He got a good job in a city. He left this place in a bus from this very bus station. It has been five years since then. Every time I call him, he tells me he is busy and has no time to talk to me. I come here occasionally to see many young children like him going out to bigger cities for their jobs.”

I give only one advice to them –

If there is anything you want to give to your parents – give them your time, they don’t expect anything more than that.

Some young people think I am mad and have no other work to do. But there are some people who understand my words. I would be happy if they actually apply it in their lives. So many parents would get the greatest gift of their lives – some time in their children’s lives !!!”

As I listened patiently to her, she thanked me and blessed me. She said this is now her purpose in her life.

By that time my bus came and I got into it. I waved her goodbye.

“It was just a moment in my life for me, but for her it was her whole life in that moment”