Letters vs Rubber Stamps
Yesterday I went to view something called a photo-journal. An acquaintance from college, who is now a friend, invited us to view photographs he had taken on his trip to Ladakh. I went, not quite knowing what to expect, yet curious. It turned out to be one of the better decisions I have made. The photo-journal consisted of a slide show of some of the most amazing landscape pictures, accompanied by a narrative of the whole experience. It brought Ladakh that much closer to Delhi, and to people like me, who have never been to that side of the country. What made the trip more amazing to me was the fact that it was done on a Royal Enfield bike.
The narrative talked about varied things, like the presence of God that he felt up there, the discomfort he suffered as a result of leaving his anti-altitude sickness pills behind, the frustration when it rained, and the joy when he finally made it. It must truly have been an experience….of which I experienced only a shadow. He talked about not compromising his life anymore, and “never trading the letter for the rubber stamp.” That struck a chord somewhere, and I realized how many letters I and most people I know trade everyday for the rubber stamps. How many things we know of through hearsay without ever bothering to explore them for ourselves. Doing these things means that we are compromising on the quality of our lives; it means we will someday know of a lot of things, yet really know none.
Just taking the step of saying that we will no longer compromise and will always make the time to do things that are important to us, is taking the first and rather large step. But this, like every other first step, is the hardest. The fact that this person has had the courage to take that step doesn’t mean that he will always succeed in living life to the fullest. He may not, but even if he makes it to 50% of that, he will have lived a more enriched life than most other people.
My friend, who was sitting next to me during the presentation, said that he could hear soft whispers amongst the other bikers saying “Next year.”
I wish I could say that too!!
The narrative talked about varied things, like the presence of God that he felt up there, the discomfort he suffered as a result of leaving his anti-altitude sickness pills behind, the frustration when it rained, and the joy when he finally made it. It must truly have been an experience….of which I experienced only a shadow. He talked about not compromising his life anymore, and “never trading the letter for the rubber stamp.” That struck a chord somewhere, and I realized how many letters I and most people I know trade everyday for the rubber stamps. How many things we know of through hearsay without ever bothering to explore them for ourselves. Doing these things means that we are compromising on the quality of our lives; it means we will someday know of a lot of things, yet really know none.
Just taking the step of saying that we will no longer compromise and will always make the time to do things that are important to us, is taking the first and rather large step. But this, like every other first step, is the hardest. The fact that this person has had the courage to take that step doesn’t mean that he will always succeed in living life to the fullest. He may not, but even if he makes it to 50% of that, he will have lived a more enriched life than most other people.
My friend, who was sitting next to me during the presentation, said that he could hear soft whispers amongst the other bikers saying “Next year.”
I wish I could say that too!!
posted by Mojo | 3:17 AM
3 Comments:
Chewing gum is a good thing once in a while: It aids in contemplation and lasts longer than other things you get to chew on :)
I think my objective of writing this piece has been achieved!
"It brought Ladakh that much closer to Delhi, and to people like me, who have never been to that side of the country. "...which part of the country have you been to, excluding Delhi, UP (Noida), and Haryana (GGN and Faridabad)...
ROFL
Well, how about the south....and the west. As far as mountains and hills are concerned, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan....the Kumaon ranges.
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