I cried for new shoes till I saw someone without feet

I went to chandni chowk last Saturday for shopping and while coming back, seeing the people working and living by the roadside, this thought was incessantly playing loud in my mind. Desires are limitless. Fulfillment of one desire leads to the other. And non fulfillment intensifies the desire further. But if I talk about myself, if not all, my desires are so small in front of these people who fight daily for their basic necessities!

I saw a guy selling corns (bhuttas) on his bicycle in Chandni Chowk. He was going back home at around 7.30 pm. A fruit vendor stopped him and asked the price. He said it’s for 10 Rs but he will give for 5 Rs. I was watching the expressions of the corn guy. No tension, no feverishness. I realized he is used to it. It’s a daily routine. But then so many thoughts passed my mind..what will happen to all the unsold bhuttas? It will be a loss to him if they get stale? He hardly earns anything from per unit…. At that point in time, all my desires seemed SO small. What am I wanting? A few more paper notes? Few more clothes? Few more travel plans? Materialistic things? These people wouldn’t even be dreaming of such things as they are so busy in making the ends meet. And generally I have seen that poor people and happier and take things easy. They are more in the present moment and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

And while coming back that day, I saw these spices shops opened on the pathway. You can’t even call them shops – just some tables to keep open polythenes full of spices. And when they were calling off for the day, they couldn’t take back everything, they just put a plastic sheet over all the spices and wrapped them up. Again my mind started running. What if someone steals them? What if they get spoiled in the rain? It will be a loss to these poor people again.  I again observed their expressions, trying to read any sign of tension or fear. But again I guess they’ve got used to it. Either it is the faith that nothing will happen or it is the surrender that they will be taken care of if anything happens.

I felt grateful to the core. For anything and everything.

“I cried for new shoes till I saw someone without feet”

This again started playing in my mind then. That’s all I can say. Hope you’ve got the gist.

Keep smiling and being grateful in life. That is all that matters!

Swati :)