“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players” once said, Shakespeare and I agree with him. I would also like to add my own words to his, “All the world’s a school, And all the men and women merely students”. Because in life, it’s not just school or colleges where one learns his lessons. Lessons are out there everywhere, all one has to do is to keep their mind broad and open, to learn out of it. They say Buddha got enlightenment under a Banyan tree, just like him, we too get enlightened at unlikely places by unlikely people. Below is one such incident.
“All the world’s a school, And all the men and women merely students”
One thing my mom appreciates is my expertise in buying vegetables and that’s the only shopping I enjoy. I always believe that good and fresh ingredients are the basis of yummy food, that’s why I take my own time to pick them from the local market. We usually stock the vegetables for the week on the weekends. Likewise, last Sunday my mom gave me a list and asked me to get them from the market. In the market, when I tried to pick some tomatoes, I found most of them overripe and rotten. Then, I complained about the same to the shopkeeper and asked him to add some fresh stock. Next to me was an old grandma and she said: “If you don’t know to choose properly, why complain the shopkeeper” in a sarcastic tone. Those words not only touched my ego but also put a sword straight into it. Cos, All my life, that’s one of my skills I am very proud of. For a minute I let my ego settle and politely asked her to look at those tomatoes herself. Within a few minutes, she picked more than a kg of good firm tomatoes from the same pile which I complained about. I kind of feel embarrassed as the shopkeeper kinda laughed at me looking at my skills put to shame by her. But, what actually hit me like a hammer is what she said next.
“Your generation wants everything at arm’s length and too lazy to reach for anything beyond that. You must have the patience and put some effort to search beyond other’s arm’s reach and that’s where you find good things. You people have no patience at all and easily judge on what’s outside.” She complained as she walked away. Initially, it felt like usual grumbling by elders on the current generation, but later every word made sense.
“Your generation wants everything at arm’s length and too lazy to reach for anything beyond that. You must have the patience and put some effort to search beyond other’s arm’s reach and that’s where you find good things. You people have no patience at all and easily judge on what’s outside.”
That’s my enlightenment point, at an unlikely local market by from an unlikely old grandma whom I have never met before. If I have to look back, all the great things in my life have happened beyond my comfort zone. Maybe, I should stop being impulsive and hold a bit of patience and think through while making decisions.
Keep your mind broad and open, you will have no idea when and where you will stumble upon your source of enlightenment.
Gokoulane Ravi 