"LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO STUFF A MUSHROOM"















“Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.” 
― Shirley Conran


Some days ago, a dear friend of ours, who lived here in Mumbai, had been with his wife to our hometown, Mangalore, on a brief vacation. He was 62 and healthy all along. Besides, he was always adored by loads of friends. Though was not blessed with an offspring, the couple was content and done well for itself in life. Importantly, as they did not have their own children, the husband and wife, both, had helped out many of their relatives in education and  to become doctors and engineers in life…  I was, always, glad to note this side of their life story… that is: if God hasn’t given you your own children, treat someone else’s as your own… Yes, they did so… and so beautifully!

Two days ago, I learnt from my sister-in-law, who lives in Mangalore, that our dear friend had succumbed to a massive heart failure. “Last night, we all met in a birthday party here… He was so cheerful and playful… ate, joked, drank and danced,” narrated my sister-in-law, in a choked voice, “and, this morning he was no more!”

“Life is too short to stuff a mushroom,” this is how author, Shirly Conran, describes. Each one of us has been blessed by God with some privileges… I have a young son, who is sound in mind, body and his soul. We did not have to worry about that… Someone else has a son or daughter, who for life, needs support and care… Someone like this friend of ours, despite all the other privileges showered by God, was not lucky enough to have his own child… Similarly, about our financial means… I am okay in this respect, someone else is not… and, someone, out there, is either vulgarly wealthy or miserably downtrodden…

Life is too short, yes, even to stuff a mushroom!

Let’s read that again… How much time is needed to stuff a mushroom… and, imagine, you and I can go – yes, go even before we could complete that simple task of stuffing a tiny mushroom!

When my sister-in-law narrated to me, two days ago, in her choked voice how she had felt about the untimely death of our friend, I had turned speechless. The thought that dominated my mind was this: “How am I living my life?”

Well, Allen Saunder’s words, always, help me find an answer:
 “Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans.”

GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Dr. Lohitaksha Suratkal

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