WHERE TROUBLE MELTS LIKE LEMON DROPS
“Somewhere
over the rainbow,
Where
bule birds fly…
Wake
up where clouds are far behind me
Where
trouble melts like lemon drops”
From
the song ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’
Film:
‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
Many
think, on reading my Blogs, that I am a strong person, who is almost always,
upbeat and positive. Well, I am not. Many who know me well, also know how
easily I slip into the panic mode… how anxious, worried and fearful I become,
so often. I cry at the drop of the hat; I just can’t conceal my emotions…
And, yes…
Perhaps, this is my strength; not weakness!
When a person
cries his/her honest tears, I think, he comes out cleansed. When you have emptied
up all your load through your tears, you find yourself in a very serene place…
Today, I saw
that happening… This must be my third Post about my eleventh-standard student,
Shilpa*. She, her sister, both parents – were all tested Covid positive. Only
her 3-year-old kid-brother was spared. Presently, all have come home from the quarantine
centre. But, her dad is still battling for life in the ICU of a hospital. Shilpa,
despite the situation at home, kept attending all her college and private
online-sessions. In my last blog, I had confessed, that people like her, who
quietly and gracefully bear their personal cross, are my true heroes... That,
they inspire me. Shilpa, always, came about as a brave young girl… Always sounded
positive and in control of her emotions…
But, not today morning
when I had called Shilpa. Though I had called her relating to our class, I
first enquired about her dad’s condition… She broke down, uncontrollably. “Dad’s
heart is not responding to any treatment, Sir,” she managed to say, “Hospital showed
him to us through a video… It’s heart-breaking!” For about five full minutes,
she sobbed like a real human being, who was in pain, who was anxious and
worried… She emptied her tank…
Though, witnessing
that was heart-breaking, indeed!
Our class was
not important. I tried to control my own emotions and console my young student.
I suggested, that she should now take a break from our online sessions and
focus on her home situation…
“Ok Sir,” Shilpa
agreed.
But, at 12 noon,
I was humbled to see her connected. I did not say a single word… Nor did Shilpa…
It was evident,
that Shilpa had seen the fear straight in the eye…
“It was good
that way”, I thought.
Life
– and this world – is much bigger than our individual problems. The media makes
us feel, that this world and people in it are all ruined. Media thrives on
selling fear, making us numb and paranoid…
So, it’s best,
in our own interest, to seek refuge in something cheerful, something simple,
sublime and upbeat… Yes, like the beautiful land beyond the rainbow…
Let the Prophets
of Doom make their dark prophesies… Let’s keep singing, “What a wonderful
World!”
None of us are
going to live forever on this planet. I don’t know who will die and who will
survive in this Pandemic… But, like the
skies and the oceans, Life and this world will live on…
“Somewhere over
the rainbow,
Where blue birds
fly…
Wake up where
clouds are far behind me
Where trouble
melts like lemon drops”
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: pixabay
Video: 1. T-Series 2. IgFlower 3. Lifemark
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