UNTIL THEIR LEAVES FALL OFF




“Love the trees until their leaves fall off;

then, encourage them to try again next year.”

Chad Sugg

 


I met this old friend, last evening, after over forty years. Those were my initial years in this city (then, Bombay) … I had African bushy-hair on my head, a flat tummy, loads of youthful energy… and, above all, a carefree outlook towards life. Obviously, I was single, and the serious thoughts about my ‘tomorrow’ had not yet sprung inside my mind…

From such a state of my mind, I could only hear the mountains calling… I really thought, that ‘Success’ – the proverbial Pot of Gold – could be found only ‘there’; that I had to climb frantically to lay my hands on it… And, once that done, I could shout from the top to the world below – “Hark, I have arrived!”

The idea of success has undergone a sea change in me over these forty-plus years… I no more look for the Pot of Gold ‘over there’, at the top of the highest mountain… No more do I feel the need to shout to the world – “Hark, I have arrived!” 

Now, I find the hillsides equally fascinating… the plains, the plateaus, and the rivers… the deserts, the woods and the busy streets, all… Yes, they all have their own role to play in my life… They all bring fulfillment in my life, now.



…




“Where are your African bushy-hair?” my old friend almost screamed, “Where is your flat tummy?”

This is the visible sea-change I have undergone. In my twenties, yes, I felt like a Rockstar, a Superstar… a Rajesh Khanna. But, do I feel so, now?

No one does, Sir. With seasons, Rajesh Khanna himself knew it more than any lesser stars knew it on this planet…

Every star appears up there only to fade away… A new star rises to be the new superstar… Then, like the leaves of a tree do, he, too, falls when seasons change…

You see, knowing this truth about life brings a lot of peace… The African bushy-hair and the flat tummy – yes, let a new young man wear them… It is his time… Let him shine…

I look amazing at the place where I am supposed to be, now… at this seasons…





Love and peace…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s.: 1. Pixabay 2. Internet source unknown

 

Video: ABP News

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