HOW'S LIFE TREATING YOU?

 



“There are far, far better things ahead

than any we leave behind.”

C. S. Lewis

 

Some days ago, I had wished a friend of mine on her birthday. I was not in touch with this friend for quite some time. The friend, while thanking me for the wishes, casually asked: “How’s life treating you?”

I do not know, how many of you are familiar with this expression, which, essentially, means, “How’s life?” or “How are you doing?” … “All well?”… etc. During Covid times, some, who live in America, had asked me, “How’s Covid treating you?” That’s when I had realized, that it’s the modern way of asking - “Kya haal, chaal hai?”…

So, the other day, when this friend asked me, casually, “How’s life treating you?”, I replied: “No complaints… Can be only grateful.”

“Excuses and complaints are signs of a dreamless life,” says Bangambiki Habyarimana.

Well, I know the significance of these words of wisdom. I use them, every day, either in my classroom or in my blogs to tell, “Stop giving excuses, stop complaining… Start dreaming.” And, ironically, I find myself telling this to others in order to stop myself from giving excuses and whining. In other words, I have realized, that whining and dreaming don’t go together… To dream, excuses and complaints have to go…

So, have I been free from every excuse and complaint… yes, through these 67 years? Have I been only feeling grateful?”

Not at all, Sir… A mortal I am, just like every other mortal around me. So, like everyone else, I have been – and I still – find myself complaining and giving excuses. But, because I dream - get up with a purpose, each morning - yes, because of this, my whining and excuses are not visible predominantly… Dreams do, purpose does, hope and zest do…

Thus, every time someone asks me: “How’s life treating you?”, I know  the reality, that Life treats me exactly how less or how more I whine and give excuses.”

Kumud, another old student and a dear friend, had her birthday on 9th of this month (51st). In the flurry of birthday wishes that I was receiving on my own, I remembered, that I hadn’t wished Kumud on her birthday. So, I called her, last afternoon, to wish her…

Did I ask her, “How’s life treating you?”

Kumud’s son, Utkarsh, is now 21. He was born with neurological and physical disorder… He looks smart, but can’t talk, can’t walk (has to roll on the ground)… has to be fed, carried, given bath, helped for every personal thing which you and I do. He is the only child Kumud and her husband decided to have… and leant to accept him as a gift from God. Kumud, last afternoon, recounted to me about the journey she and her husband had to walk together alongside their ‘special’ son’s…




                (HAPPINESS: Utkarsh with his mother)


                        (HAPPINESS: Utkarsh with his father)


No matter how big are our challenges, there are people around us – so many of them – with bigger challenges. What makes our challenges look bigger than others’, I know it very, very well, is our lack of gratitude in life… That one quality alone is enough to bring in the simple joy, hope and compassion. Excuses and complaints dissolve more (They don’t disappear though) only when we feel grateful more…

You see, dreams only grow in the gardens of gratitude… They die when the weeds of excuses and complaints come to live in our gardens…

“Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.” Do you remember these lines from Pharrell Willams’ peppy song – ‘HAPPY’? Kumud had told me several times how happy Utkarsh would feel every time she played this song for him… Neither lyrics, nor their meaning, were needed to cause that happiness in Utkarsh… just the beats that resonated…





Do I feel those ‘beats’, today, as I have just turned 67….?

Thank you, my dear and near ones, for your kind wishes and love on my birthday… You  have helped me to keep the beats of dreams alive…

Yes, yes, yes. Life’s treated me incredibly well… Thank you, Lord.

 

GERALD D’CUNHA


Pic’s: 1. Pixabay  2 & 3 Kumud Motwani

 

Video: Pharrell Williams

Comments

Kumud said…
Thank you Sir for mentioning us and talking about our beautiful journey with Utkarsh. Blessed to have him. God is kind. 😇
July 26, 2025 at 12:03 PM
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