WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?



















 



“There are no casual commitments in Life!”


At 8, last night, I called-up someone. 

“I am in a meeting; I will call you later,” he said. 


“Should I call you?” I asked. 


“No, no,” he said quickly, “I will call.”



It is 1.15 of the afternoon, now. I am still waiting for the call!


We all forget, sometimes. But, this case is not a case of weak memory. It is the casual attitude towards our daily-little commitments. It is indifference… ‘Kya-farak-padta-hai approach to life… Yes, “What difference does it make?”


“Hardly any,”… We assume. 


“We can get away with all such mundane stuff,”… We believe!


Actually, it is exactly the opposite: It makes a huge difference… And, yes, we can not get way with this mundane stuff!


I have known this man for some time, now. And, by now, I have come to the conclusion: This man is not dependable… He doesn’t keep his words… He takes commitments casually… He takes others for granted.


So, when our commitments become casual… others lose trust in us. We become undependable… We lose opportunities in life… Believe me, sometimes, very big ones!



Now, look at this. A friend called me up, this morning, to check if one of his relatives could see me, at my convenience, regarding her young-son. 


“Please ask her to call me at 10.30,” I told my friend. 


At 10.27, my mobile rang!


After discussing the issue over the phone, I asked the lady to visit my office, along with her son, at 11.45. 


They were present in my office, ten minutes before that!


“Sorry sir,” the lady apologized, “we came a bit early!”


 “That is a different kind of apology, ma’am,” I smiled and said, “Much different from – ‘Sorry sir, we came a bit late’!”


I did not know this lady very well. Still, it took just two daily-little-commitments – a call at 10.30 and a visit at 11.45 – to help me form my opinion about her: This woman is dependable… She keeps her word… She takes her commitments seriously… She doesn’t take others for granted!





Her young son was to join me. 


Before he enrolled, I let him know 


what I was thinking about his mother. 


“Make yourself dependable, beta,” 


I said lovingly to him, 


“There are no casual commitments in life.”











I hope, the young-man has grasped the essence of what I wanted to convey.


Daily little-things they are… But, they do make a hell lot of difference!



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Roopa Sushil






Comments

Vijeta Chitnis said…
Yes sir, it does make a lot of difference!!! Vijeta
November 9, 2012 at 11:05 PM
tushar gupta said…
well-written. Keep it up.
-- tushar
November 9, 2012 at 11:07 PM
Anonymous said…
Starts with little-daily things. Then, sucks> Lata
November 10, 2012 at 7:33 AM
Unknown said…
Liked this article sir..."casual commintments"
November 10, 2012 at 11:52 PM
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