Change. Around us, within us, because
of us, all the time, and truly said, the only constant in the world. Technology
and adaptation has made this world truly a smaller place, where humans are
constantly on the move, in search of newer opportunities and challenges, or
just to experience the myriad of experiences this tiny blue dot in space has to
offer. And so there is change everywhere, a constant presence in our lives.
Paradoxically, within this change lies the familiarity of routines. Mundane,
exciting, dangerous, consuming; driving our lives through the warps of time.
Yet, amidst these cycles of changes, followed by routines that change in those
cycles, some strands manage to stay attached, across distances, genders,
boundaries and time-zones. Yes, the people we meet, whose lives affect us and
whose lives we affect.
The world we live is getting smaller
every day, and along with it, we are getting singular too. There are more
instant messaging services today than options of sensible leadership, and they
have revolutionized our lives. But take a closer look at the exchanges that
occur daily, and we see that for all of their innovations and speed, the people
we talk to and meet, can be counted on our fingertips. There will be more than
1,000 friends on our Facebook profile, and
500 likes on our pics, yet when we wish to talk to someone out of the blue,
chances are that it’s the person who is now a part of our mundane routines. The
point here not being that we talk to all those people out there, but the fact
that they are there in our friend list for a reason. Yes, we all have those close friends with
whom only we would like to talk to, but such is the complexity and connectivity
of human lives, that there probably many more people with whom you share
special bonds out there, but the grind of time has allowed dust to settle on
these relations. A hiking trip together, or a week spent together in some
conference, coffee table friendships, school buddies with whom once we were
close, office colleagues who were friendly rivals once and many more. Just take
a pause right now, and surf through your contact book or friend list, looking
at every name and try and think of a reason why it is there. Yes, the smiles
are coming, aren’t they?
Nothing is more surprising and joyous
than finding that lost old connect. We might be immersed into our lives, with
problems and deadlines and future plans, but one call from a long lost friend
or and we forget everything, laughing over the old times, making promises of
meeting up, which rarely materialize, but nonetheless, give us simple joy and
time flies by like never before. Then why the hesitation? All of us must have
received the never ending forward messages that ask to send to all friends, but
we simply ignore it. We think that the other person is too busy, or why should
we be the people willing to take the first step? We fear that we might not be
relevant enough in their lives to be remembered. That too much dust has settles with time. I
agree, the first step might be awkward at times, but once the cobwebs give
away, all it takes is one long talk, one meeting, one greeting, renewing that
bond for years to come. All we need to do is unsettle the dust.
©Copyright Darshil A Shastri
