Monday, January 29, 2007

How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?

I have, since the time I was young, always wanted everything to be done at a time that I chose and and a pace I was comfortable with. I usually blew my top when there was something slow, someone slow or anything getting excessively delayed. I could convince people to do what I wanted them to. I don't know if that was something innate or something I acquired. I had my bike and I could leave home few minutes before I needed to reach the place. I had never waited. I had had it easy. All the while I thought that I could do anything I wanted but Shakespear thought otherwise. I was poor!

All of this, till I came to this place that everyone said will give me a good exposure. And Mumbai didn't disappoint. This city of large distances, right from day one thought me time and time again to wait, to have patience.

I had to travel by public transport, something I had never done before, because I never had to. In this gigantic city of unending surprises, I had to start traveling two hours to and back form work. I lost my cool. But slowly realized that, that was how a metro would be and had to live with it. Someone had moved my proverbial cheese.

In time I did keep learning how to adjust to the cheese being moved, tried to keep changing with time, trying to keep my motivation up, and each time trying new techniques to rid myself of the blues. It could be music, sport,movies, prayer, excursions... or anything.

Living outside home is not difficult if you break the problems down; can manage with the food, can keep the place clean, can wash clothes, can handle the pressures at work, can fight boredom.... but doing them all together, and moreover without the family is what is difficult. But again as I said, I have learned to move with the cheese and that has kept me enthused.

Let him that hath no power of patience retire within himself,
though even there he will have to put up with himself.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Aditya:

Your dad had forwarded me your blog addy some months ago. I just happened to visit it today! Looks like you are in Mumbai! Or Bombay when I was growing up! Allan (he is my first cousin- your grandmother and my mother are sisters) should be giving you a car! When he was in Bombay working at TCS, he had an Ambassador and lived in Bandra! He would drop Neela and me to school every day... brought back some memories..my email is dsouzavi@yahoo.com