Some priceless things..

Two big events have made me look back at things that I have been taking for granted for the last many years, things that not everyone enjoys and things that no amount of money can buy and turn to happiness. Those two events are the Mangalore Air India crash that happened just a few days ago and the amazing one week holiday spent with cousins and extended family that concluded today.

These two events, although unconnected have managed to make me aware of a lot of things, clear up a lot of misguided notions about life, it's fragility, of time racing against you and everyone else, of love and death, of conditions and terms, of fate and destiny. The Mangalore Air Crash and the horrific visuals relayed from the site of the crash was nothing short of appalling to someone like me who would have liked some sensitive reporting from the Indian media at the time of such crisis. It made me realize that there may be, there is a grander plan for all of us and there is a part that we all have to play, but let us not forget that the part to play could end tomorrow, for you never know which day is your last.

Sorry if I sound gloomy, but I'd rather take my mortality in good spirit and make the most  of my life - no matter how short or how long it is. If there is ONE thing that the crash has taught me is to maximize all the happiness one can get in his/her lifetime and cherish those times, have no regrets and move on.

The second event is a happy one. Actually, it is one of those amazing times that I have spent with my cousins and extended family, one of those that just stays on in your heart. After a lot many years, 7 of us cousins were together for the summer vacations this time - one full week! What a feeling it was to feel the connect with these people I love, all over again. Such a great overwhelming emotion of being loved, being cherished..

And not only cousins, spending time with my extended family - a total of 35 people in the same house - was the perfect retreat I needed from a world full of conniving people ready to stab you in the back any moment. It was this summer that I rediscovered the joy of family and togetherness, this summer that I have realized, all over again, how lucky I am to get such a lovely family who love me unconditionally and will always do so. These things may not seem very important to people.. but for me, they are priceless..