I often think the rich have no problems, none whatsoever, up until I stumbled upon a gentleman on the bus.
I was in a hurry to reach my home. It was pouring heavily, I rushed into the bus to find one empty seat at the back. Oh, God! How I hate sitting at the back. I took my seat next to an old man who is probably in his sixties. He was well dressed and seemed to be a highly educated person, but his face radiated tense and gloominess. As usual, I made myself comfortable and began to read a book.
Suddenly, he glanced at the book ‘A tale of two cities’ and gave a sigh of relief. In no time we found ourselves discussing the greatness of the book, for he had read it thrice. It was one of my favorite and a true masterpiece by Charles Dickens.
Gradually, he began drawing anecdotes of his life. I made no attempt to get back to the book, as his story was equally interesting. His life story was a typical rag to riches one. He earned sufficient enough to fill his life with luxuries and comforts. At this point, I thought to myself, Why this tense and melancholy expression in his face? I wish I could ask him, but I dared not.
Halfway through the journey, he himself revealed what I wanted from him, as is he had heard my inner voice.
“My wife died recently,” he muttered, “Now that I am old, I retired from my business. I bequeathed all assets to my children. Though I’m relieved from my work, I feel distressed and gloomy for no reason. I tried to figure out what went wrong”. He took a sip of water and continued, ” In the process of making money I’ve forgotten the core principles, ideas, and hobbies that made me. I kind of knew I was wrong, but I can’t help myself. Now that I’m free from all the obstacles, I want live by reviving good old memories. I embark on this bus journey to begin my new phase of life”.
My stop had come, and I bade adieu. I need not say I was amazed as well as learned few lessons during the journey. Don’t you think our life would be pleasant if we carry our core values, ethics, hobbies, and memories throughout our life?
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