Take it with a pinch of salt..!!

Written by: ketaki Joshi.
Uncle Ben would often visit India for work! However his last visit was superior to the prior ones. Every time he was greeted with a welcome card and this trip was no exception. It was a beautiful painting. An exquisite card indeed! He always had deep appreciation for such warm gestures though he knew it was only a routine, a standard welcoming style.

Later in his hotel, he accidentally saw the back of the card and felt a lump in his throat. There was complete silence. After a while he got up only to make a few calls and arranged for people who could have taken him to an NGO that was luckily nearby. Uncle Ben would have taken the efforts of going, even if it was located far away. All he knew was he had to go.

The ordinary looking NGO was over crowded. The issues and reasons for being a part of the organisation were multiple. However most looked happy and positive. It appeared as genuine happiness! Happiness that one feels from within.

“I have this card with me. It has the name of your NGO. That is how I came here. It says that the painting is done by mouth and foot?”
“Yes..! It is.! We have very good artists here.!”

15 minutes later Uncle Ben was lucky to meet a bunch of those artists! All had lost their arms. The reasons looked irrelevant. He was in India for 5 days. Daily he took out an hour to be with these artists. There was a magnetic force that was pulling him towards them.

“In spite of all the odds, most of you are smiling. That is very nice. I wonder how you manage this all the time. Can you please explain me how you do it?? You guys are the real heroes.” He suggested on his last day.
Uncle Ben is an expert when it comes to self help. He himself has always been a very happy man, and has inspired and guided a few thousands on how to live a happy life. However every time he meets a happy man, he cannot resist the idea of asking him the secret to his happiness. The pretense of not knowing, leads him to understanding that different shades of joy.

“Well” one of them spoke up “ I don’t think there is anything heroic in what we are doing. I sit here and look at others and I realize how lucky I am.
In India, We are not allowed to waste food. We have to eat everything that is cooked. You are expected to finish everything that is served on your plate irrespective of whether you like it or not. So we finish off things that we do not like and keep the best dishes for the last. We enjoy every bit of it that way and our meals end on a good note.
This life is like the plate, a combination of good and bad. Yes, what has happened to me is depressing but I am glad I am done with my part of disappointments at an early age. Now what I am left with is only happiness."

This idea was very refreshing for Uncle Ben. There was an innovative fusion done by this strong man of “Happiness” and ‘food”.., two areas of his interest. Who says you need hands to be strong?

Uncle Ben left India with great memories and yet another real example of living happiness from within.
However what never left his mind was the haunting line..,



“The faster you learn the trick of taking life with a pinch of salt, the tastier will it be.."
Please Note: These thoughts are expressed by Ketaki Joshi, a resident of India, who loves blogging. Have a good day.!