Dear friends, this is my first post in the New Year. So, I want to begin by wishing you all a blessed start to a beautiful New Year! As a child, I used to stay awake with my parents to welcome the New Year with a spirit of cheer and joy. [READ: The Wisest Lesson I learned in 2018]
[Image Source: Malawi - Nyasaland historical moments FB page ]
The Internet has transformed how people like me (read: introverts) communicate. It brings us closer to the things that we miss the most.
For instance, there is a Facebook group page on Malawi, one of the African countries where I grew up. The participants are those who grew up in Malawi. They share old pictures of the town they grew up. Old family souvenirs find a special place in the group. While scrolling through the Nyasaland-Malawi Facebook page, I found images of the famous Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre.
So, why did my eyes shimmer with tears that refused to flow?
Was it nostalgia?
Was it a sense of loss? [READ: Lost someone you loved?]
Was it sheer happiness to see something that reminds me of my childhood days?
Back in the 80s, my father Dr. C.R.Raghunanandan happened to be the only Indian doctor to work at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre. For the same reason, excitement used to thud my footsteps whenever I used to meet Dad at the hospital after school. We lived in Blantyre and I loved growing up in a town that was modeled after a Scottish city called Blantyre.
In my school uniform, I would walk across the hospital corridors, respectfully greet the senior Dutch doctors clad in white and the nursing staff. The European doctors were not fond of children but the Asian doctors were. I remember a friendly Chinese doctor who was my father's colleague. He invited our family to dinner at his place. I was so excited about going over for a proper Chinese dinner. To my ordinary mind, it sounded exotic and it sure was!
You see, we are 'dal-chawal, idli-sambar, curd rice kind of people'. And I remember my mother choking over a dish that the Chinese doctor mentioned as "eel cooked like a snake." I bet you are laughing now!
Here is another image shared on the same Facebook group:
When I saw the familiar hospital building on Facebook recently, I almost jumped up like a little girl with an early birthday gift. I was transported to my childhood. I showed it to my family with such giggly, girly excitement that it was like a family entertainment show.
What amazes me is how a fragment of time and the memory of a loved place can transform me into a little girl.
I strive today to cherish every moment of my life without any plans.
I strive to embrace the child-like innocence within and treat every moment as a sacred blessing.
Everything is good when you know all is at peace from within.
The happiest moments, the saddest moments and the toughest moments have taught me to always look within for strength and wisdom.
As 2019 begins, I just want to say, "I am grateful for everything. I just want to love more, learn more and be open to everything the Universe tests me with."
Comments
peace within you not outside ...
because this is the only way to actually have pease
will surely follow this !!