Daily scribbles and drools... Day 86

This post has been pending because I had to get my thoughts together.

About two months ago, an early 20s colleague died in a horrific road accident on an Expressway. I had met him a month prior on some work and he really went outta his way to help me out. I didn't know him well.

All of us were a bit shaken by the news because we all knew him in some shade or the other. A mail was drafted and sent to all employees. An announcement on the intercom at 11am said we would be holding a 2 minutes silence in remembrance of this young soul who'd been taken away so young. 

I sit by the windows at work so I get to see the Western Express Highway in all her glory every time I stare out. During those 2 extremely long minutes, as I thought of my last interaction with that lad, I acutely noticed cars and bikes speeding by, both lanes. People walking on the footpath, busy metro construction workers, rickshaws parked outside our work complex waiting to ferry someone around.

It was in that moment  Irealised how inconsequential everything is... Here today, gone tomorrow... Life goes on. Everything that we hold dear and true melts away. Whatever we feel, passes with the passage of time. The world continues to chug along, the earth rotates around the sun, daylight comes followed by the night... Life goes on.

Watching traffic reminded me of how irrelevant my existence is, my worries are, my sense of outrage and misplaced self-importance are. In 2 minutes whether we knew this boy personally or not, we would all get back to our emails, get into a meeting, pick the phone and argue with a loved one or colleague, go take a dump, whatever... Life would go on and this boy's life would be forgotten.

Leaving a legacy behind --- what does that mean to you and how important is it?

For most people in the world, being able to afford a roof over their head, get 2-3 square meals a day and some clothes on their back is all they can hope for. Maybe a bit of dignity at the time of their death... If they're lucky. 

For those with a better disposition, are we chasing more than we need? Do our wants outweigh our needs? Does the end justify the means by which we achieve our dreams or goals?

If I leave this world behind, will the world stop for a second to remember me? Nope, it won't. But I hope a few will raise a toast in my memory and say they were happy that they knew me.