A Smile :) A realisation!

I was trying really hard but somehow my mind was not able to get a grip on itself. It was all over the place trying to chase every shard that flew off from  my emotional disintegration. Call it the irony of life, amidst this deep anxiety, I chanced to witness the smile of an ill-clad child who waved at me sat by the corner of the bar. It was cold and windy and the boy had hardly anything to wear but for his smile. I could not understand how he did it.

 It is a paradox that people well brought up and endowed,  cannot manage to put up that genuine smile . I was envious! My sorrows are ephemeral and so is happiness. A kind act or two doesn't really harm and I could actually be happier and self satisfied if I were able to reach out to the kid and ask "Hello, I love your smile , will you go to school from tomorrow? How could I help ? " My worries all of a sudden reduced to a pile of self made prejudices and relentless pursuit of material joy! I could visualise how mean I was in not appreciating what I had already.  When we think of our sorrows, we tend to be very selfish thinking why are we chosen for this? We fail to assimilate the immense science involved in human life as we are blinded to the sorrows of others. It's only when we shove ourselves, we realise it's not just us. Every man has to go through pain and suffering and it's best to bear in mind that it wanes with time. It is always nice to be patient and help such people in need. You never know when you might need help!

 The next day while I was walking past the bar, I did manage to smile at kid and ask... How can I help?  I handed him some cookies. The child was ecstatic and couldn't thank me enough. From then on I realised charity is not just giving alms  but also about lending a patient ear or  exchanging 'genuine' smiles. Whenever I'm low, I do something good to others and make myself happy. 

Driving in the UK!

I have been schlepping my cart filled with heaps to unload; trying to find my way through this maze where I was confronted with the likes of  'deficit', 'inflation' and 'crisis' at alternate roundabouts! For this very reason I have failed to rustle up a single decent meal, leave alone writing something sensible for the blog. I am about to drop dead , someone please help!

Amidst this madness, I took up driving lessons in Edinburgh! Driving in UK is insane as there is a bucket load of rules to follow. The notion that I was good at driving (in India) was soon washed-up to reveal the harsh truth: "YOU CANNOT DRIVE (in the UK)!!!"

I signed up for lessons with RED driving school and my instructor was quite a gentleman named Jim. I have been taking lessons ever since, each lesson lasting 2 hours. The best thing about it is that I get to have a 2 hour break from the several other worries in life, and concentrate on driving which if went wrong would be perilous to two lives, my instructor's and mine! It's still fun with the occasional funny rhetorics coming from Jim about his other students and his children. To acknowledge, that is the only two hour decent conversation I have with a human otherwise it's purely virtual (over Skype) with my beloved family!

I commit inadvertent mistakes while driving which does not mean I'm not paying attention. There are so many things to concentrate on at the same time that I fail to multitask (again something I thought I was good at!) I'm particularly bad at the roundabouts where one is supposed to give way to the oncoming traffic from the right, follow lane discipline, signal to the rest of the traffic and maintain speed. It's a hell of a complex task, and I must say I buckle under pressure. I have managed a flawless roundabout manoeuvre only once. Besides , one should drive on the left hand side of the road in the UK unlike in India, so I did have some teething issues initially, but the markings on the road make it quite easy to understand.

Theory test was a cakewalk, but I know I'm not ready for practicals yet! I might have a practical test next month. So long!

P.S. I will write about my practical test experience very soon, not if I fail :(