I love the new diary!
2015, end of a wonderful year!
One ritual that I have been following all through the years on new year's eve is to get myself a new diary. For a long time I had regular entries into it, and it was always fun to read up the entries at the end of the year. As years passed entries are very few, far and in between but I don't want to give up the ritual.
As I opened the new diary I got reminded of an incident which happened almost a decade ago.
It was a sultry summer afternoon in Mysore, I was in my final year of medical school, that day I was preparing for an internal exam which was due in next hour. Sitting in front of loads of text book cramming in lot of information, usual before exam scene, with couple of friends.
A nurse from neighbouring surgical ward walked into the classroom and said she required blood for an emergency surgery for a 14 months old child. She announced that and walked away hurriedly. We all exchanged glances and looked at our books and went back to reading.
I couldn't settle down and decided to see if I can help. It was half an hour for my exam, I rushed to the ward looking for the nurse, found that the little boy was due for an emergency urological surgery and parents are from a poor financial background and they aren't able to arrange for the blood. I got the necessary forms filled out from the surgical intern and decided to donate blood.
Walked to the other block to the blood bank, requested them for quick processing and I was done within half an hour, reached back to the classroom just in time for the exam.
Next three hours went by, when I was walking out of the classroom a guy was waiting there with a tender coconut water. He introduced himself hesitantly - he was the father of the child and he was trying to thank me, I exchanged pleasantries with him.
He waited for me to finish coconut water, then he pulled out a small diary from his pocket looked like something very precious to him. With tears filled in his eyes he spoke hesitantly; he wanted my name to be written in his small diary that too in the native local language kanada so that he never forgets the help I did.
I was touched by the gesture and wrote my name in his diary.
Staring at my diary I recollected this event which happened so many years ago.
A lesson to begin the new year.
"Compassion is not just feeling with someone, but seeking to change the situation. Frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action!"
Desmond Tutu
One ritual that I have been following all through the years on new year's eve is to get myself a new diary. For a long time I had regular entries into it, and it was always fun to read up the entries at the end of the year. As years passed entries are very few, far and in between but I don't want to give up the ritual.
As I opened the new diary I got reminded of an incident which happened almost a decade ago.
It was a sultry summer afternoon in Mysore, I was in my final year of medical school, that day I was preparing for an internal exam which was due in next hour. Sitting in front of loads of text book cramming in lot of information, usual before exam scene, with couple of friends.
A nurse from neighbouring surgical ward walked into the classroom and said she required blood for an emergency surgery for a 14 months old child. She announced that and walked away hurriedly. We all exchanged glances and looked at our books and went back to reading.
I couldn't settle down and decided to see if I can help. It was half an hour for my exam, I rushed to the ward looking for the nurse, found that the little boy was due for an emergency urological surgery and parents are from a poor financial background and they aren't able to arrange for the blood. I got the necessary forms filled out from the surgical intern and decided to donate blood.
Walked to the other block to the blood bank, requested them for quick processing and I was done within half an hour, reached back to the classroom just in time for the exam.
Next three hours went by, when I was walking out of the classroom a guy was waiting there with a tender coconut water. He introduced himself hesitantly - he was the father of the child and he was trying to thank me, I exchanged pleasantries with him.
He waited for me to finish coconut water, then he pulled out a small diary from his pocket looked like something very precious to him. With tears filled in his eyes he spoke hesitantly; he wanted my name to be written in his small diary that too in the native local language kanada so that he never forgets the help I did.
I was touched by the gesture and wrote my name in his diary.
Staring at my diary I recollected this event which happened so many years ago.
A lesson to begin the new year.
"Compassion is not just feeling with someone, but seeking to change the situation. Frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action!"
Desmond Tutu