#38 Remember the others

Our world revolves around our family and loved ones. We work hard, make money, plan vacations, buy new stuff to take care of them and make them happy.

Despite being surrounded by our loved ones, we have small gaps in our lives the little pockets of void that are filled by the ‘other’ people.

Who are they? They are those whom we come across every day. They are the ones we rely on when we are in a hurry. We don’t think about them until we need something.

The neighborhood barber, the bank teller who helps you out every time, the uncle who smiles at you when he’s walking by your street every day to buy milk, the old couple who gifted a wall clock for your wedding, the tea master who knows how you like your tea, colleagues from the past company with whom you’ve shared a few good laughs, your plumber or electrician whom you used call during a crisis. They are a few examples of ‘other’ people.

They make our life outside our home. Our world is sane because of them. And, they’re an indication that everything around us is fine.

With the second wave of COVID, we’ve lost too many ‘other’ people from our lives. People who were living and breathing became news I heard through my neighbors, friends, and extended family. Even though I move through every day doing my job, running errands, and dreaming about the future like nothing happened, a part of me keeps thinking about the lost lives. On one side I feel selfish and thank the universe for keeping me alive and on the other hand, I feel bad for the ‘other’ people who were part of my life.

We can’t do much for them. But, we can keep our memories with them alive by writing about them in our journals or share an an interesting story that involves them with our friends and family. And, maybe think about all the things they’ve done for us when we pass by places where we’ve met them, spoke to them, or had a good laugh. Reminisce the good times. As incapable humans, that is all we can do.