This morning, a trip to the doctor’s office became an unexpected moment of human connection. My car was unavailable, so we had to rely on an Uber. As my mom and I, navigating her slow gait, climbed into the car, the driver greeted us. “Allah apko salamat rakhe! (May The Almighty keep you safe)” he said warmly, Perhaps our situation reminded him of his own family back home.
His concern was genuine as was his desire to share his feelings. He inquired about the doctor’s visit, offering reassurance that “it’s all going to be alright.” His own vulnerability peeked through as he began sharing about his family, his wife’s frequent hospital visits, his strained familial bonds, the many trips to the hospital he makes to care for his loved one, while managing his work to make ends meet. His trials and tribulations. Tears welled in his eyes as he spoke, looking at us through the rearview mirror, ‘Allah hi humko salamat rakhe!‘ In that moment, the car became a refuge for our shared emotions.
He spoke of life’s impermanence, how “this life and the physical things are nothing but maya” (illusion). He talked about the duality of human existence, filled with “desires and suffering at the same time.” His voice cracked as he shared a heartbreaking story: his mother, back home, died of a broken heart, longing for a son who had cut off contact for decades. His tears turned to muffled sobs as the weight of his story filled the car.
Through it all, his message resonated: “we should make sure that we are kind to each other while we are alive.” His honesty, despite the vulnerability, was a testament to human courage. Here we were, strangers connected by a shared understanding of life’s fragility. Meeting gaze through the mirror, overwhelmed by empathy, we surrendered to a sense of something larger, his “Allah,” my “Atman“, our “Universe” – they all stood tall, mighty and majestic as the unified cosmic omnipresent connection, and for a brief moment, life felt a little clearer.
A heartfelt touch and an understanding stroke of his arm, a stoic resonance of ‘it’s all going to be alright!‘ offered the only comfort I could give to him. However, the warmth of that connection spoke volumes. As much to him I am sure, as it did to me. In that shared moment, the anxieties I had carried with me that morning as I stepped out of the house and into his Uber, seemed insignificant.
In that rare moment of brief clarity, the restless mind and its incessant pursuits of accomplishment, possession, status, its narrowed focus on being the doer or the done-in, its obsessions with ‘if only’ all faded into the background, absolving. Ultimately, they too become faint memories eh! Life, I realized, is never about metrics, rather it has and will always be about choosing to make memories that linger long with the taste of love and kindness, for ourselves and others. It’s about the richness of experience and the connections we forge, not the things we accumulate or the riches we chase after.
Just as that realization settled, the Uber arrived at our location ending the ride. As my mom and I stepped out, we greeted each other farewell and departed knowing that ‘it was all going to be just alright!‘
May The Almighty keep you safe too. Happy 4th of July!
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