Thursday, June 6, 2013

A view from the sidelines

I have been a fairly outdoors person for most of my life given that I love sports and working out. For me, the world is just not the same if I am not able to play or go running or hit the gym. Little did I know that I will be chosen to confront probably one of the most unpalatable situations that I have on my list titled "Top situations I hate to be in" i.e. being out of action!

The past few weeks have been a torment. After suffering a nasty sprain in my ankle in one of the games, I was advised to go "Offline" for 4-6 weeks by my doc with my leg in cast. So what it means is that I am forced to watch the world from the sidelines - something that I have always hated to do.  However, surprisingly, it turned out be a rare opportunity of seeing things from a different standpoint. And boy....has it been a revelation!

We have a habit of taking things for granted. But when one is constrained, in any sense of the word - physically, mentally or in any other way - one can see the world in a different light. 

Phone calls that were treated as business as usual, now communicate much beyond spoken words - they now tell you that a whole bunch of people in the world care about you and they may feel your pain more that even you do. Small small things that your friends and family do for you generally go unnoticed. But when unable to do things on your own, you realize how important a contribution they are making to your lives. Things that were so small to even count in normal life seem like luxuries bestowed upon you by your loved ones. 

You may think that the team that you've played with for most part doesn't really take notice and express how important a part you have been but when you're down and out, you'll be surprised by their incessant recounting of moments on and off the field which even you'd find hard to remember. Watching the same blokes play from the sidelines will make you realize that how strongly you feel bonded no matter how nonchalant or unaffected you may have felt while being on the inside

The "get well soon" messages you'd receive even from those folks in office who you would seldom speak to will make you realize that you were noticed. The almost everyday inquisitions about your recovery and well being by your close colleagues and bosses will make you realize that these relations extend well beyond work and there's much more to each one of them than being a "role" played in the workplace.

The only thing that it takes to appreciate this is for one to notice. But we could never notice these things as we were too darn busy navigating through our self-complicated streets of life. And now that one is forced to stop and distance away from the usual hullabaloo...you are able to see small small things that you missed all through the way and the people that made this world...your world...special.

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