It’s 6 am in the morning.
My alarm starts ringing. After a brief
struggle, I finally wake up at 6:15. It’s
cold. Very cold. I open my window to get
a glimpse of the outside world. It’s
still dark. The birds are awake
though. They have started chirping to
celebrate the arrival of yet another new day.
I hear the voice of a man coming from the streets. He is singing loudly,
enjoying the song as he sings. There is
a depth in his voice. It has the power
to touch the heart and soul. Who is this
person? Why is he singing so early in the morning? Why is he on the streets? Many questions flood my mind, the answers to
which I don’t have. I know I never
will. But there is one thing I seem to
know about him just by hearing his song.
His song is his contribution to the big, dark world. It is his attempt to make it better, to set a
tune free in a place which could swing from extreme noise to deafening
silence.
It’s around 8 am now.
I’m walking towards my bus stop. It’s
quite sunny now and I’m enjoying walking in the sun. As I walk, I notice that a little away from
the place I stay, there are two people planting saplings along the side of the road. Dressed casually in tracks and tees, they
have a few saplings placed near them, and some water. Instead of complaining about the pollution,
global warming, traffic and fumes, they seem content in doing their little part
to make the world better and greener. This
is how they contribute to the world.
I’m waiting for my bus now, when I notice an elderly lady
across the street. She is surrounded by
many stray dogs, who are looking at her with the anticipation of getting some
food. The lady has a bag in her hand,
and I believe it’s filled with food for the animals. As the dogs eat, they also
look at her and wag their tail as a token of gratitude to her. This lady doesn’t make any profit by feeding
strays. No recognition. No monetary benefit.
But that is not everything. Just a small
act of kindness for someone who needs it brings joy to the heart, and she
appears very joyful. This is her
contribution to the world.
What appeared to be just another morning brought me to
witness three small incidents. It brought
with it a message that each of us can make a small change to the world in our
own way. We never know whose life we
might change until we give it a try. A
smile. A hello. A cup of tea. A listening ear. A word of advice. The list is endless. There are so many things we can do to make
the world a little better.
