ecoTrain QOTW #9: Shifting Our Perspective ... Spare A Thought For....

Oftimes we write only about ourselves but that is because we know best about our own struggles and despairs and troubles.

Have you ever wondered why we only think mostly about troubles and not the happy stuff? Maybe it is because we have been trained or taught to look out for the bad stuff rather than concentrate on the good.

It is time we remembered the good that is happening around us and feel better but for now, I am going to write about the struggles of a person who was very close to me. My late aunt.

When @nainaztengra mentioned the @ecotrain initiative, I had no idea what to write about but then I remembered about my late aunt - that is my father's younger sister who lived her life fully but it was not without pain.

Her story (1940's)

My aunt was born into a family of lawyers. As was the custom in those days, she was married to a gentleman who had a nice job and was settled in Delhi.
She went on to give birth to three children but the eldest girl passed away. When her youngest daughter was about one year old, my uncle returned to Delhi and it was then the smallpox epidemic struck.

My uncle passed away and my dad went to his ancestral home in the village and brought back my aunt and her children to his house. He was a very kind person whom I look upon as God and he used to sleep on the floor next to my aunt's bedroom fearing that she may get up in the middle of the night to do away with her life or something. My aunt and uncle had been very close and he feared that the shock was too much.

Meanwhile, the one-year-old girl and my youngest uncle also contracted smallpox and uncle passed away but the young one was left with scars that made her look very bad indeed. They spent lots of money and did plastic surgery to recover the skin and it did make her much better looking.

Anyways, time passed and my aunt conceded to my dad's request to study further and she studied grades 8.9 and 10 simultaneously and passed the matriculation with flying colors.

Higher education

Science was her favorite subject and she went on to complete MSc in Chemistry.

Meanwhile, my dad asked her whether she would like to marry again but she refused and continued to study. Those days, there was not much competition for jobs and she was soon offered the job of a lecturer in SN college if I remember.

She became engrossed in teaching and was soon happy when her students were around. Her own children studied well and the boy became an engineer and went on to secure a good job and was settled well.

The girl who had got the surgery done on her face also was married to an officer.

What I meant to say through this post is that no matter what your trials are, you should not give up on your self. It is easy to succumb to self-pity and what not but it takes courage to live on and face what happens the next moment.

Rose garden

The rose garden of my aunt has more value to me than flowers grown anywhere else.

She dedicated her life to growing roses so much that she also learned to graft and such things and I still remember her roses - the yellow one with a red border and each one was the size of a huge hibiscus even.

She was also into crafts and taught me how to crochet and do fancy flower loops.

Happy memories revive you like no other. So, even if you or a person near to you is struggling, please try to remember the happy incidents and you will be joyful.

(my rose can never equal her but an attempt of course)