“Life is too short for bad vibes”

Dr. Suranjana Basak
MD General Medicine, Navi Mumbai


IF there was one place I could revisit since Lockdown brought in some realizations, I would like to visit all the times I’ve met people who’ve mattered to me.

On a day-to-day basis we keep meeting a lot of people that have some impact on us- big or small. It could be a “madam wahi regular ticket nikalu” from the bus conductor, “aaj naya chappal?” from the hospital maushi, “aap khana kha lo doctor” from a patient who’s seen you working tirelessly since his admission, “let me drop you home” from your work colleague, “don’t leave your soiled clothes here” from your mother. How many of these do we actually absorb the way they mean it? All of these are nothing but just little efforts on their behalf to create some difference. Most often we are in a rather irate mood to even notice the gesture. Especially in the healthcare profession where we feel that we are already pushing our limits more than we have to. Despite seeing life, death, struggles of human lives from such a close perspective, we forget being human ourselves. Our brains are autotuned to a switch on- switch off mode. A new patient, switch on, he leaves, switch off, next patient and repeat the process. Amidst all our professional commitments, moral obligations, incessant responsibilities, we forget about our personal and mental health. A lot of unresolved issues about why me? Why is it like this and not like that? Why do I have to mobilize this tray? Why isn’t it ready yet? Where is the staff? Questions like these just keep adding to the dismay of existing questions of how will I look after my family? Will I get a seat in the entrance? Will I be able to survive in this cut throat competition? When will I be enough? Should I go clubbing? When will I lose weight? Why can’t I stop the junk food? When will I find someone for myself? 

No matter how many times you put on a brave face and say that it’s all okay, it takes a big deal of time, effort and support to actually make that statement a reality. And until that happens, we start our days with a little to a lot of frustration/agony/anger and often let it all out on these people we meet everyday. What’s taken for granted will eventually be taken away and then you’ll end up missing most what you least appreciated. We forget that, You’re valuable because you exist and not because of what you do or have done but simply because you are. And that’s enough. 

Retrospection is one of my favourite activities to do. To assess, criticize, appreciate oneself is important if you expect to make progress. During this lockdown, I was out of the lucky few who could go to work and make some difference to human lives. And one such retrospection, now more than ever made me realize that there are a lot of such instances where I’ve said and done mean things even by something as simple as not-acknowledging the goodness. We cannot control everything around us. What we can do is feel, breathe, live, believe and not obsess about things beyond our control.

Since I can’t change the wrong doings of my past, a kind change in my approach towards every individual in my present and future is something I am working on. Life is too unpredictable for any plans. Until then let’s try doing the best we can to keep man-kind!

Image Reference:

http://pixabay.com

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3 Responses

  1. Usha Nandini says:

    Nice write-up ma’am:)

  2. Paras Dhir says:

    Nice

  3. Ashit Kumar Das says:

    Nice expression of mind.

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