Wednesday 14 February 2018

Valentines Day: People who inspire and my Valentine date

So its been eons and eons of years since I wrote my last post. I do not even remember the last time or the last topic I wrote about.

I am happily single and the thought of Valentines day just skips my mind. As I sit, having a quiet dinner after a day's work, aunty reminds me that it's the Valentines day tomorrow. Now, aunty and me are new friends, I dont quite get her excitement about the day. I am no romantic and have seen more than my fair share of assholish men in my life. I kind of believe that all relationships are more about convenience and milking the partner and less about unselfish love. As we take a stroll that night, aunty again brings up this topic of celebrating love and it gets me thinking. We start talking - are all relationships about what I can take; I mean my exes have mostly been more interested in what they can gain from the relationship rather than it being about sharing and caring and togetherness. Are undying love stories only found in fairy tales? Are there any stories of love in real life amongst the people we see everyday? And I dont mean the head over heels in love phase of love that eventually phases out. I mean the happily ever after kinds where, its not ever so happily. One incident that immediately strikes me is the story of my uber driver John.

I rode with John yesterday and as I get into his car, I observe he has stickers of pink ribbon on his trunk. As he cheerfully ushers me in, I see that his key chain also has the same pink ribbon that's synonymous with breast cancer. I am glad that he cares so much about the disease. During the course of our very short journey, I ask him about the interest he has taken in breast cancer awareness. John says he does it in the memory of his wife who was a victim to the disease 10 years ago. It's heartening to hear him as he speaks of his wife and the limited awareness that the world has about the disease that claimed her. He is doing his bit to raise awareness. In that moment, the love for his deceased wife breaks my thick clouds of pessimistic view on love, warming my heart instantly. It has been a long time, he says. He has moved on now. I can see that, clearly, he has not forgotten. In his own way, he keeps the memory of his wife alive. Long after she's gone. The love for his wife is so real, his actions so free of selfish intentions. Certainly there are good people on earth and he is one of them. People capable of love, even when the person they love is long dead. People capable of giving, even when they know that no amount of giving will ever bring back what they have lost. People capable of loving and cherishing fond memories of loved ones, even when cruel fate has brought a sudden, tragic end to those memories.

I will never learn of the vows John and his wife shared on their wedding. But I will always know, that for them, even death could not do them apart.
His wife still lives on. In his heart, in his words and in his actions.
He will truly be the fairy tale prince charming I happened to meet in real life.

To you John, who restores my faith in a human's capability to love and give :-)
And to you aunty - my valentine date, who believes in love even with all the naysayers around you (me ;-))

Happy valentine's day everyone!
Love and believe!