Work, work n work...

The other day I found myself in one of the situations which always wanna make me run… I had a "certain" person telling me to set the expectations right with my folks at home that it’s always work first, then it's family n then friends.. first of all, I really don’t remember the last time I gave anyone the right to tell me what my priorities should be and secondly, I don’t think being a professional means giving up on your personal life.. if I go back a few years, this diktat of “work is everything” may have been true..fresh out of college, all I could imagine myself doing was working like there’s no tomorrow… work was good and colleagues were fun, there was so much to learn and perform.. but now, after a series of some pleasant and a lot of not-so pleasant incidents, it isn’t the same anymore..

A coupla years back, my younger cousin sister succumbed to cancer.. n the very next day after I lost my cousin, my granny died... death by itself is one of the toughest things you ever face in your life.. two of them n that too on two consecutive days, just makes it unimaginably devastating.. n it doesn’t end there.. it’s those images that linger on.. there’s not one day that passes without me remembering the dozen summer vacations spent with my granny or all those birthdays n festivals I celebrated with my cousin, all that keeps coming back in front of my eyes, are their still, lifeless forms.. very very painful and very very sad.. ever since this has happened, I have started appreciating life a lot more.. it’s these defining moments which make you realize, what you have and what you don’t and what you can never hope to have again.. if not for my family and friends, I’d be a nervous wreck by now.. things like these make everything else seem so small and insignificant, that you almost wanna laugh at yourself and your silly perceptions.. that was the time, when drowning myself in work seemed like the best thing to do.. but that was just that.. work place was a solace n nothing more than that..n that was when I overhauled my entire list of priorities, what’s important and what’s more important..work n career kinda trickled down from being almost everything to something I can live without, if I have to.. but there’s something else that I learnt from this entire chapter in my life.. I have no respect for anyone who doesn’t care about his own life and family.. if he himself doesn’t , there’s no reason he should expect the others to.. very simple..

In the midst of all this, I had a chance to meet people who kinda strengthened my new belief system.. people for whom family meant everything in the world and were not scared to fall back on them, if there arose a need.. career hardly featured anywhere and was completely secondary.. life is all about how much one could do for himself and for the people he cared for, the route didn't matter..

Going back to the “certain” person.. I couldn’t speak my mind, I wish I could.. that sometimes happens to me when I’m stuck with some people.. couldn’t tell him that I really care two hoots about my professional life if my personal one was getting tossed outta the window.. but never-the-less.. I have to work for a while n I guess I will have to put up with some things even if I don’t want to but can handle it.. work is all but a means to a better life, not life itself.. Cheers…