It's not time that is passing by.....

I am usually surprised when people say, ‘I have no regrets in life.’ Come on, I think, I can’t be the only one whose life seems so full of regrets. Hopefully not major ones, but minor ones - sure, doesn’t everyone have those regrets? Of not being as good as you’d like at music, sports and arts; of being unable to prioritize what really mattered when it mattered; of getting into bad relationships; of making wrong career choices etc. etc. The magic, I think, is in accepting that it is OK to have regrets; it is OK to feel lonely; it is OK to feel depressed at times- as long as you feel you are leading a happy, productive life overall. I think these experiences of pain and conflict make you a richer, deeper person; and sadness gives an interesting, intelligent dimension to your life.

I recall reading Arundhati Roy’s ‘God of Small Things’

‘If you're happy in a dream, Ammu, does that count?’ Estha asked.

‘Does what count?’

‘The happiness - does it count?’

Wow man- what sadness! Even for born cynics like me, it struck a chord. You are really starved for happiness when you have to search for it in your dreams. Or Ruskin Bond’s wonderful: ‘It’s not time that is passing by-it’s you and I.’