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What missing a bus taught me about life

Last updated on: April 08, 2019 14:08 IST

We'd asked you, dear readers to tell us what is the one life lesson you would want to share

Purushotham Joshi shares an episode that taught him the importance of each moment in life. 

You can share your life lessons too. Scroll down to find out how.

 

This happened in Dec 2018 in Bengaluru, the Garden City of India.

I planned a trip to meet my friend, Dr Prabhu in Ponnampet, Kodagu, which was around 250 km away from Bengaluru.

I took a bus from Jayanagar, Bengaluru at 9.15 pm.

This bus picked up on route passengers, before it was scheduled to arrive at Anand Rao Circle, where the passengers would get into another bus from Bengaluru to Ponnampet, Kodagu district. 

That bus was scheduled to start at 11:10 pm.

Till around 10.30, I was active, going through some songs and messages on my phone.

I checked with the bus conductor 3-4 times whether we had reached Anand Rao Circle. According to him, there was still some time to reach the destination. 

I don't know when I fell asleep, but around 11:05 pm, I suddenly woke up. 

I again checked with the conductor if we had arrived at Anand Rao Circle.

The conductor said, 'Sir, we have already passed that point. We waited at the circle for 15 minutes, but left as we did not get any response from you.'

At that point I realised I had slept for around 30 minutes. The Anand Rao Circle was just a km away, and I quickly decided to get into an auto, and reached my destination just a few minutes before the bus to Ponnampet started. 

I ended up having a wonderful trip, but also learnt one important lesson in the bargain.

I realised the real value of moments,  and at that moment, I did not really know whether I had slept off for 30 seconds, 30 minutes or 30 years.

Life does not keep track of all the wealth you have accumulated, the awards lying on your shelf, the stocks you own, your designations, etc.

In that moment, you don't even realise if you slept off or you left the world.

We should learn to live in the present and experience each moment. 

Do your best, be good and do good. Treat life as the greatest gift and treasure each day.

Because you will not know or realise how much time has passed. 


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Purushotham Joshi