02 September 2026 • Mindfulness • My Story • Gratitude • Spirituality

“As long as you are in the run for more, you are not going to settle.” — Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

My phone kept ringing during my shower,  so I couldn’t answer it.  When I got out, I had several missed calls from my cousin Roy. I called him back.

“Come to the hospital now.”

There was urgency in his voice that made me stop asking questions.

“What happened?”

“My father fell. Please come quickly.”

“Is he all right?”

“I don’t know. Just come.”

The call ended…

I informed my mother and left.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I found some of my relatives already there.  I spotted Roy and asked him what had happened.

“Dad slipped on the roadside while coming back from the park in the morning,” he said. “He fractured his leg.”

I went silent.

My uncle has always been active. I’ve noticed him walking everywhere. He dislikes bikes and cars and enjoys sports, socialising and staying busy. Sitting in one place has never really been something which he likes.

Whenever I meet him, he is usually doing something. He will be talking about trips, walking somewhere, planning a game, or asking about what sports I love to play. I have rarely seen him simply sit and rest.

I went inside and sat beside my uncle. The first thing I noticed was the heavy plaster around his left leg, that looked painful and uncomfortable. His leg was slightly raised on the bed. His first question was how I was. Seeing him there was so sad that I was momentarily speechless. I assured him he’d recover soon but his eyes conveyed a different story.

He then mentioned his desire to return home and play cricket with his friends. I smiled and assured him he’d soon be doing that again. However, I realised how easily we overlook these simple pleasures. For him, cricket with his mates was simply a normal part of life. 

That day, even that felt far away.

While coming back home, on the way I started noticing things which are often unnoticed. I was walking as usual. My legs moved effortlessly, breathing, looking at the road and listening to the sounds around me.

 I saw people working hard. I saw beggars asking people for money. I saw disabled people going about their lives. I’d likely seen these before, but that day I noticed them in a new way.

A few hours earlier, I had not given any of these things a thought. They were simply a part of my day. But after seeing my uncle in the hospital, they suddenly felt different. I could walk wherever I wanted. I could go home on my own. I did not need anyone to help me move from one place to another. These were simple things, but I’d never truly stopped to feel grateful for them.

My uncle recovered much earlier than expected by the doctors. The simple reason was his strong desire to get back outdoors. He missed sports. He missed meeting people. He longed to play cricket with his friends once more. He disliked spending too much time indoors. He wanted his normal life back. This experience stayed within me.

I started thinking about the things I call normal simply because they happen to me every day. Now I have started feeling grateful for these smaller things. Our body and health play one of the most important roles in making us who we are today.

What do we really know about the things we call “normal” simply because they happen to us every day? I did not have an answer. I still don’t. But the questions followed me home. We are exceptionally good at counting what is missing in our life. I noticed that in myself. I could spend an entire day listing things which I did not have.

More money. More recognition. More opportunities. A different career. A different life.

It was very easy to see what I was missing. But it was much harder to see what was already there. My legs worked. My eyes worked. I could get up and go wherever I wanted without anyone helping me. I could walk into a shop and buy waffles. I could call my family. I could sit next to someone I loved and feel safe. I could complain about the crowded roads and then laugh about it later. None of these things felt extraordinary. That was the problem.

I still compare myself with other people and their lives. I still get frustrated. I still grumble about things that feel significant at the time but seem trivial after a few days. I haven’t become someone who wakes up every morning feeling grateful for every breath. That would not be true. I still forget. But something has changed.

Sometimes I’ll walk somewhere without a second thought and then suddenly remember my uncle lying in the hospital bed. I recall that look he gave me, and he mentioned wanting to go home and play a game of cricket. Then I look down and realise that my feet are still moving. I keep going with the ordinary life he wanted to return to.  I slow down.

Not because I have suddenly discovered the secret to happiness. Just because, for a moment, I remember that walking is not nothing. Being able to go outside is not nothing. Having a body that carries you through the day is not nothing. Calling someone you love is not nothing. Being alive is not nothing.

Sometimes, our lives aren’t as empty as they seem. We simply get used to the good things around us and forget to appreciate them. We often cry for things we don’t have. Consider things like increased wealth, a better job, or just overnight success. Because of this, we forget about the life we already have. We don’t always need more to feel grateful. Sometimes we simply need to pause and appreciate what we already have before we lose it.

We Laugh As If We Will Live Forever - Youth ki Awaaz