For the Sake Of Love

He looked at his collection, the proud collection. It looked like a mini book store, all the books sacked neatly in his newly rented apartment, in a room that was exclusively meant for his books. He could have managed with a 2BHK as well, but he decided to rent a 3BHK instead, for unknown reasons. And today when he stood smiling outside the room, looking at his book collection, his wife also felt happy for him.

She argued with him, “Why do we need a 3BHK?”

“Just in case.” was his reply. And that was all, argument over. 

Unlike his bachelor days, the books were not eating dust after his marriage. They were not piled randomly over one another. And marriage brings order into life, sometimes [mental] disorder too, but his was a lucky, made-in-heavens case.

His college friends saw him changing drastically after college. He was not a very smart guy, he was just an average guy roaming here and there in the campus and trying to pass his time. Of all the things, he was never into the books, non-academic books in particular. Four months out of his college and he was talking about the Fountainheads and the Animal Farms written by some of the greatest literary masters. 

His friend asked him, “Why this sudden change? Why into books and literature all of a sudden?”

And he replied, “I find them interesting. The stories fascinate me.” And while he spoke his eyes shone.

“Come on, don’t act smart. Tell me you are preparing for CAT or planning to go overseas for MS?” said his friend.

And the glittering effect disappeared from his eyes. Although he could have managed by letting his friend know about his new found joy, his new passion for reading, but it just saddened him. 

His reading books had nothing to do with further studies to cram words, which he would never use. He had explained his love for books to so many people who always questioned his passion, as if it was a top secret Mission to Pakistan and he was a bollywood hero trying to protect his motherland. He did not expect this question from his friend but the unexpected had just happened. 

Just doing your job would not make you happy. The system that has educated us, somehow doesn’t allow us to be in the right job in the right time. But giving up at an age of 25-26 is not the solution. So, he applied his mind and invented a formula, The Horizontal Flip. Keep trying new things, new events and one fine day when you realize that one of the horizontal events is your calling, climb down, deep down into it. Just go as deep as you can. 

This was his philosophy, and it made perfect sense to me. If we think that the system is wrong, and we know it cannot be changed and we also know that an individual needs to be changed before changing the system, then why not be that individual yourself. What is the big deal about being a changed individual? I don’t like my job, so I will do something else; try out something else to make me happy. 

He would often explain this to his friends, parents and wife of course.

One fine day, he was watching Forrest Gump and Tom Hanks impressed him so much that very next morning, he started running. Not because he was fat, not because he wanted to look good, after all good and bad are in mind, in your mind – in my mind, not because he wanted to prove something. He started running because he wanted to run. To feel what Tom Hanks had felt and o feel what Forrest had felt when he was running through the pages of the book for the first time. 

And again he was asked the same question; you want to lose weight, isn’t it?

He passed a smile and said,”OK”

And then he moved on to cycling, with a harmonica and a guitar. With the horizontal flip playing in his mind.

I am not sure if he will ever find his vertical dip. But I am sure that every horizontal flip of his will make him happier. Excited for tomorrow and happy for today.

That’s  what we live for.

That’s what every religion and every country wants.

A happy today and an excited tomorrow. 

Sometimes it is better to leave behind the reasons. Career, money, , profit, loss, sometimes these things should not exist.

Sometimes, there should be just pure doing. 

I do it because I am free.| Free to do. Free to act. Free to live.