Wishing on a Star, Wishing on a Dream

Back in April I went to Hyderabad to attend a friend’s wedding. That was the first time I had a late night flight. If you have read my blog during my initial blogging days you might know how fascinated I am by airplanes. Even after being on airplanes for quite a number of times, I am still excited by the thought of flying. Anyway, as the plane was landing that day, I was mesmerized by the view down below.  Have you ever experienced a moment when you realized how lucky you are to just be alive! Although it may seem trivial to a lot many of you but that night when my plane was landing and I was looking out the window, at all the twinkling lights on earth, the moving vehicles on road adding to the drama, I felt blessed. I don’t think my words could justify the sheer beauty that I witnessed that night and all the myriad of emotions that I felt. It was surreal. And that was a big thing for me, mostly because I have always been a whiner. I am the kind of person who listens to sad songs just to feel depressed. So you see, feeling grateful has never been my forte. But that night was different. I was lucky to be alive.

 

Amid these feelings of joy, the only thing that bothered me was that my parents never had the opportunity to witness such things in life. They spent their lives to fulfill all our wishes but never spent an extra penny to do something for pleasure. Right from the time they were married, all they did was fulfilling responsibilities. In fact, in order to save money my parents are unknowingly doing a lot of eco-friendly things- using solar cooker to save gas, using a cycle to save petrol, not using ACs because who’ll pay such a hefty electricity bill, taking shared autos instead of booking cabs and much more. I am all in favor of saving the ecosystem but I wish someday my parents could witness the things I could witness because of them.

When I was a little girl, I would look at the helicopters that occasionally ventured into our small hilly town and wonder whether I would ever get a chance to be on them someday.

That night, as my plane landed, I wondered whether I would ever be able to take my parents to see what I saw, to fly above the clouds and see the dancing lights on earth.

It is at times like these that a poem by Shel Silverstein comes to mind,

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts.

Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts.

Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me…

Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”