Life paralysed??

As I opened my eyes in the morning today, all I could see was a white blanket outside my window. Every little speck was layered with about one foot of snowfall! The sunshine illuminated the entire spectrum. It was a marvellous sight indeed, indescribable in words for sure!

The water in the pipes and tanks had frozen so not a drop dripping…the only water trickling I could see was from the icicles formed on the roofs and as each droplet descended on the ground it froze right there!

  

The newspaper arrived very late and was stocked with headlines such as “Heavy snowfall paralyses life”. The detailed news gave an extensive report of blocked roads, lack of daily supplies of necessities like vegetables, milk, bread etc., snapped telephone lines, disrupted power and water supply, twisted electric poles, all forms of transportation at halt, tourists  trapped, etc. etc. etc. – life at a standstill and all thanks to the high velocity winds and one of the heaviest snowfalls in the recent times.

Now let me take you to another facet of the same world as described by the newspapers. There was a cheer all around with every snowflake falling. There was a pleasant display of the tourists and the local residents making merry in the snowfall. Large crowd was witnessed venturing out, playing with snowballs, capturing the picturesque natural beauty with their cameras, posing in different styles, rejoicing the moments. Everyone indulged in making a snowman, children, youngsters, oldies, girls, boys, aunties, uncles all alike! If every snowman was collected and preserved we could actually have a museum where all sorts of snowmen could have been exhibited – different sizes, shapes, clothed, unclothed, styled with accessories – each one possessing the uniqueness of the feeling with which the particular snowman was fabricated. Groups huddled around a small lit fire chit-chatting about the most favourite topics like the weather, cricket, politics and of course local gossip! Loud laughter, old hindi movie songs playing at high volume, liveliness, smiles, cups of steaming hot tea at a small yet renowned and age-old tea shop were some of the sounds that crossed the ears.

Families, friends, neighbours sharing the happiness and gaiety brought by the snowfall , even strangers extending a helping hand when someone was about to slip on the glassy ground covered with frozen snow. People were seen thronging together at parking places, devising ways to rescue the jammed cars, different individuals collectively clearing the snow on the roads without the barriers of caste, creed, and colour. Family members uniting, spending time with each other huddled under one blanket, playing cards, eating warm and yummy snacks, reminiscing the old times, grandparents and parents sharing their experiences with their young ones.

I can go on and on with such little observations during the time of heavy snowfall. A thought popped in my mind when I read the newspaper headline of life getting paralysed due to snow – isn’t this a simple way of nature telling us to take a BREAK from our usual routine lives? Did the heavy snow actually paralyse or enliven the life of people here? There, of course, are two sides of the same coin but which one do you want to look at? What choice do you want to make – whine at the lack of facilities or revel that miraculous time? Are the external circumstances responsible for obstructing your life or are you a victim of self-paralysis?

I want to leave you with some food for thought – are you willing to take a little break from your ever busy schedules to recognise the beauty in smallest of things and celebrate LIFE, make your SPIRIT come to LIFE?