The Story

“Some people waste years, decades, even their entire lives waiting for that extraordinary lightning bolt that will change everything for them!
But those whose lives really do change in dramatic ways can almost always trace the change back to something much simpler. One subtle, unsuspecting moment. One episode, one realization, one action. One seemingly insignificant step that put them on a completely different path…and ultimately led them to their dreams.”
(Jim Rohn – The Day That Turns Your Life Around)

Here’s my story:

I was blessed with the good fortune of trekking up to the mountains of Central Asia on a project for the University of Central Asia a few years ago…

Like everyone who shares my culture, heritage, ancestry, and faith; my belief system is rooted, among other things, in the principle of service to others…service without expectation of reward or return…

Unfortunately, like many others who I share this belief system with, it was all lip-service – sure we did a few things here and there that made us feel ‘good’ about ourselves – but that was it…for the most part, we aspired to all the shiny, glitzy, glittery stuff that makes this superficial world of ours go round…titles, positions of authority, recognition, being heroes…

I headed over to the majestic mountains in typical lip-service fashion…all hyped about having been granted the opportunity of a lifetime…imagine being involved in building the infrastructure for a university spanning three countries from the ground up! – even if my little dot of a contribution is but a mere atom’s worth in the bigger picture, it’s still a story I was going to tell my grandkids and all their little friends…and those who know me well also know that I am fascinated by mountains and rocks – this was the best thing ever…

The simple, subtle, unsuspecting moment:

We had a meeting in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) at 9:30 AM with a local software development firm – arriving at our meeting, I noticed a crowd of people lined up outside the building – there were probably 50-70 people in line…I found out later that they were pensioners, lined up to collect their monthly pension…

As I was walking into the building, I made eye contact with an elderly woman somewhere halfway down the line, all bent at the abdomen (she was slouched at between a 30 and 40 degree angle) – she must have been over 70 years old (or at least looked that age), tired eyes, wrinkled face – our eyes met for a moment, but the moment was long enough to etch her face in my memory…

It was a minus 9 or 10 degrees mid-December morning and there was a windchill – so it felt a little cooler than that…I noticed that the lady had a scarf and a sweater on…not really winter-wear…

Our meeting lasted about 4 hours, and as we made our way out, I saw the old lady – still in line – at 1:30 PM – about 7-8 people away from her pension money…still standing in the cold, as strong as I saw her 4 hours earlier, albeit all bent at the waist…it almost looked like she was going to tip over at any moment…

My heart sank – our eyes met again for a brief moment – but this time it was different…I don’t know what it was – but it was different…

Who knows what she did for a living during her working years – from the way she appeared, I’m convinced it was not a cozy office job – and after all the years of struggle, here she was in line for over 4 hours to collect that which was rightfully hers – and I don’t know how much longer it was before she actually got her money…

In a conversation I had later with our driver, I learned that none of these folks can actually afford to live in the city; so it is quite possible that she would have had to leave home at about 5 AM, get on a public-transit bus (a dangerous, overcrowded, accident-waiting-to-happen piece of metal (s)crap, in my humble opinion), and arrive at about 7 AM to have secured the spot in that line…

My team had an animated conversation about our meeting all the way back to the office, but I can’t remember any of it…

I could only see, standing in that line, my parents, my grandparents, myself, my wife, and even my child…the only reason I wasn’t in that line was because I happened to have been dumped onto a different longitude and latitude when I made my entry into this planet…and her biggest mistake was to have been born where she was born…

As I reflect on that moment, I realize that it was the moment when I ‘grew’ up…the ‘definiteness of purpose’ that I keep talking about all the time manifested itself on that chilly December day in Bishkek…that ‘Civil Society’ paradigm that so many of us still don’t fully understand, made complete, crystal-clear sense…I was, quite literally, turned inside out…

I had many aspirations in life – and continue to aspire to greater things everyday – the difference between now and then is that single moment – earlier, the aspirations had no meaningful focus…

I was offered the opportunity to return to the UCA for a longer term, but I chose instead to grow up first and better prepare myself – so that when I do go – I’m able to achieve that ‘meaningful’ focus and goal that I now have for myself…and go I will…soon…

…from an inspirational quote of His Highness The Aga Khan IV:

“There are those who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and the motivation to improve their circumstances. Unless they can be touched with the spark which ignites the spirit of individual enterprise and determination, they will only sink into apathy, degradation and despair. It is for us, who are more fortunate, to provide that spark”

Have you taken a moment to reflect on the ‘reason’ for your existence on this planet???

“Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.

I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.”

- Bertrand Russell (adapted)

…this has, indeed, been my life; and I have truly found it worth living!…

- RD