The Life of an Insanely Average Person

Wow! You decided that this isn’t a complete waste of your time. Thanks! I guess.

First things first. Hi! I am Somrik (pronounced Shom-wrik) your everyday average Indian guy. You know the ones you pass by now and then paying no heed to, ya that guy. I have a job, a girlfriend (woohoo) and you’re typical Indian family (scofs!). I enjoy technology, am a complete foodie, I work out every now and then and love trying out new things. You’ll come to know more about me as time passes by.

With the intro out of the way, let me begin.

Casual day as usual, Until…

Picture this, you’re standing at your typical bus stop, waiting patiently for your transportation to come along. Deciding to survey your surrounding a bit, you notice there’s an average guy standing beside you. Average doesn’t mean a complete douche FYI. Average in the sense, causal clothes, backpack, messy hair nothing out of the ordinary.

Have you ever asked yourself what this guys life is like? Is this the first and last time I am going to see him or is he going to be a regular on this route? Is his life the same as mine? etc etc… Not trying to be philosophical or anything but for the first time in my life I decided to ask this question to myself. Meantime while these thoughts were running through my mind, he caught me staring at him like a doofus and was kind enough to smile. Realizing the fact I was looking like a complete idiot I gave a smile back, which opened the opportunity for small talk. His name was Arun ( i am not providing his actual name for obvious reasons), and he was a sports enthusiast. Wow! I thought, a sports enthusiast my lucky day.. not! I became judge mental instantly, no work all play, son of a rich guy not doubt, no ambition blah! blah! Turns out I was wrong.

He hailed from the northern part of the country, his dad was a typical middle class earner, barely got by and was unsupportive of his sons dreams. His mom had passed away about a decade ago (couldn’t bare to ask what happened) and he had decided to flee his native place to pursue his dream. His dream was simple, he wanted to start an academy where in he would train the younger generation in martial arts so that they can win the championship. Ummm..aren’t there enough academies already which provided such knowledge? I asked. He laughed, and said there were but how many of them have produced a candidate that was deserving of participation in the world championship? I couldn’t produce an answer to this question for I had no knowledge. He responded saying in a country with a population of over a billion, why can’t we produce more athletes? The answer lies in the Orthodox mentality of our parents. Indian parents have this notion that if their child isn’t a doctor or an engineer his/her life is ruined. He’s no longer acceptable in the society, he won’t be able to find a suitable mate, he will have disgraced the family name and heaps and tons of melodrama. Arun wanted to change all that. He wanted our nation to be versatile and by setting an example he wanted to show that going into sports is OK. Hmm! I thought, difficult indeed, bit then I saw a glow in his eyes, he was truly passionate about what he was saying. He got by, by living in a heritage home where he was taking care of the elderly and was provided shelter and food. He spent the wage in paying rent for a small place which he called his academy. He was a state level black belt martial arts champion, junior division and he wasn’t allowed to compete in the senior division as his dad thought it was a complete waste of time and money.

His sensei, was Tzu Ling, resident of the eastern province of China, settled in Bhutan. He was his teacher, his father, his mother, and his bestfriend. Arun had spent most of his boyhood in his company. Their meeting was chance, Arun was on his way back from school one day when he saw this old man sitting on his porch, eyes closed meditating. There was a fly buzzing around him and Arun was thinking why wasn’t this man getting disturbed. He took sometime to see how long the man could keep his concentration, turns out a long long time. Getting bored, he decided to make a move. As he lay his first step the man called out, leaving so soon? Arun was stunned. How did the man know he was standing there? Timidly answering yes! I must get going my parents are expecting me. Ling responded, very well off you go but remember the fly will disturb you if you want to be disturbed. A little taken aback and extremely curious Arun fled the scene only to return the next day to whom he called master. Over the course of years, he learned much more than what you or I can hope to learn in a lifetime. He was trained in martial arts, where in he had to master the art of discipline, patience, and acceptance.

The Art of Acceptance : in words of master Ling, narrated by Arun. Accept something for what it is, not what it can be. Once you do, you can unlock it’s true potential.

Huh! What does that even mean, I asked. Arun giggled for a bit and said I was like you too, it took me sometime to understand what it truly meant. Let me know tomorrow, what you come up with said my new friend.

I arrived at my destination completely baffled, thinking what it truly meant.