It happened this morning..

This morning, like any other day, I struggled to get out of bed...showered, got dressed and rushed through breakfast..I put my winter coat on and walked my way to the bus stop, fighting the wind, silently wondering when and if I would look forward to life with newfound enthusiasm..

I stood at the bus stop listening to some music mindlessly and observing people around me all of who seemed to be rushing with their lives...moving my gaze randomly from person to person, I wondered if their lives were as mechanical as mine.....that's when I saw her....

She was on the other side of the road, waiting to cross. I noticed that she moved with the help of a walker. Slowly, she pushed her way across, one step at time..all the cars waiting patiently on her..Soon, she joined me at the bus stop allowing me to take a closer look at her..She looked old and wrinkled..In her sixties maybe??
I asked myself, 'Is she really still working? At this age? In this state?'.Bus no 54 pulled up even before I could answer...She was the first one to enter..took a few minutes and then settled in one of the priority seats her walker in tow.

I occupied one of the seats at the back..but I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I am not very liberal with praise...but I must maintain that I was amazed at her independence, her will, her not wanting to give up and her endeavor to lead a normal life..despite her inability to walk. Most of all, I admired her for making it all look so easy even when she was not 'equipped' to lead a normal life..or so I thought..

I was a stark contrast...young, normal, a perfectly healthy individual who had a a great chance at a normal life. She was already putting me to shame when It started..
First she pulled out a tissue, wiped her faced and then neatly tucked the tissue into her sleeve. Next, she pulled out a little pouch which didn’t really interest me until I realized it was her 'Makeup Kit'. She took her glasses off and started with eye makeup...First came the eye shadow, a distinct shade of brown. Once done with that, the mascara come out next...She brushed her eyelids softly..first the left and then the right one..The driver braked her and she lost control of her walker and grabbed it just in time with her left hand..her brush still intact in the other hand.

The makeup only half done, she started sweating again...The hidden tissue came to the rescue..After dabbing her cheeks with it for a few seconds, it went back to where it came from. With her face pat dry, it was time to give those cheeks some color! Out came the bronzer. She used a few careful brush strokes on her cheeks until they were a pretty pink. Now it was time for the grand finale. To lend the finishing touch, out came a bright red lipstick!! She parted her lips and rubbed the stick very carefully on them. Finally, she inspected her look very critically in a small mirror and half smiled to herself which seemed to me a smile of satisfaction at her work of art..

No matter how shameless it made me look, my gaze remained fixated on her..At first, the makeup act seemed weird..'Oh Horror!..I would never ever do that in a public bus on the very front seat with every other person having access to my actions'..and yet, there she was..doing exactly that..oblivious to the whole world...No reservations at all..Nothing held her back..nothing seemed to hesitate her..
I marveled at her some more..admiring that carefree streak in her which for as long as I can remember, I've been devoid of..A 60 something, walker bound lady was a wonderful example of boundless enthusiasm...something that I was struggling to find...

She didn’t seem to care if people on the bus laughed at her for being her and finding her stupid or preposterous.. She didn’t seem to care if she was told that the eye shadow and mascara that she spend so many careful minutes applying are hidden behind her thick rimmed glasses or that the red lipstick is a tad too dark for her age. She went about her makeup routine, her enthusiasm unabated. It seemed to me like she was chose to look good for herself..to live for herself...which is something so many of us seem to have forgotten..
'When was the last time I did something for myself?..Something that made me happy..'....Silence..the only answer I receive when I don't really have an answer....

It was time to get off..As I moved towards the door, I looked at her and smiled to myself..To anyone else on the bus..she may have been a regular fellow passenger..but to me, she was an someone who'd helped me remember the little things about life that I had no memory of..

Each one of us derives inspiration from a lot of things in life. When we are least expecting it, someone shows up and inspires us in a strange, unanticipated manner..To me, it happened this morning!!