WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN? – MY TAKE

Last week I was on my way to university. I was stressed out because I wasn’t getting the ticket I wanted and all my friends already got it. Also, there was some pressure regarding the collection of convocation materials. Basically, I was running out of time and there was a ridiculous amount of traffic that day. It took us more than 30 freaking minutes to just get out of Uttara – the area I live in.

But as I was cursing my country’s traffic situation in the middle of multiple cars almost crossing each other, something happened. Usually, there are beggars running around from one car to the next in search of alms and almost no one pays any heed to them, including me. Today I wasn’t going to either.

An old man with a long white beard, clothed fully in white garments and a white turban, came along. I naturally thought this is just another beggar going around and so, having an already irritable day, I settled my mind that I will just nod my head when he comes to my car. But instead of coming to mine, he chose to go to the car on my left and begged.

The passengers in it said no, as usual. But then the old man started a rant, an emotional one. He started at least a minute long speech being furious at how small-minded the passenger is. It seemed he was in real need of money. I had my headphones on at that time and didn’t want to fall for any emotional bait. So I didn’t take the earphones off but I kept watching him from the corner of my eyes.

Oh, the desperation! Even the driver in that car gave him some money, but not the passengers. Ultimately, they surrendered and gave him like 5 taka, which didn’t seem much to him. He still looked deeply troubled and hopeless.

Now since I had my headphones on, I can’t really tell what his situation was. But, his desperation reminded me of the crucial helplessness my whole family went through at a point. When my mom was on the deathbed, all of us were completely helpless and directionless about what to do. We kept asking ourselves and each other – WHAT is the one foolproof way we can bring her back into existence?

As I was having the nostalgia attack, this man then came to my car’s window and knocked. I was almost in a trance by his helplessness and just opened up my purse. I was planning to give him 10 taka at most because I’m just a fresh graduate with no proper job yet. But then he desperately started saying “100tk! Please 100tk! 100tk.” And my mind remembered that painful experience my family had. If that day someone told us, a 100tk from strangers can save your mom, we would go on the streets exactly like this.

I gave him the 100tk. He seemed genuinely grateful and blessed me. I nodded my head in appreciation and smiled a little bit. The trance was still on. It just hit me that, if mom’s death was not a part of my life’s story, I would have never helped this man. I would never even consider giving him 100tk for real. Because, who in my age or condition does that?

So, maybe, all the bad things happening to us, are all just milestones in our emotional growth. The more vulnerable moments you face, the more pain you go through, the more you become an emotionally intelligent person. Maybe the bad experiences can bring out the good in you which even YOU didn’t know of.

Photo Courtesy: Pascal Campion Art