Some Dance to Remember, Some Dance to Forget

A few more greys, a few more books, a few more stories, a few more mistakes. The journey of life has gone on.

A couple of weeks back I received the sad news of a friend’s demise. The news, however, was quite dated by the time it reached me - about 6 years old. I spent a few days in disbelief, recollecting the wonderful times we had spent together, his visits to my house, my cooking special South Indian dishes for the die-hard Punjabi that he was, our long sessions of Uno with friends...

It also made me wonder why we had lost touch with each other in this walk-of-life! I looked back on my own life, the mix of people who had been part of my journey thus far - the wonderful ladies who had stood by me through the years, the gentlemen who had cared for me and the ones who took advantage of my affections for them. What was strange, though, was that the memories of those who took advantage of me seemed clearer than the others who simply made a fleeting presence.

I guess it’s because I remind myself of my mistakes, guarding against repeating them.

I made a list of all those people who had touched my life, even in the smallest way - people who had taught me things that I treasure today, people who loved me, people who disliked me, people who  inspired me to be the woman I am today. I also made a list of people that I had to apologise to - for having hurt them,in whatever way, inadvertently or otherwise. I sifted through my diary of contacts, my email contact lists and my phonebook and reached out each of them. 

Many of them responded back, happy to reconnect and pick up the ropes where we left them. Some didn’t respond. It didn’t matter that they didn’t. I had managed to revisit those moments of happiness in my life and rebuild on them. It’s not often that life gives one these opportunities! 

The lines from Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man play out in my mind: they have their exits and their entrances..

I borrow the title of this post from Eagle’s ‘Hotel California’…