Beyond the Green, into the Greys
The Extraordinary Day
[Music] Beyond the green and into the grace. Sharing my life with you, yours truly, hyphenated grace. [Music] It was an ordinary day. I got up in the morning, did my usual things, got ready and drove off to work. The days seemed to offer me nothing special. I spoke to some students, chatted with colleagues, had the regular chai and snacks, played with the campus dogs, fed them, and stayed wakenly at my laptop. I think it was almost noon when my phone rang. It was a WhatsApp call, and the number was not a familiar one. Normally, I would ignore such calls. I have been scammed and spammed several times. But I picked up the call, and I heard a familiar voice from the other end. She seemed hesitant, unsure, and then mentioned my name. When I said yes, she asked again, mentioning the name of the school where I had studied once upon a time. And then she said her name. Do you remember me? I couldn't believe my years. After decades, it was my long-lost friend calling me. Somewhere, sometime, we had lost each other. We were too busy building our homes, our careers, our future. And she had left the country settled abroad. And I was never keen on joining the school or college Facebook groups and WhatsApp communities. After decades, we found each other. And it was an experience that is to be lived beyond words, beyond any kind of expression. We spoke excitedly, shared our life stories, of course, so much to be exchanged, and finally, we cut the call. For her, it was midnight, and for me, it was office hours. Of course, we have been calling and messaging each other since then. But that's not really what I wanted to talk about today. My day, that was just another ordinary day, had been magically transformed. The call changed everything. I was thrilled. The joy of reconnecting with my childhood friend was overflowing. My room felt brighter. My child was tasty, or my stride suddenly had a swag. I could see sunlight filtering in my room. And my campus dogs seemed to sense my excitement, and they jumped around me, asking for more treats. How quickly the day turned into an extraordinary one, a memorable one, a pleasant one. Sometimes, a call can turn that ordinary day into a frighteningly extraordinary one as well. When I got that call about my father having slipped and fell, the moment changed my life later, of course. But at the moment, it was the uncertainty, the fear, the anxiety, the dread, that changed my perception of the day into an extraordinary one, a traumatic one. Yes, it's her perception, right? Can you think of such days in your life when a phone call, a sudden entry or exit of a person, a letter, a memo, a meeting, an email, changed your day, altered your perception of the day, made it into an extraordinary one. Are you someone who prefers the calmness, almost boring routine of the ordinary day? Or the exciting suspense-filled, sometimes dread-filled, extraordinary day? Do you hope for the extraordinary in your life? I would say there is always that possibility of the extraordinary just around the corner, waiting for you, just there. Sometimes you miss it, sometimes it catches up with you to offer you some thrills, some heartaches, some love, some disgust, and sometimes inconsolable grief. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]