Life is a Pencil

When I was young, I used to dream of pencils that were colorful, sharpened and beautiful. No matter from which side I tried to view the pencils, I could not see the entire picture. I just saw a side of it or an angle.

I always figured life was like a pencil. When its smooth, it writes better and faster, if its hard and rough, it has its uneven edge and sharpness to it. Eventually today, out of the blue, I came across this article, and it surprised me. It was something I used to think about when I was a little girl with ponytails.

“Does life have a purpose? Does it have real meaning? Is life anything more than a brief span on earth, with nothing but eternity on either side of this physical existence? This is the question of the ages, a riddle that has challenged human beings since they came to be. Why am I here? Why do I exist? Thousands of years ago, the biblical King David wondered about the purpose of man just as we do today. EVERY ONE OF US WAS CREATED FOR A PURPOSE, BUT FEW UNDERSTAND WHAT GREAT PURPOSE IS.”

A simple incident of using a pencil to hold my long hair in place at work today reminded me of my childhood dream to write about. Mind you, I don’t think I actually have enough time to think nowadays. Take for example, something that happened a few dawns back. As I was getting to work in a rush, my finger nail broke half way through, it hurt very much. I looked around for something similar to a band aid but couldn’t. Than, I realized that my office had a first aid box with lots of band aids. So, I went to work holding my finger delicately all the way while taking extra care of not bumping my hand against anything that would trigger pain.

I got back home almost at night that day, and realized that my finger nail still sorely needed a band aid or better still, have it cut. I had bumped my finger several times during the day and each time, I winced in pain and realized I needed it to be tended and kept putting it off.

That same day, I came home in a cab, which didn't have a wiper on it. Something that you really don’t get to notice until it rains. And it rained that day, heavily, halfway home, the driver to my utter horror stuck out his head, and drove the car through a busy highway, rain pelting down his face and flying through the window and drenching me to the bone. It took almost an hour to get home safe and sound, but I was so petrified, not to mention drenched that I went home shivering with a bit more than the cold. Now, I always check if the cab has a wiper, along with other necessities before I happily agree to ride in it.

Today, I got home and reflected on how to make my situation less stressful. So far, I have listed things down that I would require changing, especially as things are looking a lot more stressful in the next few days. I don’t know if I am going to dream of pencils again tonight, but at right now, I have a pen that works and that’s a blessing.