Shona had not returned his calls. The day had receded into a gloomy, melancholic night. He stood in the balcony of his apartment, staring at the lights of the slow moving traffic on flyover, his individuality diffused into the haste urban population. A sense of self-pity arose. As he kept staring into the traffic unconscious of his existence for a brief moment, his vision blurred. There were no vehicles, people or roads identifiable. Parallel lines of red and yellow merged into one another. All the honking seemed to have suddenly stopped. Silence.
His phone started ringing, jolting him back to his own self. A halfhearted feeble hello greeted him. By the sound of her very voice, he knew something was amiss, something wrong.
“Hey, is something wrong?” he asked.
“You had called?”
Not an atypical response, but subtle hints of harboured worries.
“I have a feeling that something is deeply troubling you. Tell me!” he cajoled her again.
No response.
Only a day ago, she was over the moon over her new plans charted out for the week. New dresses, readying for change of job, swimming classes, upcoming getaway plans.
“If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, how can I help you?”
Nothing still. He waited, giving her time to absorb the gravity of his words. He would do everything needed to help her out of a sticky situation, would there be any. She knew this well.
Heavy breathing. A sigh. “I have a terrible headache. Busy day at the office”, she replied.
Headache had never been a worrisome factor. At least not a factor that would stop her from responding to his phone calls. If anything, the past few years had taught him that. Vexed, for a moment he pondered if he should coax her further, but gave up the idea.
“Or perhaps, it indeed is a terrible headache”. The traffic snarled as he lied to himself. His piqued sixth sense suggested otherwise. “What could it be?” A million abstract thoughts started racing through his mind. Eyes closed, deep breath. He composed himself.
“Look, Shona”, he said in a calm voice, “I don’t know what troubles you, and if there is any, here is a small trick that may help you every now and then. Whenever you feel low on life, close your eyes and think of the entire universe. Think how small and insignificant everything is in its comparison. This very world, with over a billion people, is indeed insignificant when compared to the billions of stars, planets and other astral bodies that populate this universe.
The troubles of your life, whatever they may be, are truly insignificant when compared to this grandeur. When you submit to the greatness of the universe, you will become humble by your true nature.
“But, what then?”
“As you discover humility, you may be able to perceive the pointlessness of many a thing. May it be ego powered fights and arguments, or dejection arising from unfulfilled desires and aspirations, you will realize that all of them are equally insignificant when compared to the grand nature of things. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and bask in the glory of this amazing universe for a moment. You may not be able to do away with your troubles, but you will definitely come to realize how insignificant and trivial they are when compared to this grand universe. This realization may help you stay contented in life.”
As he finished, his own words echoed through his mind. “The grand universe. The insignificant me. A speck of dust. An insignificant me.”