Half empty or half full

Every time I go out with my husband Vishnu in the car, we generally end up having at least a few words on the way he is driving. Don't mistake me, he is a very careful driver. But the trouble is that sometimes he is just a wee bit too careful and I keep telling him he is like a sitting duck just waiting to be hit.

He normally goes to work by mid morning to afternoon and does not come back till late night. The other day it was already 10.30 pm and there was no sign of him at the door. I tried calling him, but there was no response. I did not get inordinately worried. It was not abnormal for him to return even at 11 pm on occasions and sometimes he would not pick up the mobile if he was driving. So I continued to watch my television serial.

Fifteen minutes later the phone bell rang and he informed me that there had been an accident and he would be delayed. Going by the tone in which he said it, I thought there had been an accident on the way, because of which traffic was held up. It was only later in the conversation that I realized that it was his car that had been involved. He had been hit from behind by a speeding tempo and the force was sufficient for him to be pushed forward and he hit the rear of the car in front of him.

I felt a twinge of worry, but as he sounded so normal and said clearly that no one had been hurt, I felt relieved. The car, however, was badly damaged. It took him some time to go to the police station and report the incident and come back home.

When friends and relatives came to know of the event, there were mixed reactions. But the majority were “Oh, my God, this is so terrible”. People were quite evidently upset and they must have wondered at my being so cool. My sister's husband was very upset. He told my sister when she got back home from work that there was bad news and that Vishnu had been involved in an accident. Vishnu's reaction was “Oh, it is just a bad phase going on”.

Later my sister called me back to find out exactly what had happened and we were discussing the matter. Look at the whole episode this way. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. I don't even want to look at the worst case scenario. It is hard to say what it would have been. But it was sheer good fortune that nothing happened beyond the car being damaged and the unpleasant running around to the police station to lodge an FIR against the tempo driver (hit and run), to the RTO to get the car surveyed, having to contact insurance (which is relatively seamless these days compared to earlier times) and having to do without the car for at least one week

In this case, I wouldn't want to say it was a bad phase. It was indeed sheer good fortune that things panned out the way they had. Vishnu had been fortunate he was driving a solid car, which took the impact without hurting him. He had been driving slow enough, so the impact was not too bad. Although he was dazed, the person in front had noted the number of the tempo which fled the scene. He was fortunate to have had a lot of friends who helped him go through the formalities, otherwise it would have been so tough.

As they say, “all's well that ends well”. It all comes down to the question of how we choose to view the glass – half empty or half full.

We face so many situations in life when we are really shaken to the bottom of our foundations and then tend to blame our fate or ill-luck. We would be so much happier if we were to stop for a moment and think of what was positive in that episode and count our blessings instead.

 

thanks so much vijima for your first feedback.

 

thanks spidey. nice to see you in this forum. very true, material damages can always be replaced.

 

dear dnm,

thanks for your fb. true, it is always easier to go through any pain (mental or physical) oneself, than to have to watch a near and dear one suffer. so too having to worry about their safety.