It was the time when I was vacillating between continuing in a lucrative corporate job and getting back to the legal profession. More than a decade of my life in corporates had taken its toll on me both physically and mentally. Losing parents at that time just put me in a tight conundrum. After much deliberation with family and friends and after giving a lot of thought, I decided to leave my job and resume my legal profession. There is a world of difference between taking a decision and standing by it, and both proved a challenging task to me then. As misfortunes do not come alone, I had to undergo a back surgery in the meantime. Soon after, all hell broke loose when the lockdown was declared.
Things were not taking shape as expected since the lockdown got extended from time to time. All the reserves got exhausted in no time. This is when I began life again from scratch with the unconditional support of a few friends. The second innings not only showed the true colours of the people around me but also showed the brighter side of those with whom I worked nearly a decade together in a different trajectory. Though the relation with them was on a professional level, everyone helped put me back on track of a rejuvenated life. Gradually, the life graph started creeping upward. The smile on my face and confidence were back.
When I sit back and take stock, I feel gratitude for these people who helped me regain my life. Yes, gratitude. They had the option of saying no and they were never under any obligation to rescue me since it was my personal decision to leave my job and take up the legal profession. Everyone knows this profession is full of ups and downs with no immediate dividends, but still I survived just because of the timely support of these people. In these days of transaction-like relationships, terms and conditions are embedded and “give and take” is the unwritten rule. For these bunch of wonderful people with whom I worked and the awesome friends with whom I spent my life, I might not have done any good to them.
But in an inexplicable way, they had helped me get back that glow and flow lost in the day-to-day challenges during the pandemic. Never thought sharing, caring, cheering, discussing, advising, celebrating, mentoring, listening and spending time with the right people would reap such rich dividends in my life. The greatest learning for me is to realise the saying that what you believe in becomes “values”.
The support, the confidence, the backing and a silent whisper of these people that we are there for you always had made me experience the value called “gratitude” in its full glory. To have this wonderful experience, being with right people, right thoughts, right communication and right actions are the only investment. Yes, gratitude still exists and will exist forever.
