Comfortably Numb

Every afternoon after lunch, at work, I take a stroll through the campus. A 5 minute stroll which is very pleasant given the kind of campus I work out of. Once, I noticed there were a bunch of guys who were standing in the shade and having a casual discussion and seemed to be enjoying it. As I got closer I could see, one of them dished out a handful of mint candies and handed one over to each of them. All of them in a swift move opened the wrapper and threw the candy into their mouth and in a follow-through; with precision of a Federrer back-hand dumped the wrapper into the lawn. These were well educated, over-paid executives who just did that. And this, when there are dustbins all around the campus!

But I did nothing. I walked past them and came back to my desk. I do that often when I come to think of it. I walk away from what seemingly is wrong, small or big. I just get along with my life. Roads are messy, politicians are crooks, office is political, busses are rickety, drivers are arrogant, prices are rising, drains are clogged, hotter days, traffic is slower, shop keepers are ruder, bomb blasts are a routine… and still my life just goes on. The plane crashed, a bomb blast took a train apart, a full family dies on the way to meet an ailing relative, a seasoned driver and a very charitable & helpful person dies of a small mistake – took his seat belt off while on a highway… I am still in status quo.

I feel the pain when I hear all this… from a wrapper shot into the lawn to the state of mind of a 4 yr old boy who has lost every one from his family in one shot. I feel scared. I feel worried, thinking life could be so short. But the strangest thing is, I feel numb.

I feel numb, and a song comes back to me time and again…

The child is grown.
The dream is gone.
And I have become,
Comfortably Numb