I don’t think anyone is exempt from taking good moments in life for granted. We all do it to some degree. But retrospective analysis is easy. Doing right thing at the right time, not so.

I had a very sweet English teacher in primary school. Curly, jet-black hair, sparkling dark skin, dimples bedecking her cheeks every time she smiled, she was truly one of a kind. When she smiled, no matter how sad I was, she managed to perk me up instantly. Luckily, I was not out of her favour as well. I was her best student.

At the time, my childish mind could not fathom that I would not always be blessed with as loving and caring a person as Sharon miss. Not only was she beautiful to look at. She was beautiful inside too. Only when I had to put up with tyrants, literally, in higher standards did I realise that a person like Sharon miss happens once in a lifetime. In class seven, we were assigned a despot of a maths teacher. He didn’t rest satisfied, it seemed, until he beat the hell out of a couple of his students for the most minor mistakes. Even though we were well into our teens, we used to shake with fear every time he entered our class. How much I missed Sharon miss then!

Unfortunately, I have no idea where she might be right now. If I could get hold of her just once, I could at least thank her for making my primary school so enriching and entertaining.

Then there was this shopkeeper a stone’s throw from our house. Whenever Narendra Dai spotted me, he used to beckon me to his shop and give me my favourite lollipop, free of cost. He was one of those persons who never stop smiling. I never saw him frown or speak a word in anger. Narendra Dai must be one of the most generous persons I have come across in my life. But I never thanked him once of my own accord. When I did, it was always under the pressure of my mom.

Grown up and having seen a bit of life, I realise one can ill afford to take these little acts of generosity for granted. Why go far, I even took the love and caring of my parents for granted. Wasn’t it duty? I am ashamed I ever thought so. We should learn to count our blessings. It is the only spiritual nourishment to keep us going when the going gets tough.