E for ... #AtoZChallenge2016

"Extra" 

Some days back when I was placing an order for Pizza, they told me that an offer is going on and I’ll be getting two Pizzas instead of one for the same price. Awe! What a happy thing to get something extra without much effort.

Who doesn’t like to a little bit of something extra in life? An extra off day, extra discount, extra chocolates, or just an extra hour of sleep. Anything much more than the usual are happy news for all of us. 

Then why not an extra effort to listen, to talk, to care, to sympathize, to empathize, to be kind or just to be good? The world definitely needs all this. We keep hearing stories about people ending up their life. Students, teenagers, celebrities, successful people, mothers, wives, entrepreneurs, and who not. Here in my locality, in the last one year more than five entrepreneurs committed suicide when they started seeing a downfall in their business. Three teenagers took their own life because they couldn’t handle the exam pressure. And recently a celebrity too. Why?

Is that because when the world is so advanced we don’t have a solution for certain problems? Or quitting is much easier than finding out solutions? Every nook and corner we got professionals to help us, we got thousands of friends in our network just a buzz away, hundreds of friends in our Whatsapp just a “Hey” away, close knit ones in our groups and family just around us. We share and tag and check in every small detail that’s happening in our life. When we eat out, we check in that. When we buy a new dress, a selfie is mandatory. When we are bored, even that is declared to the world. Then when hesitate when we really need help. Why withdraw when we are in need of that extra love in life?

We living beings need constant assurance from our loved ones that we are loved, cared and looked after. We need that extra hug at times. We need to have that extra time with someone we are comfortable with at some point of our life. I believe this world and the people around us are willing to give us that, if and only if we reach out. Only if we take that extra step to talk about our inner turmoil. 

No one is free of problems. But there’s always a solution for that, but that’s not giving up.

Reach out. That stranger who’s sitting next to you in the metro may have that extra bit of goodness, smile, care and ears to listen to you and give you comfort when you seriously need it. 

And to that stranger, maybe you can offer the extra comfort he/she needs. Be ready to give out and reach out when in need.