‘No tiger, sorry. No leopards either L’ said the naturalist. This was the story of my first jeep safari into the famous reserve forest, the tiger sanctuary. And this was after getting up at 430 am, and rushing to the line to get a good seat in the jeep…
Not one to give up easily, I went in the same evening. The resort staff was emphatic that evening safari’s are the right opportunity to spot a lot of carnivores, especially tigers………….at least leopards. And excitement grew, when the naturalist said a tiger was spotted on the road, and two leopards, that same day.
We saw many wonderful animals and birds – a family of wild dogs, barking deer and sambar, foxes, wild boar, wild fowl, a vulture, a snake, quite a few herds of elephants……..
Suddenly, the monkeys starting making warning calls, and we waited, jeep switched off, with bated breath for the ultimate sight; Some rustling in the bushes, a strong stink, indicating something nearby, more monkey calls and then………….Nothing!
As I came back to the resort, I asked myself if I should feel disappointed, or should I not? After all, it was a tiger sanctuary, and the star of the show is the tiger, then the leopard. I did not see either. So, I should be disappointed – as all the others were. Many even felt a bit cheated – how dare the tiger not show itself after all that drama!
But what about the many animals and birds we spotted? They were wonderful too. The family of wild dogs put on a show for us; the baby elephant was such a treat to watch; the large herds of deer were amazing! Don’t they count? Can I allow myself to be delighted, for the sights I saw, rather than focus on the animals I didn’t see? Even the experience of waiting to sight the tiger, the excitement of the wait, was something to remember.
I decided I will keep the joy, the wonder, and forget the disappointment. I invested time, money and effort into this trip – I wanted to make it count. Take away as many great memories as I can, rather than fixate on the one memory I wanted but did not get.
I think very often this is the case in life too. We focus so much on something we desire, get busy working hard for it, chasing it, that we lose sight of the many things we have and we continue to get and enjoy. As a result, we go through many good and wonderful experiences, small joys and victories, completely oblivious, unacknowledged, unnoticed!
We are busy in the quest for the elusive big dream that we are chasing – the elusive tiger in our life. So focused are we on the big goal that the small joys and wins fade into insignificance, coming and going unnoticed. I have decided that I will be mindful, conscious of these little nuggets and savour them to the fullest.
I am not suggesting we settle for second best, or we don’t aspire high. Neither am I suggesting that we don’t work hard, don’t focus and get serious about the large goals and dreams.
I am suggesting that we don’t forget to acknowledge and appreciate and enjoy what we have and achieve in the process of striving towards our aspirations. After all, it is one life, each day is a perishable commodity, every experience is unique, and the second that just went by, is never
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going to come back, ever!