This is about family and how, if you plan, it makes all the difference.

Family.

What would we be without one, haven’t you ever wondered?

Lonely and devoid of a safe haven to anchor bearings every once in a while.

That life isn’t a bed of roses, is but a well-established fact. But having the support of your near and dear ones does make it bearable. They help you navigate, avoiding the thorny patches as much as possible. And even if you somehow misstep into troubled waters, they save you from drowning and swim back to the shore with you. But remember, you have the power through smart planning to seize the reigns of your life.

Talking about a family’s shared journey, I wish to tell you about one who I knew way back in Shillong. They were our neighbors, a family of four living in the cottage next to ours. They had two daughters, both in my school. Now, it was the month of February which I should tell you is very windy in that part of the world. Extremely windy in fact.

So, imagine what would happen to a small fire on one such windy February afternoon?

I’ll tell you.

It would quickly turn into a raging ball of fiery fury destroying anything it touches. That’s what happened many years back to their home. It was completely gutted in an unfortunate fire and our neighbors ended up losing everything they owned.

It’s a scary feeling, isn’t it?

Everything you own, every piece of clothing, valuables and basically your entire home just gone in a matter of a few hours.

It was a sad, sad day when that fire broke out. We tried, my parents and the other families of the locality, to help them in every way possible after that horrible, horrible incident.

But do you know who helped them the most?

They did, themselves. They went through that time together as a family. And the fact that uncle and aunty had been farsighted enough to have planned for such eventualities made it even easier for them. 

So, in spite of having been dragged back to the start, they were actually miles ahead in the journey.

I was just a little girl then, all scared that the fire would reach my room, my books. But when I saw those two girls going about life just as they did before, perhaps with even more vigor, I knew that no matter what, if you have a plan, your life will always be secure.

They continued in their jobs, the children did well in school and they even changed their new house into a loving home. 

They crossed a blazing river of mishap and came out stronger and even more successful on the other shore.

#KhudKoKarBuland.

Wonderful, isn’t it? A fearless journey by four, a fearless journey by a family and all it took was a little far-sighted planning.