A fable of Love and Life for New year by Suresh. Copyright Suresh 2012
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It’s New Year as usual, Town is beautifully glowing with lights as I take a midnight stroll, and there is something about New Year! People just feel something new is going happen & things are going to be better, old resolutions just for few days find new life.
As I pass the main street, bunch of young drunkards are over excited to wish everyone, On this same street and on similar nights I have been called by my skin color and by four letter words. But not today! Today It seems like world is a nicer place.
At this time of the year!! I love to take midnight walks nearby river bridge. Every New Year, this river and bridge suddenly becomes a Runaway Bride@!…Overflowing!, Giggling with sound, Lit up with light!! And with the noisy songs of the city, it’s fantastic. I just stand by the bridge to savour the beauty of this town.
Tonight I see my friend Father John on the bridge, still in his pastor uniform under the leather jacket. He sees me and calls me out ” Hey ugly dear one!!, Come over I have two glasses and wine bottle, I have been waiting for a beautiful lady! But looks like my luck isn’t in my pocket! I have to settle for an ugly guy!” I smile as I know John for over 30 years! He loves to cut jokes at my expense! I tell him “John, You are ugly and no woman ever liked you! I heard this from reliable source!”
John looks at me and shouts loudly “my friend! You want wine or not! You can’t bloody insult me and expect me to pour wine, do you?” I tell him “Sorry”
He asks me “Who is your reliable source?” and I let a big grin on my face and tell John” it’s your Mom , John!” and John Laughs hysterically and says “if you want to know women, you have to stop talking to my Mom!”
We both laugh our bellies out! As we settle with our wine glass and find a nice little corner on bridge, John fills two glasses of wine!
Before I could pick up my glass and say cheers! John tells me “Slow my friend! Where is your prayer? In fact it’s OK to go to Church and not pray! But drinking Wine and you don’t pray? Oh! You are committing big sin , not the one easily forgiven!
I raise my eyebrows-in question mark and John tells me ” Wine, WINE, Wine, my dear friend, Wine comes from same root as divine‘ and he goes on without waiting for me to respond.
“Wine is the most beautiful discovery of man, he failed to find God in every moment so he discovered wine! In wine man discovers and uncovers the root he has forgotten, that is Happiness is his core being!! Wine gives him eyes from which world looks beautiful, Infact this universe is always beautiful but you don’t have eyes to see. Wine gives you eyes to see this world beautifully. Wine gives you a song to sing and wine gives you a dance to dance! And my friend that’s how you live in this world! With a dance and a song…”
“……Wine gives you heart to laugh and stay light, suddenly you have no other moment important more than now, because you can’t have any other moment when you are drunk. Drunkards move slowly not because they are drunk, because that’s how you should be in first place, Slow and full of awareness.”
“….My friend, Wine is a reminder to you that Life can be better, Wine is a taste of what divine tastes like!. Infact if you can be drunk with divine! Then you found your life!”
“…Wine is an every moment reminder that you need to find Divine! Be careful my friend! Please drink both wine and life carefully, take every sip of life with awareness and with prayerfulness. Do not insult wine by drinking wine with out smelling aroma. You can smell it if you know your breathing! Just be aware of breathing then you can smell the aroma of Divine and Life everywhere!”
“…..I am still holding my glass while John looks at his glass and tells me one final time before drinking “My friend on this New year, I wish you wine and Divine! May every moment of your life be as new as a sip of this wine! May you smell every moment with your breath, may you get drunkard with Divine rest of your life,, Hic hic hip hip hurray!”
I lift my glass too but slowly and say “Happy New year John! I wish you wine and Divine!”
_ End of the fable
Suresh
