The bench

This was a picture I had taken in Singapore.

The 12 yrold had smirked:: "Why would you want to take a picture of an empty bench?!!!"

Why indeed!

I think I've never seen an empty bench in India, because most benches seem much in demand in space starved urban cites, occupied as they are by couples trying to grab some 'together' time and a whole lot of each other in the process.

This solitary bench  spoke to me. It said "Come, sit down, no one will gawk at you or disturb you. Come and  watch the world go by."

and so i did, after shooing the boys away to go far away, ofcourse!

Have you ever done that, sitting down just by yourself and watching nothing go by?

That day i did just that, and as i sat there, surrounded by nature, my thoughts just came swirling around. It seemed that there are a whole lot of thoughts jostling for the right to be heard. Your worries, your hopes, your wishes  come gushing from the subconscious mind to the real.

and you wait and slowly they sort themselves in aan orderly fashion and let you think each thought with the attention it deserved.

Sometimes you think 'a what if' and feel regret. It's best to blow those thoughts away because it is no use dwelling over a thing done.

 You think of roads taken and some ignored. You wonder about your journeys in the future and whether you will be able to choose the path right for you.

and you take a deep breath, and feel peaceful and content.

That's why i love an empty bench.

there were so many in singapore

and none here.