Life's little moments

A loud bus horn woke me up with a start. I sleepily rubbed my eyes, wondering where I was. A quick look around was enough to tell me that I was stuck in the traffic at the infamous Haji Ali intersection.

I grumbled to myself about the traffic, thinking what the situation would be like once the Tata Nano floods the streets. I was in a mood to complain to someone on how my life sucks because I spend three hours a day stuck in traffic.

As I was scrolling through my phone book deciding whom to call and complain to, I glanced upwards out my window. An overcrowded bus was stuck in traffic next to me. A young child no older than six was sitting on his mother's lap, his tiny fingers tightly gripping the window grill. He looked thirstily into my car, staring at the bottle of Pepsi sitting cozily in the cupholder next to me. A young woman stood in the aisle of the bus, her one hand holding the strap hanging from the cieling of the bus. In her other arm was her crying baby, obviously unhappy at being jostled about a crowded bus.

What was a simple glance into the bus hit me like a train. I sheepishly turned to looking out the window on the other side of the car and switched on the cd player. The Haji Ali shrine gleamed in the evening sun, the peaceful ocean waves enhancing its grandeur.

I closed my eyes, and the sounds of the violin from Suite for Orchestra No.2 in D Major filled my subconscious mind. Feeling the warmth of the soft sunshine on my face; I realized how beautiful life is in all its little ways. A small smile escaped my lips. Sometimes it takes a traffic jam to remind you how lucky you are.