Life is beautiful

It’s probably the fourth time I’ve watched this movie, but its incredible how every time, I come away with something new. I just spent my spring break hiking in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. On my way back home from the airport, I was on a local bus. Unlike the ones that run in the University area (OSU), these COTA buses had more local workers than students.

There isn’t another way to say it – these people were poor. Most of them were wearing old and worn out clothing. Some of them were also well advanced in years. There was one old lady who must have been about eighty, she was wondering when ‘smell-vision’ and ‘taste-vision’ would become reality, just like television. Another, was nearly delirious, had her white hair hanging loose, and gave you the impression of a person sleep walking. The journey lasted two hours, and I was witness to at least fifty people, all in impoverished conditions travel in the same bus. I know it’s illogical, that I might deserve a vacation, and that at least some of these people had brought themselves down in life despite having opportunities. However, at the end of the two hours, I felt like I was choking in the bus, and could hardly manage to control my tears. I’d spent an amount equivalent to their monthly salaries, on one trip. And at that moment, I really felt guilty. It does not really mean anything, for I doubt if I’ll give up on future trips to different places. But I realized that although my vacation was well earned, it was hard to stay happy when I saw those unfortunate souls. I tried to ignore them, and to forget.

Well, I got onto the connecting bus, (My journey had three connecting buses) and proceeded to think of other things. A man got onto the bus, and started asking around for directions to the swimming pool. My ears perked up at the mention of one of my favorite sports, and I told him that I could take him to the Ohio State swimming pool. We started talking about the sport, and he mentioned that his daughter was taking part in a swimming competition that evening, and he was on his way to cheer her on. I told him about my short stint as a swimmer, and about what I was now doing. As we parted ways, I think something on my face must have told him that I was upset. He simply said – “Don’t ever let anything or anybody pull you down. Some things might seem unjust, but the important thing is to never lose hope. There is a joy in achieving, that just money can never buy”. He could not have said it at a better time. Although he was mistaken about the reason for my sad face, his words told me that I was feeling guilty for the wrong reasons.

Those people on the bus might have been poor in material terms, but were probably rich in other ways. I realized how offended I would be if some millionaire who took a cruise every other month decided to feel sorry for me because I was ‘poor’. I’d fight all the way to prove that money had nothing to do with happiness. And here I was, making the same mistake. As I finished watching the movie, I saw that if a person could see the funnier side of life in a concentration camp, and could even manage to savor the last few moments of his life as moments that made his son laugh, indeed riches have little to do with happiness.