AUNTY Toto was not her real name. Her name was Mrs Dubey, and she had every kind of problem that you could think of, resting on her shoulders.
Her husband had left her, her children had married wrong, her grandchildren were a source of worry and finally she found that her body was being attacked by a dreaded cancer.
Yet there was never a day when the passengers on the local train she travelled in to work every day, didn’t hear her voice, rising over the din and telling everybody a joke.
There wasn’t a day when those in the office she worked in, at an age when most others retire, didn’t see the smile on her face.
Aunty Toto seemed the happiest woman in the world. There you were on your birthday or wedding anniversary, wondering how the rest of the world had forgotten the date and the phone would ring and you would hear Aunty Toto’s voice cheerfully greeting you. Very, very few people knew that her life was full of suffering.
She did not load her troubles onto people. Her friends and relatives loved to be with her, not just because she made them feel special, but because she infused positive energy in to them.
How unlike many I meet throughout the day. The sun is shining outside and the day looks bright and full of hope and then you meet this neighbour of yours just outside your door.
“How’s business?”, you ask and then realize too late that you have asked the wrong question.
“The money market is tight,” he says dismally as he walks to his chauffeur driven Mercedes. Obviously he’s been able to fit his wallet quite comfortably into the tight market. But he’s not going to let you get away without sprinkling a dose of pessimism into your day.
Aunty Toto lived with a smile on her face, and even though troubles tried to push her down, her buoyancy kept her afloat and lifted her into the skies where she lived a life of happiness. And the same happiness she spread around her into all those she came into contact with every day.
I never heard her pray, but I can imagine her prayer. “God, give me not just the strength to tackle the days problems but the joy of not getting affected by them.
Help me to look beyond those troubles and enjoy the life you have given me.” God’s Positive energy. It’s yours for the taking. When someone tries to put a bad thought into your mind, say something positive.
I would even go a step farther and tell you to avoid the company of the gloomy but that would most probably leave you a lonely person! Just don’t get affected by them. You have been given this day to live and be happy. Like Aunty Toto, do likewise..!
