A man was pacing around the lawn of our housing society, talking on the phone. He came across as a civilized and wealthy man. He was a tall good looking guy, who was in his mid-20s and was well dressed. I and some of my friends had decided to meet on the lawn, that’s when we noticed him. It was the first time any of us had seen him. Looking at his condition, it was evident that he was distressed about something. He rambled on the call “ Manage it properly. Otherwise, we will be in loss. I have built this company with hard work and dedication. I can’t bear the loss. Do whatever you want to but finish the work before the deadline. It’s a matter of my company’s reputation.”
Shortly we see an ambulance approaching. Some people came out, and after seeing them, the man started running. They caught the man. A doctor gave him a tranquillizer. Then they laid the man on the stretcher and took into the ambulance. We asked the doctor “Why did he give him the tranquillizer?” He replied, “I gave him the tranquillizer to calm him.”
We were puzzled. Various questions started to pop up in our minds. What is going on? Moments ago he was on the phone, then why did he run after seeing the ambulance? Why did they catch him? Why did they need to give him a tranquillizer? Is he ill or something? All these questions made the situation chaotic. Looking at our blank expressions, the doctor replied, “We are from a mental hospital. He ran from there. We came here to take him back.” All this information just added to the mystery. Now everyone was curious to know what might have happened. We all put our thinking caps on. I started to question the doctor’s intentions. How can a man who looked normal be mad? Is the doctor telling the truth or this a trap to kidnap him?
As all this was unfolding my neighbour, Mr Choksy came there with his dog Rufus. Mr Choksy could be described as a pale and loafing individual who has lived in society for years. I went and enquired him to see if he had an idea about this situation. Luckily he did. He told me, “Before me, Rushikesh was staying at my house.” Now at least I had a name. Then he went ahead and filled me in about Rushikesh’s background. He told me,” A couple of months ago he was a struggling entrepreneur, who wanted to be successful. He dreamt of becoming an owner of a big firm but managed to open a small one only.”
Opening a company is a tremendous achievement. It does not matter if it is a small or big one. But Rushikesh was not satisfied with that and always wanted more. This was the image I made of Rushikesh. He aimed for the stars but never focused on the little things he had. As a result, he got into a huge loss. “He had it coming”, I say to myself. He lost everything. To become successful again, he needs to start it from scratch. Due to this, he went into trauma.
He kept overthinking the situation and felt sorry for himself. Some days passed, and he started assuming himself as an owner of a company that he always dreamt to build. He would often act as if he is a rich man with a self-owned company.
By the time Mr Choksy wrapped up Rushikesh’s story, the ambulance had left. I no longer had any doubts. I made my way over to my friends. They started to ask questions. I briefed them about all I learned from Mr Choksy.
As I was narrating everything to them, one said that this case had made headlines. Also, added that Rushikesh had attempted suicide but was unsuccessful. That’s when I remembered people used to gossip about a guy who attempted suicide but eventually landed in a mental asylum. We took everything into account and concluded, “Our mind can be our biggest enemy”. He could have taken care of the small company and worked harder to grow the company. Instead, he got into this situation just because of his mind. Aiming for big and seeing dreams is a good thing, but don’t let it take a toll on you. Or worse destroy you. So the simple answer to all your questions is YOUR MIND. Your mind can either make you or break you. Train it wisely.
– Drishti & Khushboo
Utkarshini Journal 