I have occasionally questioned how prepared we actually are for a sudden issue at hand that may challenge us in a way we may have forgotten things can.
When I look around, I see people comfortable in their lives with a belief of certain safety, some may refer to it as an illusion of safety, but I would refer to it as placing your beliefs on a brighter side. Doesn’t it feel wonderful if for a moment you feel like the concerns don’t exist anymore? The kind of feeling you may have on a vacation, sitting near the window of a hotel room staring at far away mountains and sky. We want a touch of that in our lives as well.
At the same time to deny that the wrong can happen can literally end up inviting it home.
The first time I realised this was when a theft took place nearby in a house, late at night, the thief got into the society through garden fence of a house, then he just walked inside the unlocked gates of a house, then through the unlocked door inside the stairwell, next he went up the stairs to an unlocked room on the top floor where something valuable was kept, in a locker; so there he needed some hard work to break the lock and he took the valuable and basically went away quietly. It wasn’t until late in the morning the next day that it was discovered. There were seven people sleeping in the house and no one heard a sound.
We do not know the reason why everything was unlocked in the first place, but the owner was hysterical, pointing at rising crimes in society, referring to his thoughts of leaving the country and then blaming the security guard for everything. But what I could see was that a carelessness had risen from this overconfidence in everything being safe and sound.
The thief was not seen and not caught. At this point whether he was he or she is not known, it’s a guess. The thief obviously knew the house and the people living there, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he or she is still going to the house for whatever purpose he or she was consciously called to the house in the first place.
Nothing happened for several years and the initial alertness of people gradually faded away, but there were security cameras around now.
The occurrence however repeated itself, this time in broad daylight, the thief pretending to be a delivery person, entered right through the main gate of society, he even had an identification card. Then he entered the unlocked house gate of a different house and walked away with an expensive bicycle. He even took the time to close the gate, admire the flowers in the garden of the house and then he circled around the area enjoying his ride on the bicycle, even stopping near the park to catch his breath sitting on the bench and then he was off.
Wait there was something different this time, there was an interaction between the thief and security guard on the exit gate of the society. The thief had asked for a sip of water from the security guard’s bottle of water. Yes, that was the interaction.
I do believe letting go of that alertness always presents that possibility of things going wrong and it’s regarding all aspects of life. Living life with positivity is still the key, but a little attention to the unpleasant possibility can go a long way in keeping one out of most troubles.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 