Tough Times Refine You
Loaded with fruits of the season, I’ve been seeing him make rounds of our colony, since I was a child.
His face glows with a saintly sheen and a smile dances around his lips, always.
And that’s when his life has had more tragedies than one can ever imagine.
I once asked about how he manages to smile despite all the setbacks.
He said sagely, “You have to be knocked out a bit by life to see the point of simple joys of sharing smiles with strangers, petting a dog, uneventful days… Tough times not only define but refine you!”
Linking this to Write’s Tribes 100 Words on Saturday – Picture Prompt
June 14, 2015 8:12 am|
That is true. But it’s not ‘knocked out a bit’, it’s ‘knocked out heavily’.
Destination Infinity
June 25, 2015 10:05 pm|
Depends… some learn early and some take a lot of knocking down to understand the same lesson 😉
June 14, 2015 10:22 am|
Ah you described him well, Shilpa! Nice interpretation.
June 25, 2015 10:07 pm|
Thanks Corinne. Is he your neighbourhood fruit seller?
June 14, 2015 11:49 am|
Simple joys of life… like “uneventful days”. I can so relate to that!
Good taken on the prompt!
June 25, 2015 10:08 pm|
True, I like the uneventful days too 😀 Thanks Kadambari.
June 14, 2015 12:54 pm|
That is so true, Shilpa! Tough times do have a role to play in our lives. But, how we pray we don’t have to face any!
June 25, 2015 10:10 pm|
True. Tough times shape and define us, but we dont want them in our life.
June 14, 2015 1:16 pm|
So true that tough times define and refine us. And so do the joys.
June 25, 2015 10:10 pm|
Yes, so do the joys. Thanks Suzy.
June 14, 2015 2:55 pm|
One sees and appreciates the beauty in life when its tough. A fruit and vegetable vendor used to frequent my childhood place and your post made me go down memory lane. Thanks Shilpa for nostalgia.
June 25, 2015 10:11 pm|
Glad this story resonated with you Kalpana 🙂
June 15, 2015 2:33 am|
Wise words spoken from someone who has endured so much pain! Great post! 🙂
June 25, 2015 10:11 pm|
Thank you Elly 🙂
June 15, 2015 8:25 am|
Hmm … good one.
June 25, 2015 10:11 pm|
Thanks Swathi 🙂
June 15, 2015 4:51 pm|
Kudos to his attitude and his wisdom 🙂 And to your story too.
June 25, 2015 10:12 pm|
Thank you Vinay. Glad you liked it 🙂
June 15, 2015 11:05 pm|
Absolutely..I totally agree with the last line. Simply yet powerfully told 🙂
June 25, 2015 10:13 pm|
Thanks Sushree 🙂
June 16, 2015 1:18 am|
A fine take on the prompt Shilpa. Life is a wonderful teacher, and they have seen both sides of the coin 🙂
June 25, 2015 10:12 pm|
True that!
June 16, 2015 2:11 pm|
Lovely – shadows and sunlight .. it’s how it is. Wise man, lovely photo thank you!
June 25, 2015 10:14 pm|
Yes, smiles and tears, ups and downs… that’s how life is. Thank you Susan 🙂
June 16, 2015 7:10 pm|
“Tough times refine you” – I like that, like that very much. For a piece of rock to become a diamond it needs a lot of polishing, a lot of rubbing, otherwise there is no sheen. Thanks Shilpa for this beautiful story.
June 25, 2015 10:18 pm|
Yeah, like they say, hard times are like a washing machine, they twist, turn and knock us around, but in the end we come out cleaner, brighter and better than before! Glad you liked this, Beloo 🙂
June 18, 2015 11:07 am|
Such an important lesson 🙂 Loved it ..One we all should remember
June 25, 2015 10:19 pm|
Glad you liked this story, Nabanita 🙂
June 19, 2015 2:12 pm|
wow! that was beautiful and you shared a great message there. Good job Shilpa!
June 25, 2015 10:19 pm|
Thank you Parul 🙂
June 19, 2015 7:47 pm|
Yeah! tough times do refine you.. And I’m currently using this time to rethink many things about my blog and my approach to it.
This poem really gave me a lift in spirits! 🙂
June 25, 2015 10:20 pm|
Hope you get the answers you are seeking, Mithila. Good luck 🙂
June 24, 2015 12:23 am|
Very true! Sometimes we tend to focus only on the bigger aspects of life that we forget that the smaller aspects are equally important and that we might be taking many things for granted.
June 25, 2015 10:22 pm|
True. Tough times help us to learn and value things that really matter.
April 6, 2016 8:22 pm|
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