~ Reflections ~

If I was being honest, I'd have to be admit that I am facing a midlife crisis... I mean what is with all my muscles telling me that they need some extra stretching, and my spine giving me subtle indications that its time to start exercising.. my mind continuously second guessing all decisions at work and home... or my belly which has suddenly chosen to appear after 40 year.... Sigh !!!  Infact midlife would be an inaccurate description... this is probably 2/3rd of my life gone by.. in a swoosh.... Recently, I managed to do a vacation (finally!) with my college friends.. and what struck us was that the theme appears to be common... parents at a stage where health is a concern... our lives at a stage where we are getting wake up calls.. children growing up in a world of technology and often a sense of entitlement.... and all of us just reliving our yesteryears....  Is this just a phase where my mind is freaking out... I hope so :) But I need to rein in all my thoughts, and take ...

Have you ever encountered someone with a neurological condition in your daily life... It makes me wonder how anyone can cope with something like this... physical disability is one thing.. but mental imbalance due to things beyond your control is scary... My workplace had one such person who is a Schizophrenic, who was recently fired... I have not worked with him ever in close quarters, so I can't say what the "output" of all his work was... but to think that one would suddenly be deemed useless is very scary.. As if to reinforce the emotion, I happened watch Still Alice , an movie nominated for Oscars, for which Julianne Moore, the protagonist, went to win the award for the Best performance for 2014.  It is scary to think that one can slowly (or is it too quickly) lose memories, thoughts, speech and eventually control over our own life... I wouldn't wish a neurological disease on even my worst enemy, leave alone a friend.  But are we doing enough... ...

Someone very rightly once said "Health is Wealth". We may be rich or poor, young or old... what makes are life better is a life free of any illnesses. And keeping our body & its wellness intact seems to be becoming an expensive affair... n ot just in India, but globally. People running this business are faced with the problem of deciding between making the business break even v/s doing what the hospital is there for, that is take care of its patients in the best, most efficient way (the two needn't be mutually exclusive though). Since building even a decent hospital/medical care setup takes loads of money, it is but natural for the people taking the initiative to look out to banks.... However, private equities wanting to put in money (and expecting 25 - 30 % returns in exchange) is a dangerous proposition to my mind... Whether it is Max group, Fortis or any of the other ones, one can easily note the trend in their billing...  excessive tests, unnecessary scans...

It suddenly hit me that the year is about to come to an end... This time of the year is normally when I sit down to think what have been the high points and low points of the year.... I don't exactly do this try accounting for the year that has, as usual, zoomed by...  I do this because somewhere, it makes me identify, more clearly the people/things that count to me the most... moments that have clearly left a mark, and are now a part of me...  Almost every year, most of the high points are contributed by my family... close friends... whom we often take for granted the most.. This year has also left a lot to seek... a healthier life for everyone... take a break from work more often... and some growth in work & family... But in the middle of all this.. some highs & some lows... I feel that the year went by fine... And hope that we have even better ones ahead of us...