Joie de vivre

4.05 kilometers
310 calories
22 minutes

An incongruous set of numbers to some. Gibberish to others. And for the fitness freaks, hardly a big deal!

But to me these figures held some significance. As I stepped off the treadmill my eyes lingered on them just a while longer and images flashed across my eyes.

The reception of my office in Delhi as I gasped for breath...waking up in the middle of the night covered under a torn green sheet in a strange hospital bed...the blurred images as I struggled to focus my bloodshot eyes after the blood vessels had burst...and the scars over my hands that remained long enough to remind me of the ordeal my body had been through.

It was not all that long ago...in fact precisely three years to the day.

As I wiped the sweat off my face and greeted my trainer to begin yet another intensive workout, more images flashed by... The sudden asthma attack which rapidly escalated into a cardiac arrest and caused my heart to stop. The horror that my family went through as I was literally dragged back from the edge. The look on my friends faces when they visited me in the hospital. The messages of concern, love and well being from different corners of the world. All formed a nice little collage in my brain. While I pumped iron.

Thirty one sets later my affectionate and caring trainer concluded my workout with a stretching session and I walked out and filled my lungs with the fresh Singapore air.

I had work to do, calls to attend to, projects to execute and plans to formulate. The calendar was filled with appointments. Travel was on the cards. Even the weekend held promise...I would connect with people from the microfinance company. My parents were visiting me and settling into a relaxed holiday schedule. And we were preparing for the big event in our lives...the new puppy would arrive from Sydney in a few days!

What a privileged existence!!

This opportunity to live life!

To struggle and strive.
To help and guide.
To listen and learn.
To befriend and trust.
To love and lose.
To grieve.
To try and then fail.
To give and to receive...

And before I carry forth with this miserable attempt at poetry, thankfully I glance at the watch. The date is past. The future beckons...