After spending a decade working endless hours at a corporate job, slowly progressing towards a stable and respectable position, John was let go.

Let Go !
In a matter of seconds, a decade’s worth of hard work and perseverence was nullified in a heartless single page condolence letter, that could do no justice to every humdrum irrelevant meeting he had to bear. The look on his face while holding that cold piece of paper, was a mixture of anger, grief and self-loathing.

‘ Why ME ?! ’, he shouted in his own mind, too scared to even express that deepest emotion of betrayal.

‘ Who Am I ? I have no career, no designation, no identity ! ’
The raging frustration had brought with itself a companion – an identity crisis.

He held the letter tightly between his fist, a box full of trinkets that adorned his office desk, the 10 year completion letter, nicely framed, highlighting his outstanding contribution to the company and a mouth full of harsh unspoken curse words.

As he walked out of the building, he bumped into another man heading inside. He grabbed him by the coat, leaned forward and looked at him straight in the eyes and spewed his vile advice
‘ Don’t walk into that building ! It’s full of creepy insects that slowly suck the blood out of you and the moment things get unstable, they spit you out like the trash from your backyard. It’s hell in there ! ’

The man, confounded whether to console this angry stranger or heed to his advice, quickly grabbed his composure and chose instead to rush to that meeting he was running late for.

‘ Yeah run for that meeting ! I’m going to see you right here at the bottom of this building some day and you’re going to remember how I warned you ! ’, John shouted breathlessly.

A man is sure to draw public attention, when he walks with an irregular pace, a box full of trinkets and fists of fury that could punch through anything that crossed his path.

‘ What are you lookin’ at ? You never been fired before ? ’, John bellowed at a glancing stranger.

He shoved all his belongings onto the back seat of his car, except for the letter diminishing his self worth. As he swerved angrily towards the exit in the parking lot, he kept re-reading the letter over and over again.

We regret to inform you about your termination of employment due to …

‘ YOU regret ?! ’
‘ I REGRET ’
‘ I regret working for a company like yours. I regret serving you ingrates ! ’
‘ Will you regret when I stand in the middle of the road with a homeless sign in hand ? ’
‘ You will look away at the sight of a helpless man in need ’
‘ SCREW YOU ! ’

He drove well over the speed limit, cussing every red light that stopped him as if the universe was signaling his ‘ end ’. He lit a cigarette, that was hidden away at the back of the glove compartment and reserved for emergencies such as stressful deadlines or running late to work. But he looked at the smoke emanating from this one and thought

‘ Ha, this feels great ! I have no presentation to deliver, no boss to please and no life to look forward to. I could just drift away like this smoke into thin air without being noticed. ’

Through the heavy fumes of smoke, the color of the light turned green and he hit the gas pedal like a formula one racer, trying to win the race of losers. In the middle of the road lay a homeless wretched old man, with a tiny backpack, and a cardboard sign John’s curious eyes couldn’t easily read.

He hit the brakes harder than ever, the car tires screeched through every passerby’s ear and the cars behind honked furiously for the abrupt disruption of mundane livelihood. He ran to the homeless man, who had dozed off from his tiresome ordeal, and grabbed his tiny cardboard sign.

SOME JUST LET LIFE PUSH THEM AROUND
OTHERS GET ANGRY AND PUSH BACK

( I’m too lazy to be angry, so here I am )

John flicked his cigarette into the air, held the cardboard sign to his chest and carefully placed the letter of new beginnings beside the old man, walking away from it without turning around.

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The only constant is change, and sometimes change can make you angry, sad or frustrated. The bigger question however, is whether you can push back on these emotions to begin a new journey and embrace change.

If you liked this short post, do let me know through your comments. I would love to hear your thoughts 🙂

Carpe Diem !