Raincoat or Umbrella?

Today was elongated day. Got up early, rushed for leaving early to avoid traffic but ended up in unfortunate flat tyre. Cribbed a lot about my tough luck and waited, waited agitatedly for puncture repair. It was raining cats and dogs by the time I got to office. I really upset the apple cart by getting irritated. I was dry, thanks to my car but I was carrying neither a raincoat nor an umbrella. Though the parking is within striking distance from office, it was like distance lends enchantment to the view in the heavy rains. I had two options, one is to run like a wind and complete the distance and the other was to wait for shower to stop. I was in two minds, first option would have got me into the office but would have left me drenched and the other option would have caused me to miss my urgent meeting scheduled in the first hour. Confused, thought a lot and decided, option one sounded adventurous. There were lot of guys who were wearing their raincoats and were heading straight to the office.  I was about to start the tight race, I heard a voice from behind, “Excuse me, I have got an umbrella, you can come with me”. It left me surprised; a simple guy with a small umbrella offered me a lift. I told him, “Brother, it is better to go ahead coz if I join you; both of us will be half wet”. A quick reply, “I do not mind, I agree that both of us will be wet but we will not be drenched”. I joined him and reached office. Thanked him for his help and reached my desk.

A small but a kind favor from anon tossed my mind and made me think a lot. A question, what should be my existence like, a raincoat or an umbrella, changed my cognizance. And the answer I got from my inner soul, I do not want to become a raincoat in life. 

A well-known fact, Life is not easy and everyone is so busy chasing their own dreams that the others around are just like useless objects which do not mean anything. Everyone runs the obstacle race called life with a tagline, I need to be focused on my requirements; time is money and not to be spent in helping others. My family is on front burner, why do I care about anyone else as I am not a charity commissioner.

According to me, this is nothing but a raincoat mentality. Raincoat means an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down made of a waterproof material. The definition itself claims that the raincoat is meant only for a single person. Even if I desire to help people around me, my raincoat mentality will not support me. Feeling about something is good but acting on what you feel is always the best response. Raincoat has become selfish, self-centered, self-interested, greedy, self-seeking, ungenerous and blah, blah, blah. It does not mean that we stop using the raincoat; it is just my way of looking at life. 

Now let’s look at an umbrella mentality. Being an umbrella means being generous and selfless. Though it is simply a canopy, a web definition also says that an umbrella means having the function of uniting a group of similar things.  See the definition itself brings so full of positive vibes. I have desire to help people around me and my umbrella mentality will push me to do so.

As raincoat is just a seasonal garment. You being a raincoat a.k a. being selfish will not put you in a commanding position always. Like a season ends, your good time might just turn into a bad phase with rotations of an earth.  This situation can be compared to my favorite movie, Gladiator, “The general who became a slave.” Ups and downs are inevitable and everyone has to face those as and when they come. Whatever goes up has to come down.  

An umbrella is not a seasonal weapon; it not only saves you from rains but also from burning sun. Being an umbrella though does not put you in commanding position but it at least puts you in a favorable position. Take a literal meaning of favorable; you can get favors from the world whom you helped when they were in need. My bad time has come but I do not have to worry as I have loads of people around me on whom I can count on.  This is a win-win situation, “The general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator.”

I am trying to define new meanings for these words. Next time you see any selfish person and want to address him in such a way that he will not understand, just call him a “Raincoat”;) and a kind, selfless person can be referred as an “Umbrella”.