AN YEAR INTO MY SECOND LIFE!

Life, they say is a gift. But how many of us actually realize it? I never understood its worth, until last year, when i very nearly lost it.

4th of december 2010, the day i would never forget, for it thought me the truth about life...the hard way. My ship was on the way to Turkey and as we were transiting the picturesque bosphour straits. A tragedy struck me. I had an accident onboard. My face and my upper body smeared with boiling heavy oil with a temperature more then 125 degrees!

I winced in pain as the oil spread over my face including my eyes. 40 percent of my body covered with dreaded second degree burns!! The pain was unbearable. My mind filled with a myriad thoughts. will I ever recover? will I get my old face back? will I be able to see again? and the most important....will I come out of this alive?

After a night of excruciating pain on board, I was admitted to a hospital in Turkey. Ten days on the hospital bed, and I got an opportunity to picture my life. Things I've done and things I always wanted to do. There was so much to be done. I wanted a few more days. It was too early to close my eyes for eternity. But then God had different plans. He blessed me with a second life. it was nothing less than a miracle. It was he who healed me and gave me a second chance to live my life to the fullest!

Its been a year now, but the memories still haunt me. The pain, the trauma has left a deep scar in my mind. But there are a few soothing memories as well, like the stunningly beautiful Turkish nurses who treated me and the delicious kebab meal I relished on the day I was discharged. When I reached home, my face looked pretty messed up. there were a few stubborn wounds which refused to heal after so many days. But then there was a hope in my mind that kept me going and helped me to recover to this extent!

Life is too short. And living it with remorse, grudge and anger is like shortening it even further. It's important we live our life in a way it is to be lived. Do not worry about the future or be sorry about your past, Because you don't know what the next moment has in store for you.

Today, by God grace I have recovered fully. I want to thank each and every person who stood by me during my bad times.

And finally, not everyone is lucky to get a second life. Live the one you have to the fullest. So that, the day it ends, you are overwhelmed with a feeling of joy and fulfillment rather then regrets!