There are people you 'meet' or I should rather say 'see' in life, probably just once in your entire lifetime, but leave a mark that you can never forget. They are those special strangers whom you remember in times when you feel down

I had an oppurtunity to be in this beautiful country Finland for about 6 months, but never really appreciated at that time (One of the many things I regret after passing that moment) . I was too homesick, missed food so much and was a complaining maniac for most of the time. My phone calls to home was always filled with tears about how I am craving for good food and wondering when I would return back to my home sweet home and tortured my manager to let me know of my return date. One of the days, my roomies and I decided that we will go out to the only Indian restaurant there and see how the food is. Previously, we never wanted to go there because it was called an Indian restaurant, but it was run by Hare Rama Hare Krishna Finnish group of people. We heard that the the food was nowhere near Indian, but that day we decided we will give it a try.

I was so upset that what we heard was infact true, the food was not tasty, but it could be because we were dreaming from the previous night itself. In the middle of our lunch, the waitress went and opened the door to let a man in. She took off his winter coat and I was shocked to see that he didnt have both his arms and his coat was somehow hanging over his shoulders. I dont know how he was able to let her know of his presence or may be she was expecting his daily visit around that time. He sat in a table next to us and we were trying to avoid to look at him, but none of us could eat anymore. The waitress took food from the buffet in a plate and came towards him. I really thought she was going to feed him too, but she told him the food items she had taken for him and left. He thanked her saying something that sounded like he liked the choice of her picking.

I couldnt help but observe what he was going to do next. He bent down and started eating directly from the plate and nothing can explain how horrible I felt at that moment. He patiently had everything and the end of it, the waitress came and very gently cleaned his face, fed him water and put his coat on again and he left. It might be a daily routine for them, but for us, it was something that we didnt think of experiencing. There I was, complaining about how "not Indian" the food is, how I wish I could eat good food atleast one day, etc, etc. I had not finished even a little of what we took in that plate because it wasnt tasty. I realised I had everything, money to get the food I want, ability to cook and more importantly do anything without anyones help and I saw a man who can possibly not do pretty much anything without help. We walked back to our apartment thinking of the other things in daily life that he needed help from others. I dont know much about that person, I just saw him once again when he got into a bus when I was walking towards the bus stop, I dont know if he was happy or sad or complaining about his life on a daily basis, but to a stranger like me, it didnt look that way at all. He looked pretty much at peace with himself.

I wouldnt say that I changed entirely after that incident and am perfectly complacent, I still do complain about trivial things and later feel silly about it. But that day I did stop complaining about my looks or simple health issues that no one in this world lives without. I really dont care how I dont have perfect hair or teeth, I do know that whatever we have is Gods blessing and He always gives what we need and not what we want! I can never forget that special stranger who made me feel so satisfied with what I have.