Use it till you break it

December 2015

I came back home and Baba told me that a tragedy happened. He said you were helping him unload the dishwasher and in the process one of you dropped my coffee cup. I looked at my coffee cup which was placed on the counter broken into three pieces and my heart broke a little.

 I have seen this cup all my life and now to see it broken was painful. Your grandparents (Thatha and Ammumma) bought this cup from France three years before I was born. That makes the cup at least 38 years. For 38 years this cup has been in our family. 

Thatha and ammumma have a beautiful collection of glasses and cups that they have taken very good care of over the years. Most of these glassware was in our "hall" or dining room. It was in a see through glass shelf and we used these bowls only for special occasion. A special guest, a special gathering, these cups and glasses were special. After all, they were made in France, packed very carefully, moved continents and houses and were special. 

Once in few months, Amma will take these glasses and wash them carefully and put them back. 

After I moved to US, when I went back home and Appa asked me what I want to take back with me, I asked him for one of those cups. I am sure he had a lot of sentimental value attached to them, but he gave them to me. I have been using them ever since for the last 5 years. 

Every day I wake up and spend my "me" time with that little cup. It may sound that I am materialistic and putting a lot of importance on a small cup, but the cup had a lot of history. It has lived for more years than me, lived in more countries than I have and I liked it and it was part of my day.

But now it is broke. Fortunately, I have one more cup of the same kind. The question is do I keep this unbroken cup safe and not use it every day. Should I take care of it like Amma did or continue using it as part of my day, my me time. 

The advantage of keeping it safe will be a long life for the cup but what is the point? Just like in life, do you always want to be safe, sheltered and not take risk, not live your life fully, but have a safe long life.

I decided my cup should be the way I want to live life. Enjoy it fully, take some risks but not too much and be useful to someone. So I decided to use the cup everyday, but wash it myself before I leave for work. 

RIP little cup, you will be sorely missed.

The mantra for you my dear Kutambi is to use things till you break it. Work hard till you cannot anymore, help people till you cannot anymore, love yourself and others till you cannot anymore, most importantly laugh so hard that you cannot anymore…. Enjoy the little cups that come your way, dont let them sit on the cupboard waiting for that special moment because everyday is special!