A chance meeting with a centenarian beneath a rain-soaked tree becomes a lesson in living. His simple words—“Do not chase life. Walk with it”—invite us to slow down, let go of unnecessary questions, and discover the quiet wisdom that comes with time.

# Do not chase life #

Beneath a flowering tree,
where rainwater gathered
like little mirrors on the earth,
I met an old man.

He had witnessed
more than a hundred seasons—

summers that burned,
winters that tested,
monsoons that returned
with familiar music,
and springs
that taught him
to begin again.

Yet his smile
still belonged to spring.

His face carried
the map of a century,
but his eyes
held the stillness
of ancient rivers.

He leaned gently
upon his walking stick,
as though even the years
had learned
to walk softly around him.

There was no hurry
in his movements,
no complaint
in his silence.

His footsteps
needed no applause.

We stood together,
watching the rain.

Then I asked him,

“What has life
taught you?”

He smiled—

the kind of smile
that belongs to those
who have lived long enough
to know what matters
and what does not.

Then he said,

“Do not chase life.
Walk with it.”

Seven simple words.

Yet they fell into me
like rain
upon thirsty soil.

I thought of all
the years I had spent running—

running toward success,
running away from failure,
running after tomorrow,
and sometimes
running from yesterday.

How often
had I mistaken speed
for progress?

How many moments
had I sacrificed
while searching
for better ones?

The old man’s words
were simple,
but they carried
the weight of a century.

Perhaps that was why
he understood
what I was only beginning
to discover:

Life is not a race
to be won.
It is a road
to be lived.

He looked at the rain
and whispered,

“See…
even the rain knows
when to stop.”

I smiled.

And suddenly,
everything became clear.

Perhaps growing older
is not about collecting
all the answers.

Perhaps it is about
learning which questions
no longer need answers.

The rain began to fade.

The clouds slowly parted,
and a shy sunlight
touched the wet earth.

The old man picked up
his walking stick
and moved on.

I watched him go—

slowly,
steadily,
without looking back.

And I realised:

Perhaps the secret
of a long life
is not learning
how to hold on to time,
but learning
how to walk peacefully
with it.

(Vijay Verma)
www.retiredkalam.com

Categories: kavita

Tags: #भावना, #creativity, #Life, #poem, #wellness, books, fantasy, fiction, short-story, writing