I want to dedicate this write-up to some special people who have been oases in my life...

Oasis

What does an oasis mean to you?

A mirage, or a reality? A place or a dream? A haven or a danger? Unseen or experienced?

What if I told you that you’ve been in oases. Lived in them.

If life is a desert, then oases are brief or prolonged snatches of time in the shade.

The magical month you spent at the chateau in France. The five minutes you conversed with that intimate stranger at the airport. Your childhood years -- All oases in the desert of life.

More perfect than any dream. More real than any reality. A moment of unhurried pace. A world unto itself. Scattered along life, we find these little oases. Sometimes, we see them glinting on the sands at a distance. Sometimes, they catch us off-guard.

Too abstract for you? Let me try to be more objective. Suppose you were a soldier fighting in the war. What if, during combat, you parachuted into a small forgotten island. And the only other person on this island was another soldier- your enemy! But on that island, you would be two people, eating the same fruit and warming against the same fire. And you would become friends, maybe even the best of friends. Sure, it wouldn’t last, but it would be real all the same. It would be an oasis.

In life, you come across situations which are unreal and extraordinary, and hence all the more real. A special circumstance, a freak, a beautiful play of destiny – call it what you will. But every so often, life shifts its balance and tips the scales. And you find yourself in a world where the rules no longer apply. A moment of much needed respite. You find an oasis….

Have you ever come so close to your dream that you could taste it? Sometimes you find it, but you know it is not yours to keep. It is real, yet fleeting. It’s an oasis…

Fantasies don’t ever exist. Dreams exist only on the other side of awakening. But oases… Oases do exist. However…

You know what I’m coming to, don’t you? There are no homes in the oasis.

The traveler must move on. Only the journey continues, only the desert lasts.

So, take the moments in the oases, and drink your fill. If you have lived a dream, pack up the memories and move on. It’s the only burden which will make you feel light.

You have to recognize that the life in the oasis cannot exist outside of it. Sometimes, you move on with a heavy heart. Sometimes with spirits rejuvenated.

The desert can be harsh, when you come out of the shielding shades. But let me make you a promise-
“Yes, life is a desert, but when you look back on it, you will remember only the oases”