Setting up a Marker

 Setting up a Marker

Most of us ‘think’ only about a ‘goal’ and plan about chasing, reaching or tracking it.

Markers are Unavoidable for sportsmen, bowlers in cricket, because there is an authorised eye to ‘disqualify’ them, if they overstep that marker.

As a MEGA-example of true-sportsman-spirit, I felt unduly Lucky to find a TRUE story in my English text book lesson at my school, and it became a “marker” for the rest-of my-life 😜

The link for that story ( if the reader has tolerance for long narrative)....   https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/articles/cd1xlr5ewrro#:~:text=It%20was%20an%20instinctive%20sporting,athlete%20jogging%20arm%20in%20arm.

My school text book highlighted the ‘gesture’ by a German lad, who lost a gold, because of his sense of ‘fair-play’ 🤣. The better one, though a ‘black’ found a life-long friend and an indebtedness to him, that…. never_can_be repaid 🙏

As a kid, that text book lesson, ended up into ‘more than’ a marks-scoring exercise 🙏

That German became a Guru in teaching me a spiritual sense of,  what “inclusiveness” means.

Markers for me:

I was nervous about using EXACT markers. The reason was damn simple! 😜… The outside_situations of our life are NEVER predictable. 

So,

1)school timings 8:45 am ( assembly) my marker used to be within 8:15 am 😜…cushion of ½ an hour. Never I was “late”! ( At workplace, I reached an hour earlier. But couldn't escape that mocking remark from the sweeper_lady who pronounced me “you are Late_today” when I reach 55 minutes earlier, instead of usual 60 minutes ‘before’ time. I humbly ‘acknowledged’ her taunt🙏 ( my_marker, she was referring to, and therefore she is an unpaid-Audtor, shaping me ‘towards’ discipline/perfection 🙏)

A friend in State Bank of India, spinned money, using my ‘faked punctuality’. We plan a movie. I tell him:” I will be there at 6.00pm/18:00 hours” I note upto the center_second needle of his_office_clock. I adjust my marker to sync with that clock. Arriving 10 minutes earlier at the Gate, I walk in 3 seconds to_6 pm . He noticed it a few times, and offered a ‘bet’ with his colleague seated next. He “Exact 6, psn will be at the door, Bet?” The other jumped in “₹10… I bet,  nobody is that_punctual. We are “Indians” 😂”.  I walked in when that fastest needle of the clock touched “12” on the clock at 6 pm, unaware of this ‘bet’ 😥.

My friend, that evening, said ,”PSN our tickets were paid for by Mr x, today. We have 6 rupees for snacks etc during interval too😜”( an abuse of my ‘marker’...I felt inwardly 😭)

When it came to “taking spiritual lessons, the programs, intensive practices for 7+ years etc, the private+personal ‘design’ of the software I had as “my_markers” took away a huge ‘load’ off_my_FRAIL_shoulders 😂. Goal chased me ( often using my spiritual teacher).... instead of the usual “we chase our_goals” 🙏

I dunno….if I managed to ‘persuade’  my reader to take atleast a casual_look at his own markers 😳😓😓😓

Markedly yours,

psn(9 Sept 2025)