Chocolate. It is funny; a small 3 inch bar of chocolate has the capacity to hit the right buttons in a human to make him smile, if not ecstatic. Though we all know what it is, everyone has a very different perception and reaction to the word. I confess I have a sweet tooth; hence I am in love with chocolates. Over the course a few years I have perceived chocolate as a reward for efforts, a comfort in times of need, a dessert in sufficient quantity, and a reasonable present on various festivals and other occasions. As a kid, I used to wish that I lived in a world of chocolate. Roald Dahl, probably exploited all of children’s chocolate fantasies in his book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I remember for the longest time I used to look for Willy Wonka’s chocolate bars after reading that book. I just wished that there would be a factory like that somewhere in the world. As a 9 year old, I used to daydream of the factory, THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY…

I candidly admit I didn’t know what I wanted to write about before opening this page. A lot of this first paragraph has stemmed from an idea planted in my mind by a close friend, who was suggesting me ideas to get me started with writing. There are times in life, when you just need that push, that pat on the back, that feeling of reassurance to move forward. There is not much particularly wrong, but you are a little tired and want just that last bit of push to take yourself past the finish line. I’m not saying chocolate is the solution to all the problems in the world, only I wish that was true. There is just no fixed solution to everything in this world. People live, toil through, face their obstacles, and then try and understand how to surmount them. And no matter how badly we hate working hard, this life has a way of balancing things out. It works in very deep and weird ways to level the playing field for everyone in this world.

All that I am trying to say is, life is very hard and very fast. I remember high school like it was yesterday my knees were shaking out of nervousness while entering my classroom and then before I knew I was confident enough to get up and ask questions. Time is funny, in that it moves really fast, and really slowly at once. Some people say life is a journey; some say life is the destination. I do not claim to know the right answer to that question, but I do know that I do not want to rush through life towards some goal. I like stopping from time to time and admiring the intricacies of human relationships and the complications of the four letter word ‘life’. My writing and my chocolate take me to that place where I can reflect for a few moments before being carried away by another tide.

Chocolate was always given to me as a reward or on an occasion, so I associated chocolate with happy memories. Now, like a trained hamster associates stimulus to rewards, chocolate makes me happy of its own accord. I have a lot to see in life, a lot of things am sure will surprise me; I will have to give a lot to life in terms of effort and toil. It feels good to have the comfort of writing and the warmth of chocolate with me always…We all have something that makes us that much more comfortable, it is just a question of finding it.