Army folks are top of the charts when it comes to having interesting conversations. They are terrific storytellers. And they inevitably have a fascinating story or snippet to share. About winning a war. And about living a life worth living. Every time I speak to friends from the army, I come away feeling good. There’s so much to learn. And so much to be grateful for.
And it was no different the other day when I was talking to my friend, a retired Brigadier. As we sat down to chat in his living room, we noticed one of the lights wasn’t working. Turns out the bulb had got fused the previous night. And when his wife gently reminded him once again to buy a new one, it seemed to bring back memories for him. About life in the good old days!
He explained that in the army, there was a simple process to follow to replace fused bulbs. You put together all the fused bulbs that needed replacing. You noted down the wattage of each bulb you needed. Gave the bulbs and the list to the orderly, or the man assigned to help you. And he would go to the central store, hand over the fused bulbs and get the replacement bulbs. Simple. As you would expect.
And then he told me about what happened one time. As they put the fused bulbs together, and noted the wattages, they realised they wanted a higher-powered bulb for one of the rooms. So they instructed the orderly to request for a 100-watt bulb in place of the fused 60-watt one. “There’s no challenge with that,” explained the orderly. “I can get any wattage you like. So long as we are returning four fused bulbs, I can get four new ones – of any wattage.” And then he said something that stayed with my friend. “It’s an old rule in the army. Once a bulb is fused, it doesn’t matter what the wattage was. No one is bothered. A fused bulb is a fused bulb!” he said.
And as my friend explained, it’s a line that has become a part of army folklore. It’s a lesson that army men make sure they remember. Once you retire, let go. Forget you were a Brigadier. Or a General. Stop expecting special treatment because of who you were. Whether you were a 100-watt bulb or a zero-watt bulb is irrelevant. Once you are fused, there’s no light. A fused bulb is a fused bulb.
That’s such a powerful lesson for us all, no? We should all learn to let go of our titles and our positions, and learn to live in the present. In our neighbourhoods, and communities, and in our WhatsApp groups, we often come across people who speak – and behave – with an arrogance that screams “Don’t you know who I was?” Good to remember that once the prefix “ex” – or “former” ─ comes before your title, you are a fused bulb. It doesn’t matter. Learn to live your life content with the knowledge that you had your time in the sun. And now that it’s history, it’s time to enjoy the memories. And stop harking for the trappings.
Remembering the fused bulb phenomenon will make you a happier person. And your world will become a happier place too.
