Don't chase trouble, let it come to you....

Well I start my first foray into blogging with this little story of an event in my life, the learning was such, it's stuck with me ever since and I hope it gives you some food for thought....

November 1993, 45 cadets from La Martiniere Boys College (Lucknow); our school's NCC battalion drove into the Army Butchery Grounds in Lucknow for their first NCC Annual Training Camp.

Anyway, our training camp started and we were perhaps into the 5th or 6th day. The routine was set, 4:30am rise, 5:30am breakfast, 6:00am to 10:00am parade; 10:00am tea break 10:30am to 12:oo noon weapons training/para gliding etc etc, then lunch. Before again regrouping at 2:00pm for the daily two hour lectures, before signing off for the day by putting in 2 hours of camp duty, followed by dinner and if you were lucky and got no sentry duty 6 hours of sleep.

This one day, during the afternoon lecture session our camp CO decided to give us a lecture on morals and the importance of saving ourselves till we got married. He got under way, and next to me was my pal Kaushlendra Singh. He obviously had a good lunch and ten minutes into the lecture he was dozing off. Now that's asking for trouble just like telling your girl she's fat!!! Inevitably the CO caught Kaushlendra in his state of slumber and hauled him up to front and center!! Retribution obviously had to follow.

The CO saw a dog loitering around nearby, and with a devilish smile he ordered Kaushlendra to go around the dog and then report back on the double.
Kaushlendra in his state of terror, shot off like a bugs bunny, seeing the this the dog shot off like the road runner, and pretty soon both the dog and Kaushlendra were out of sight. Now as you know in the Army, "you follow orders" quote from A Few Good Men. 45 minutes later, Kaushlendra bundled back in drenched in sweat and beyond repair!

The CO then asked him what his objective, and struggling for breath, Kaushlendra responded to "circle the Dog, Sir!" The CO laughed and said, all he had to do was lure the dog and complete his objective, rather than, chasing it and make his objective even more difficult than it was in the first place. "Son don't chase trouble, let it come to you and trust me it will. Isn't it better to fight it on your own turf?"

Hmmmmm.......