The fast paced life we live these days doesn't seem to leave us much time to ourselves. Which is perhaps the reason why we tend to lose ourselves in the constant mess all around us. Just another face in the crowd, existing, not living. And yet harbouring the hope to break free from the monotony of life.
Which is perhaps why sitting by the river last evening, I experienced something that’s a little difficult to explain, but still worth a try.
Being a nature lover I try my best to get out of the city whenever I can. Not that Mangalore’s a big place, it's a pretty small town, but even so, it's not the kind of place where you can lose yourself to your own thoughts when you want to. I'm usually too busy with college work and projects there.
I had a small family function to attend yesterday, and the house happened to be quite close to the river. As usual I had to go through the whole ritual of meeting a zillion aunts and uncles. Anyone living in this part of the world will know what I’m talking about. Not that I mind it, it’s nice to see all of them once in a while, it just gets a little irksome at times, because they all ask the same questions over and over. After meeting the whole jingbang I realized I was jobless because this was the time the 'adults' talked and the 'children' minded their own business. Yeah I know, no matter how old I get, they'll always regard me as a kid, it’s something I’ve learnt not to argue about. Since I had nothing better to do I decided to go down to the river, thought I’d take some time off to myself.
The place was just the same, even after all these years, I remember coming here as a kid. It had been quite a while, and yet while everything around me keeps changing, somehow, this place still manages to evoke the same feelings in me. It's like taking a moment out of my life and just feeling it.
There's a total gamut of emotions that I experience all at once. For starters, there’s this quiet tranquillity that comes from being in such a peaceful place, a welcome change from the humdrum of daily life. But it seems to recede just as soon as it comes to be replaced by a sense of confusion, regret even. It’s only when we get these quiet moments to ourselves that we begin to get introspective. Start musing over everything we've done. There's this certain apprehension about the future too, wondering if we've made the right choices.
Looking at the river flowing, I can't help but notice the resemblance it shares with our lives, nothings constant. And yet the river at least has an aim, I’m still trying to find mine. Sure I’ve got my life all planned at least for the next five years, but then I know there's no guarantee that things are going to turn out just as I expect it to. Its then that I realize the need to live life one moment at a time. To enjoy it to its fullest. It’s something most of us tend to forget. We spend so much time worrying about what is going to happen that we forget to live. We just go on existing until someone or something decides it high time to give us a rude awakening and make us realize what we've missed. As much as we hate it when we realize the truth, a part of us is actually relieved as well. We are a strange bunch, aren't we?
For those of you who are wondering if I’ve gone all potty and am just rambling on, maybe I have or maybe not. I'm pretty used to people thinking I’m a little off my rocker but hey, I know where I stand. You are the ones who need to slow down and start living for a while. In case you've forgotten, life's beautiful........................
Which is perhaps why sitting by the river last evening, I experienced something that’s a little difficult to explain, but still worth a try.
Being a nature lover I try my best to get out of the city whenever I can. Not that Mangalore’s a big place, it's a pretty small town, but even so, it's not the kind of place where you can lose yourself to your own thoughts when you want to. I'm usually too busy with college work and projects there.
I had a small family function to attend yesterday, and the house happened to be quite close to the river. As usual I had to go through the whole ritual of meeting a zillion aunts and uncles. Anyone living in this part of the world will know what I’m talking about. Not that I mind it, it’s nice to see all of them once in a while, it just gets a little irksome at times, because they all ask the same questions over and over. After meeting the whole jingbang I realized I was jobless because this was the time the 'adults' talked and the 'children' minded their own business. Yeah I know, no matter how old I get, they'll always regard me as a kid, it’s something I’ve learnt not to argue about. Since I had nothing better to do I decided to go down to the river, thought I’d take some time off to myself.
The place was just the same, even after all these years, I remember coming here as a kid. It had been quite a while, and yet while everything around me keeps changing, somehow, this place still manages to evoke the same feelings in me. It's like taking a moment out of my life and just feeling it.
There's a total gamut of emotions that I experience all at once. For starters, there’s this quiet tranquillity that comes from being in such a peaceful place, a welcome change from the humdrum of daily life. But it seems to recede just as soon as it comes to be replaced by a sense of confusion, regret even. It’s only when we get these quiet moments to ourselves that we begin to get introspective. Start musing over everything we've done. There's this certain apprehension about the future too, wondering if we've made the right choices.
Looking at the river flowing, I can't help but notice the resemblance it shares with our lives, nothings constant. And yet the river at least has an aim, I’m still trying to find mine. Sure I’ve got my life all planned at least for the next five years, but then I know there's no guarantee that things are going to turn out just as I expect it to. Its then that I realize the need to live life one moment at a time. To enjoy it to its fullest. It’s something most of us tend to forget. We spend so much time worrying about what is going to happen that we forget to live. We just go on existing until someone or something decides it high time to give us a rude awakening and make us realize what we've missed. As much as we hate it when we realize the truth, a part of us is actually relieved as well. We are a strange bunch, aren't we?
For those of you who are wondering if I’ve gone all potty and am just rambling on, maybe I have or maybe not. I'm pretty used to people thinking I’m a little off my rocker but hey, I know where I stand. You are the ones who need to slow down and start living for a while. In case you've forgotten, life's beautiful........................
