Joy of Ordinary
“ Everyone should be quiet near a little stream and listen” — Open house for Butterflies
Today, we are succumbed to the idea of productivity for 24 hours. Every now and then, if I ask someone, usually the response is ‘Busy with work’. I have hardly see my friends enjoying their time without feeling bad about it. I have hardly see my friends enjoying their weekend without worrying about office work. The moment we step few steps of ladder, gain stability, we aim to get onto next, then next, then next….the cycle never stops. In the culture of proving oneself everyday, most of us have lost the ability to enjoy the ordinary sweet little things in our lives.
We live in a world, where our world is limited to screen be it for entertainment, office work, calls or anything. We are glued to the screen throughout the day and exploring various segments. But how many of us, have actually stepped outside to just go and play, and made it a routine. How many of us have actually enjoyed the food solely without consuming any content. We all have become ginnie pigs where we are just consuming content and not allowing our mind to create space to wander. I live in a society where there are high rise building. In the last one and a half year, I had the routine to step outside the room and enjoy the sunset with a chai. What I found, to my surprise was, I didn’t see more than 5–6 people in their balcony during the evening time. It left me wondering what actually people doing inside the house, and in my opinion, most of them are consuming content in various form.
Few years back, if someone talks about excerise they used to start doing and be on the track. Today, we first google- ‘ How to loose weight in 20 days’, even after reading the article or watching the video, we don’t seem to take the action. We all feel accomplished a little while consuming the knowledge but the truth is we haven’t achieved anything in the process. We live in the illusion of achieveing things yet we reach no where. ( bit blunt here, I know :) )
I’m writing this on the weekday and wondering, those were the days when friends used to meet on daily basis at 6PM in the nearby park. Student wakes up on the sunday morning for family get-together, picnic ( oh, did we all forget the concept of picnic) or to watch cartoons. Today, a student, and first thing in the morning they do is to scroll through social media. Social media is an addiction like sugar and smoking, this study is shown by research. Don’t allow this to become a barrier in your life.
This article must have stretched a little extra, but all I want to tell you is that there is a life beyond office hours, boss calls, social media stories or instagram reels. Do not let the culture of hustle makes you feel exhuasted or overwhelmed. Step out of your room, walk around, listen to birds chirping, make food for yourself and have a laugh with your loved ones on the dining table. Life is all about small moments which we spend with people we love and not the work culture. Don’t let any job makes you feel otherwise.
Be a kid who wanders around the world like no-one is watching and is able to enjoy every moment of the day. Be ordinary to make the most of it.
