I NEED A BREAK

I NEED A BREAK!!!

Time has perhaps already taken away what man took away from time. Every advancement has asked for a return from us, and that too valuable than the progress itself. If you notice, every instance will bring forward an example how man has become a slave to his everyday routine and technology. A vending machine has barred spouses making bed tea in the mornings; automatic toasters have started giving the crispiness that only mothers were capable of rendering, svelte gadgets have replaced the tape recorders that took an effort to play, walking on foot has become too tiring in presence of cheap means of transport, Google has made the world smaller that was perhaps flat once, mobile revolution has convinced people that writing letters is too slow a medium, visual classes have replaced the awesome teachers, power of love and love of power have interchanged long back, at every step humanity seems long lost…. [With all due respect, but for the sake of quoting the changes since old times] In fact men find it tedious to move razors around the face and guess what? They have automated that too!!

There comes a point in life when a person, despite all his achievements starts to think- “So what?”, “What next?”, “What’s the use?”, and “What the hell have I been doing all these years?” And that’s the time you see yourself actually. While creating an image for the world, somewhere we remain stuck in that. We forget what we are in order to prove what we can be. The realization keeps coming and we keep not attending to it. It builds up so heavily sometimes that breathing becomes secondary to it. And that’s when one realizes that he/she can’t even remember the last time when he/she did something for the first time. Okay, for an exercise, ask yourself,

·        When did you last gaze the night sky?

·        When did you last smile at the mirror?

·        When was the last time when you talked to an old friend?

·        When you sat just with yourself, not with a laptop or music player?

·        When did you last do what you mention as hobby on your resume?

·        When was the last time you appreciated someone who can’t be of any advantage to you?

·        When did you last sleep happily and content at night?

Did you answer “LONG BACK” to these questions? Trust me, we all are the same…we need a break, a desperate one!!

“If you want a different result, do something different”

Last time I had this realization, I did something about it. I paused and saw the world as it rushed past me. I saw everyone so bound to their routine and time & skill management that they have lost the innocence and simplicity they were born with. They have forgotten that happiness exists and have lost the hope of ‘life in life’. All of this reminded me of a story I was told in childhood about a greedy man. This man wanted a lot of land. The king offered him to take away all the land he could cover by walking till sunset. The man kept walking all day and just before the dusk, he covered the whole land. As he kept his last step, he died out of exertion. He was buried and all the land he finally got was some 6 feet!

Similarly, the race has become so important for us that we see just the destination without caring about the journey. Life has to be enjoyed and lived. We are not born to survive and excel. To cry out aloud, the basic purpose is to LIVE and we don’t give it a chance because we feel that getting good grades, adding bonus to salary, having a lavish house, earning appreciation of boss and thing like these matter more. However, the converse seems to be true when your hair turns grey, you retire and sit alone outside your house waiting to complete your life cycle.

Don’t let your life become a regret.  Or else it will not long before you feel so hollow inside that you breakdown at the slightest jolt to your confidence. Later, you will have money but no one to spend on, vehicles but nowhere to go, food but no hunger and life but no desire to live. Start today. Start living! It requires just small effort and a willingness to do it. And don’t excuse yourself by convincing that you have a busy life because it doesn’t take time to live. Add life to your survival. 

Go out in the morning and watch the dew on grasses even if it requires you to wake up ten minutes earlier. Sit out in the night on terrace for few moments and watch the star studded sky. Close your laptop windows and look out from windows in your room for a second. Try smiling at yourself while combing. Smile at strangers and who knows you might start making friends? Take out the slam book of your school time and read through to find out how crazy you have been. Remember your college days and remind yourself how you enjoyed living off the edge. Dust the old albums and take a look at your life. Call an old friend and let him know that it is worth having him in life. Take risks. Do something crazy every day. Tell your waiter that you loved the food and the way he served it. Talk to the security guard of your building who has seen nothing but humane machines rushing in and out of the gate and check out the surprise and gleam in his eyes. Click a photo of the children on roadside. Clean your room. Take a break from video conferences and meetings. Write a letter to your parents telling them how much you love them.  

Forget contests and search the internet for a soothing music. Don’t hesitate in appreciating people around, even if they are not an acquaintance. Don’t worry if your dream couldn’t become your job, still pursue your hobby.  Remain simple and avoid show off because in the end what YOU think of yourself is more important. Feel the connection every single thing and being poses with you. Try seeing the thin threads the world is spun with. Irrespective of who you are, you will find yourself to be at the centre of it, a part of the Supreme Being.  Don’t underestimate the power of your smile; it surely adds magic to the beholder’s life. Love unconditionally and remember, “You are not loved because you are special, you are special because you are loved”. Stop saying “love ya” routinely. For a change, give your beloved some time, sit silently and yet have the most wonderful conversation. Find a mentor. Allow life to flow through yourself. As Albert Einstein said once, “You can live in just two ways, either by believing nothing is a miracle or by believing everything is a miracle”, and trust me, the latter helps! You make your routine, don’t let the routine make you. Take a break whenever you feel like and don’t take life too seriously.

Let your true self come out of the inhibitions in your mind, because generally the one stopping you is YOU!! Do all you would have done, had you known that you couldn’t fail. Have confidence that all you have done is a result of your efforts and deeds and you can change things as and when you want to. Believe that you are the creation’s favorite child who is here to fulfill a space no one in the universe ever can, because you are the only one of your kind. You must be what they all call ‘SPECIAL’!!! J