I pondered over how I want to write this. But there is nothing that struck me. It’s been a month and perhaps the best way to say it, is by keeping it simple and sweet.
Simple questions with simple answers. It all started with a suggestion from one of my blog followers. Since then, it got me thinking.
When was the last time we actually enjoyed life? To pinpoint what enjoy means is definitely a bit hard. But if you had to pick one from the recent past, which incident would you recollect?
When was the last time you lay beneath the stars and enjoyed the silence of the night?
When was the last time you stopped at the signal and made a funny face – yes, the one where you put your thumb to your nose and move your other fingers – at the kid on the neighbouring motorcycle?
When was the last time you spent the weekend at home, just sitting and playing pictionary or scrabble with your mom and dad? When you laughed at how scribbles became sketches and self-invented words made you win the game?
When was the last time you cooked a meal with your best friend and laughed at your culinery skills? When the recipe seemed Greek and Latin but the urge to experiment and make something mouth-watering and delicious was way more important?
When was the last time you wrote a postcard to your friend instead of an e-mail or a WhatsApp message?
When was the last time you rode your cycle to meet your cousins on the next street?
When was the last time you wet your feet on the beach with your friends?
When was the last time you performed a random act of kindness? A chocolate to a child on the street? A glass of lime juice to the beggar? A random off-day to your domestic help? Taking a stray dog to the shelter?
When was the last time you just danced not caring about what people thought?
When was the last time we didn’t crib about life and just enjoyed the present? It’s definitely been a while.
Actually, the list is endless. It isn’t hard to find simple things that can make us happy. But it is hard to squeeze them all into our busy schedules. We are so busy trying to make our lives richer and better that sometimes we forget to spend time on things that money can’t buy. Whether it’s a movie, a meal, a dress or a party, we are so used to connecting a good time with something that comes with a cost, that we don’t take the liberty to enjoy what’s freely available.
Whether it’s saying ‘I love you’ or a nice good night kiss, it’s been a while since we did it.
Maybe the time has come for us to just give life a chance rather than run through it faster than we’re meant to.
Then probably, we wouldn’t have to rummage through our thoughts and dig out a long lost memory of having a ‘good time’. After all, you only live once.
Ink and Paper 