NO TIME TO STOP, NO TIME TO WAIT

 

It was probably the year 2000 when I had first come across the famous lines of the Welsh poet, W H Davies “What is this life, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare…”. The poem “Leisure” had surely been the part of English literature for many in school; I am pretty sure we had known the poem by heart then, along with the substance. But did we actually comprehend the essence of these lines then? Maybe NO!

Today, 22 years later, those lines truely make sense to me. Each one of us, irrespective of the age, qualification, economic status, gender, is running continuously (not literally!) – whether it is to score the highest marks in class or to get more clients or to fight the traffic and reach work on time! In this state of life, we all have lost or forgotten to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer. No more do we spend time with our friends and family playing outdoor games like kabaddi or badminton, or even silly games like hide-and-seek or blindman’s buff. In fact, nowadays we don’t even have the ability to spend quality time with our near and dear ones – when was the last time actually that we had a really good conversation with our parents and siblings, without getting interrupted by a phone call or any other notification?? And can we now actually enjoy natural beauty around us – wherever we look, we can only see signs of “vikas” or development, all in cement and concrete! No longer are there parks available for kids to enjoy and stroll in the evening or vast fields or gardens to relish the evening tea.

For each and every individual, life seems to be a constant race – something that Viru Shahastrabuddhi from 3 Idiots had rightly pointed out back in 2009 – “Agar tez nahi bhagoge to haar jaaoge.” From the moment a baby is born now, parents start to worry about their schooling, tutions, and extra-curricular activities. The parent of a nine-month-old kid had even received a call from an agency to enroll their baby; they had claimed that they can make babies walk and talk before they complete one year! Surprising isn’t it? But what is even more surprising is that new parents actually wish for this kind of development in their kids! This example has been cited here to prove a simple point – everyone is striving for the achievement of a target well in advance! And we are not alone in this – everyone is doing the same thing – so if I take a pause “to stand and stare”, won't I be left behind? We all like to believe that we are happy and successful – I mean as a kid I just wanted some guest to give me the big diary milk (costing Rs. 10 in the 90s) once in a while and now my fridge is stacked with many such chocolates (costing Rs. 50) all the time – so isn’t it a sign of success? Because a desire or wish is now a reality! So to achieve that we are just working hard – didn’t we learn as kids that “Success only comes to those who work hard”?

I know that everyone wants to have a good life with financial security but while trying to achieve that target, we are losing some basic things and compromising hugely on our physical and mental health. Every phase of life is a struggle and test but is there a necessity to come out in flying colors in every test? It may sound a little vague or philosophical but there is an old saying - “Taqdeer se zyada and waqt se pehle kisiko kuch ni milta.” If we are destined to save only Rs 100 in a month, we will save only that much even if we toil and run to earn Rs. 100000. Of course, it doesn’t mean that we stop earning according to our abilities and just wait for the destined fruits of our labor!   

Unwinding, de-stressing, and relaxing is something that we are all giving importance to – we are going out with family for dinners (while checking notifications all the time), getting a spa and massage (while updating this fact in the social media and constantly checking views/likes on our post) because we have no time or place to relax under the shade of a tree with the cool breeze on our face – but our brains are still running with competitive thoughts – WHY?? An important facet here is that we aren’t running the rat race in a healthy manner; negative emotions like jealousy and hatred occupy our minds all the time. As a result, we are not even able to sleep peacefully at night because we aren’t just thinking about our work, but also about upsetting or hiding from someone else! So in being so preoccupied with the cares of life, where do we have time to stop and stare – marvel at the wonderful nature or watch the weaver bird building its nest??!!