Sitting quietly, doing nothing,
Spring comes and,
Grass grows by itself.
-Zen haiku.
While reading a book, I came across this haiku and was mesmerised by the simplicity with which it delivers the message. (Haiku is a very important form of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is designed to convey the essence of an experience in a short format.) Too many a time, we fail to focus on experiencing life just as it is because of our habit to delve in complexities that form a barrier between us and the direct experience of the present moment.
We have forgotten to enjoy simple joys of life. How many times do we experience the setting sun while driving back home? Hardly. Because we are busy focussing our minds on tomorrow's tasks. We do not know what long walks are, we cannot think of moments when we do not think at all. Just the other day, I was driving back home and to my left was the vast expanse of open land. The sun was setting and an array of bright golden, orange, red, yellow, pink, blue and white hues was on display in the sky. I jsu couldn't take my eyes off the sight and pulled the car to the roadside. I later realised that while I spent some 20 minutes watching this grandeur, sadly, not a single passer-by bothered to stop by. (Did you notice the superiority complex in this realisation? Also, this means, my mind too, wasn't free of thoughts while watching the sun set.)
I am not advocating a lazy life. I firmly believe that work is worship and working hard is like serving the God. We must work hard not only for ourselves but also to repay the society which influences a great deal of our personality. However, while working hard to achieve our goals, we must not forget to live our life.
I am reminded of a cartoon in which two monks are sitting. The elder monk tells the younger one, 'Nothing happens next. This is it.' All through our life when we are busy working for a better life, we don't realise that life has passed us by.
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1 comment:
thanks for touching a most important but the most neglected part of our life.
This reminds me of you can say the other side of what u have written about. PEACE. We are missing it... within and in our outer world. We are so "restless". Aren't we ? Constantly running after something? I think that much of it can be avoided. Many things we do are for the sake of the society or out of peer pressure. We don't even think whether we really want it or not. Our life is controlled by what others want us to be like, how do we look, what do we wear , rather... not wear etc. etc. So we don't have time for such things. People say its "foolish" to spend time on such "nonremunerative things". But by the time we realise it its too late. As they have said it so correctly... Its not the destination but the "journey" which is important... That's what Life is all about !
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