Life in a Metro

I am visiting Rishikesh with my family and friends. Post dinner the kids are tired and cranky, desperate to have their hands on a gadget and finally retire to their rooms. Why can’t they have a conversation amongst themselves, we mutter under our breath. We stop to hear a singer chumming live music outside the restaurant under the open skies.

There are a handful of guests hanging out (as there is a nip in the air). I look up and see the moon playing hide and seek under the clouds. Below there are mountains with the odd light staring out of the darkness. I am sitting with my wife besides me enjoying the ambience and the music. I request for some of my favorite numbers and he smilingly indulges. There is a glow in his face, clearly enjoying what he is doing. My earnings in material terms could be multiple times more than him but I suddenly felt a lot poorer on some key aspects.

 It strikes me, when was the last time I was in such an ambience. The moon is the same which I could see from my balcony in Gurgaon. The Aravallis in Gurgaon maybe little less pretty than these mountains but visible from the same balcony. Music from my google mini could be a good competition to the live singer. Why am I having this beautiful feeling for the first time in my life?

Three of my key realizations I would want to share through this post

1. Have we stopped enjoying these small moments of life in the mad race for satisfying more of our material wants? Race for what, I ask myself, since the race has to be for spending our life on this beautiful planet with the maximum share of joy and happiness. In this quest for financial security for ourselves and our loved ones are we losing the essence of life? Moments like these, which are an absolute bliss, is not created as it does not find time in our busy calendars.
2. How many of us work in areas that gives us the maximum satisfaction? The major proportion of our time is spent in our workplace. In-fact more than the time spent with our near and dear ones. Are we doing things that we love to do like this musician singing in front of a few people but with a glow that says that he is loving what he is doing? Is satisfaction equal to your paycheck? Is it time to take risks, dismantle boundaries and move forward in the direction the heart tells you?
3. Lastly our children. While we may argue that this is the new generation and should not mirror our behavior, is there a fundamental issue. Have they stopped having conversations with others? Was it better when in our childhood we had only a few TV serials to choose from with no exposure to the outside world through internet? Every situation has its pros and cons and I agree they are getting a bigger global exposure which was never an option during our childhood. But are they losing out on some key aspects of growing up?

While the above may sound like open questions, here is my take on these aspects.

 I firmly believe that life is all about making choices and balancing your priorities. We need to ensure that we lead our children by example. They imitate what they see in their formative years and we are their biggest role models.  So is there a pattern? The fact that we have stopped living life the way we had lived when we were young could be rubbing on our children in their formative years. Have they been hooked on to the screens because we thrust the gadgets at them in their childhood when he/she was not eating or was cranky? By not spending qualitative time with them are we pushing them to search for other means of engagement?

By not doing things where our heart is, we are preparing ourselves to regret our choices on our death beds. While financial security is very important, should there not be a matrix of job satisfaction that comes in? It is not always necessary that we need to leave everything and pursue our passion. Can we continue to do the same while keeping our professional engagements intact? Which essentially means not letting our mind space be over crowded with professional engagements. Which means spending that extra half an hour with our near and dear ones. Which means not being distracted when your kid talks about his/her small accomplishment in school. Which means taking your spouse to the next music concert even if it means taking an early break from office. Which means joining that art class which you always wanted or pursue the social work which gives you inner satisfaction. Which essentially means being clear about your priorities and choices.

This could be things to ponder for all of us as we gallop through this beautiful journey called life. Unfortunately, however much we may desire, there is no second innings in this cricket match.