“We all want to fly high, high up in the blue sky, just spread our wings and fly, high up in the blue sky.”
We all want to soar, but we don’t want to let go. Only if we let go of our baggage can we let our minds free.
The inspiration for this post comes from a li’l girl of about 4 who I saw at the signal yesterday. She was on a bike, standing in front of the rider. I noticed how she loved the breeze that was blowing her hair away from her face. She was worry-free. Why? Was it because she was not a grown-up yet? Was it because she had no responsibilities? No. It was because she decided to let all her worry take a back seat.
Of course kids worry, about the food that they don’t want to eat, but are force-fed, the clothes that they are not in a mood to wear, but have to because they are not supposed to have an opinion, the itchy diaper, the forced naps, having a bath, an adult cleaning their nose painfully, about not being able to play with wires, the computer, the TV, the phone; the list is endless. As adults we look at these as trivial worries, but they are worries nonetheless. In spite of all this, have you noticed how the smallest of objects, the simplest of gestures, or a loving touch makes the baby happy? As adults, I realize, we tend to complicate life and everything that makes up life. We consciously or unconsciously train or minds to amplify our worries manifold.
I remember, how as a kid I would wait for the rains and get drenched. I loved the feeling of submitting to the raindrops hitting my face. I could feel even the tiniest of droplets on me. Now, I hate going somewhere drenched. I wonder where I lost myself. There was a time when I could read a book a day if I put my mind to it. Now, let alone a book, finishing a few pages tires me out. I wonder where I lost my mind.
In the course of trying to conquer the world, we manipulate ourselves to an extent where we let our fears, anxieties and worries slave us. As kids, it was always about where we would play in the evening, which chocolate to buy today, what we would wear today, was all that mattered. We no more live in today. It’s always about planning for the next day or the next week. Clichéd, but we lose the zest for today. What the future holds, we do not know. It’s the fear of the unknown that eats us up.
Why can’t we be kids again,learning to give more importance to our happiness in the present than our worries of tomorrow? I’m sure there is a reason they say ‘Ignorance is bliss’; why then is the ignorance of what tomorrow holds not blissful? What we end up doing is live each day of our lives partially. We evolve physically, but it feels like our mental strength and resolve shrinks as we grow older.
Note to self: If things go wrong, don’t go with them!
