Stand, stare, pause, reflect…slow down and soak in Life. Don’t
keep running, with no time to stop and smell the roses, as if Life were a race.
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| Hari and his friend |
Yesterday, on
our morning walk we saw a milkman feeding a stray cat. We paused and asked him
why he was doing that. He beamed a big smile, said hello, introduced himself as
Hari, and explained, “I just found her hanging around this neighborhood
everyday as I made my deliveries. One day I offered her some milk. And since
then we have become good friends. She comes by whenever I am here. I enjoy
seeing her and feeding her. Poor thing, all she needs is some care and milk!”
Hari’s random
act of kindness is so inspiring. It made me think. How often do we do something
like that – which is to pause and care for someone who does not have anything
to offer us in return?
Further down
our walking route, my wife Vaani, an ardent lover of nature, birds, flowers
and, in fact, of Life itself, pointed to a tall tree and its fall colors. I
looked up, Indeed the patterns that the morning light was weaving through the
leaves uplifted their colors. Vaani, who schooled at Rishi Valley, where her
parents were teachers, said J.Krishnamurti (the philosopher who lived between
1895 and 1986; he founded the Rishi Valley School and The Krishnamurti
Foundation) taught her, and her sister, “the value of mindfulness and observation”.
It’s been 28
years since I have known Vaani. Initially, I could never understand why she
always got so excited when she saw a tree or a bird or a flower. But over the
last decade or so, ever since I was forcibly evicted from the rat race –
thankfully, mercifully – I have also learned to pause, observe and reflect. I
have learnt to appreciate Life better by slowing down. There’s great beauty in
each moment, I realize now, provided you look up from your ‘busyness’!
Besides,
beneath all the chaos and grime that hold a big city in a stranglehold, there
are still ordinary folks like Hari who teach us how to be compassionate and
there are people like Vaani who remind us that it is possible to find beauty in
the most unexpected of places.
The greatest
wealth in Life is be able to enjoy the gift of this lifetime. In trying harder
to run faster to get to a destination you think is your ultimate one, you are
missing out on the scenery and the opportunity that each moment is offering
you. I am reminded of W.H.Davies’ (1871 ~ 1940) poem Leisure. What
he wrote back then is still so, so, relevant: “A poor Life this if, full of
care, we have no time to stand and stare.”
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