The slipping moments...

As I sit down and think what exactly to write for my debutante blogpost, I am beginning to jot down a mixed bag of random lingering thoughts. At this moment I myself don’t know if it can be converted into a full-blown article…So be it... With no particular context as such let me see if it can indeed turn into a potential piece… And if you end up reading what follows, that means these ramblings have indeed got on my mind! Good, it saved me some hours of search and research that goes into what exactly is to be penned down!

Let’s get to the crux of the matter. Ever wondered what it is like to savour every moment that we live. How do we go through our lives in the literal sense? Do we end up with a scurried pace of frenzy from one activity to another wanting to just get done with it. Well well!!! Sadly, most of the times, inadvertently, we plainly end up in this humdrum one way or the other. We either cope with the mundane day-to-day routine or simply get inured with time for this mindless action.

We frequently hear people say that we need to live in the present enjoying every moment as it comes… I throw this question open to all who say so? Is it even faintly possible to reach this state of bliss at every moment of one’s existence? It is a continual process of coming on par with the very fact that any passing moment won’t ever come back and is lost forever. It is a paradox, in fact a complete antithesis between preaching and implementation. Anyone who claims to do so has to be either tad diplomatic, foolishly optimistic or overtly lying to oneself. A thin line does exist between wanting to enjoy the moment and really being able to do so. Far too many physical and mental distractions disturb the rhythm of living in the moment.

Take some classic examples. You are commuting to your workplace with your iPod on and listening to some light melodious songs. Are you really grasping every moment of the song as it comes… the notes, the highs and lows, the pitch, the words and beyond, the pauses in between, the subtle references… Or just letting the song pass through for a quick reverie and relaxation. What’s the point of being in space and time when you are actually not present there fully to relish it? Even while a favourite song of yours is going on, you are busy thinking of a task being assigned to you, a possible communication to be established with a distant friend, what you will have for supper, blah blah… and the list is practically endless.

Actually if we ponder over it deeply, the fault lies in the extreme fickleness of human mind. We are so programmed to let our thoughts wander from one plane to next and that too in a split second that we are left with absolutely no control over it. Give it a serious thought… Life would be so much more meaningful had we found solace in these things that we eventually dismiss as being impractical (another paradox… who determines it to be so, isn’t it you and me who frame it so for our convenience). Imagine… How nice would it be to really enjoy the taste of the food being laid on your plate… the penetrating aroma, the changing flavours on the taste buds, and the innate satisfaction of saving that last morsel of your favourite dish till the very end of the meal… It is these small-small joys which transcend across any barrier which could indeed spice up the very living experience.

To look at both sides of the same coin, a possible refutation to this inkling of thought could be that “Where is the time to do so? As it is we hardly get any time for recreation…. Who will dawdle over these idealistic fantasies?” This is the primary faux pas we end up imbibing within ourselves. Firstly, time as the scarcest resource cannot be the sole excuse for this neglect. In a well-paced day, one can and will do all the tasks that one indeed wants to do right? Then why not do it whole-heartedly or enjoy it to the fullest. And especially when it can add the much-deserved zing to our living. It’s a connection with one’s own self that needs to be established first for gaining access to that part of self that we conveniently take for granted… Try it… At least attempt to live in the moment truly… Who knows it may just be the unnoticed missing factor in your life to give an additional dash to your dynamism.

So this is it… I hope it’s not an overdose of the “in the moment circuit”… This topic has far too many shades to it… we can either accept it as being vital for enjoying the journey called life and put it in practice or deride it as being impractical in the current frantic times. Take it or leave it… but in it’s vital sense, the essence of all this boils down to one thing; that being of a “life well-lived and loved”.