Life!

It used to be this way.

Doors wide open, children running in and out of the house, chasing after cackling hens, laughing merrily.

Women chatting in the open air kitchen, with the aroma of freshly cooked dinner filling the air, occasionally yelling at the one or 2 children who messed up the place.

Men sat by the table drinking ice cold beer, talking about the work day that just passed. That sheer warmth and joy of feeling free… that sense of community.

Nobody worried about anything...

That was simplicity. That was innocence. That, was life. But somewhere down the line, life changed.

People sealed up their homes and replaced the warm home with a cold house. People stopped smiling at others and when they talk, they talk behind others’ backs. The world suddenly became more dangerous.

Unkind thoughts sneaked into our minds. The sense of community eroded and things became complicated.

Slowly, people started to feel the difference and tried to make up for the difference by filling their lives with more activity. Planning, organizing, goal-setting… and then, stress crept in. People became so stressed out, that life would whiz past them, without them even knowing. Emptiness became like a black hole. It just kept sucking life out of them, never returning a single cent.

Title chase became a norm, and soon people were “killing” each other, over the search for power, and money. After that title chasing, tiredness overcame people, and some shrewd businessmen came up with the idea of stress management.

The businessmen built beautiful resorts and came up with fancy stress management tactics like reflexology and spas.

They painted pictures of flowing water, soothing sounds and beautiful sunsets to people.

They created that vision which many looked forward to.

It was a paradise. And the people were sold to that idea of a paradise. The price, however, was not cheap. Therefore, people went into the vicious cycle of finding more money to find more calm. Greed took over and people became slaves to money.

It became a status symbol, to buy that lifestyle that was once available to them. The lifestyle that was innocent, charming and full of laughter. What an irony!The things that people took for granted, became a luxury. People lost sight of who they really were. People lost track of what life was all about.

One fine day, they came to the end of their lives, and realized with a rude shock that their lives were nothing and have full of regrets.

If any of those things strike home for you, it’s time to take stock, and go back to the basics. Before I end, I just have something for you. In Buddhist monasteries, it was the cook’s duty to make the most sumptuous meal possible out of whatever ingredients that was available, rather than complaining about what he didn’t have.

Life, is what happens to you, when you are busy making other plans.