Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Art of doing Nothing

All of us crave for some free time doing nothing. Surprisingly, we enjoy these pleasures in childhood without being aware of it and then crave for it all the years of our adulthood. Not to ignite feelings of any of the readers, but it seems to be that guys seem to enjoy it more than girls, in their adolescence.

I was good at it when I was a kid, when I could coolly shut my eyes and ears off to my mom's sermons. Now it seems difficult. If I shut my eyes, everyone else still seems to be watching me. If I shut my ears, actually I would be happy if I could shut it off once in a while, but somehow it doesn't seem to work or I need to learn it again.

As a kid, I have stared in the bright blue sky hours watching the clouds float by. At nights, I used to gaze the stars and the constellations and had dreams of joining NASA. In our 24 hour train journeys, I used to memorize all the stations, including the small ones, where the train would halt. I had even noticed the animals sitting on the train tracks/platforms when the train stopped. To that extent, I and my brother composed a small poem
"Lalitpur ka kauwa,Itarsi ki gai,..(Lalitpur's crow, Itarsi's cow...)"
I have forgotten the other animals in other stations but it was a very fancy song for that summer vacation. You can imagine how much time we had in our hands to while away. Earlier, the earth used to rotate and make the day and night for us. Nowadays, it feels like we are spinning the earth, making the time go faster.

The best part of life when one can idle is the student days. Nowadays, with all the activities and tuition, even that seems to be a far thought. I have enjoyed summer vacations, which seem to drag endlessly, reading books/comics, playing and pestering my mom. I have not enjoyed such a pleasure for a long time but I know the culprit. It is my mind. The "Nothing" in my mind has changed to "Something" and since then, never given me rest. If it ever turns into "anything", I would be more than happy, or at least be at peace with myself.

7 comments:

--xh-- said...

hm.. i still seems to hav etime toi enjoy all this - so does that makes me a child? :-D he he. watching clouds passing by.. laying down, watching the starts twinkilng.. they r joys in life which dont have any equivalent. and train journeys - well, i looooove them. tahzt why now also i go to kerala only in train - that too, in sleeper class. after bike/car train is my prefered mode of transport...

but yeah, as we grow older, responsabilieties weigh our sholders, adn we tend to enjoy less and less free time. I hope i will be able to enjoy my free time till i am ready to get packed to my 6feet suit.

Sairekha said...

I agree. Every single word here.:)

Jaya said...

XH: To be honest, when I have to wait for a train or be in a long queue for something, I do experience the life slowing down. But I miss the carefree-ness that is associated with childhood. Train is the best mode of transport. Travelling to Kerala would be fun and it is so scenic...
(Note: I did mention in the beginning of the post that guys seem to enjoy it more than girls. Blame it on our mind/way of thinking!!! or the universal truth that guys don't do anything) :) :)

Ziah: :)
XH again: See, only a girl can understand a girl :) :)

aMus said...

ahhh the pleasures of doing nothing!!! how i crave for that now...:(

funnily enuf, whatever u wrote here is so familiar,...teh train journeys...its almost like you turned over a page in my life...:)

Sairekha said...

Hey sweets! I took up your tag:)

Jaya said...

TA: Did I turn a leaf in your life? Growing up in similar backgrounds gives us similar experiences :)

Ziah: Hey , thanks.

Geraldine said...

You've brought up some very good points and brought to mind some sweet memories of my younger days. Very good post!

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