She looked straight into the HD camera focused at her and beamed with utmost joy, showing all her little teeth. The steady warm breeze gently touched her neglected hair as the rays of the burning sun from right above rested on her unopposed skin, while eagerly standing there with a tattered dress which seemed to have lost it's color years ago.
This unusual scene, not surprisingly, got the foreign onlookers captivated with a certain sense of empathy. I, myself, not so much of an emotionally-attached character, would have just glanced and switched my gaze in the direction I was walking, if it had not hit me straight on the head that day..
To her, life was about having moments and more importantly, embracing them as they come; instead of living a fabricated life : one with a purposeless game-plan and an imaginary accomplishment (like the chess game we were playing*). Real joy remains invisible to us because we choose to look else where.
Look around, there's love to be found!
*Note : I'm not against chess. In fact I love the game. I just am very fond of using analogies so I apologize if I hurt any sentiments by doing so.
This unusual scene, not surprisingly, got the foreign onlookers captivated with a certain sense of empathy. I, myself, not so much of an emotionally-attached character, would have just glanced and switched my gaze in the direction I was walking, if it had not hit me straight on the head that day..
I was in Rajasthan on one of my official trips when I realised how irrationally I was going about with things. Though life was throwing things at me, I was unsatisfied with what I was receiving. I needed elevation. So I was constantly planning and breaking my head, calculating steps to reach a better position - just like playing chess. Make a move, which leads to another, half of them earning me failure, entering into a string of 'unsatisfactory' moves...which ultimately finishes with 'the last man standing'. Is that really what I want my life to be? A series of robotic moves... to be left standing there all by myself, only claimed as the winner. Is that it?
This little girl who hardly had two meals a day was enjoying herself in that very moment. I could sense that genuine eagerness and that thrill to have someone click her photo, or even if it was just a warm hello. I don't think she cared about impressing her high-profile neighbour, buying the best gadgets, attending the pre-monsoon parties, having a thousand likes on your latest instapic or worrying about how outdated her wardrobe is. I doubt she even knows what Facebook means. I'm in no way undermining her situation though, each one has his own sour candy to chew on..
To her, life was about having moments and more importantly, embracing them as they come; instead of living a fabricated life : one with a purposeless game-plan and an imaginary accomplishment (like the chess game we were playing*). Real joy remains invisible to us because we choose to look else where.
So, you could wash all that self-gratifying garbage off, open your eyes, take in a long gulp of fresh air, go out and start being human with a heart. The choice is yours.
Look around, there's love to be found!
Live
Love
Laugh
Repeat.
*Note : I'm not against chess. In fact I love the game. I just am very fond of using analogies so I apologize if I hurt any sentiments by doing so.
Image credit : Rahul D'souza
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ReplyDeletelovely words... very beautifully wriiten blog David de Melo:)
ReplyDeletelive...love...laugh..repeat:)