“I have been thinking about you but didn't get
time to call”- How many times we say this to our friends and family
and how many times we hear this from them? I have been thinking about it
lately; obviously because I am extremely time pressed these days (why else one
would ponder upon a topic like this?)
Things never used to be this busy with the previous
generations; I still remember while I was a kid, my parents had many friends
and they always used to find time for their friends. There were festivals to be
celebrated, family dinners, get-togethers being organized where you meet each
other, the kids play and the grownups chat. I used to love many of those
events. Even the kind where your doorbell rings late evening and there is a
good family friend (with family) smiling at your door. We will always greet
them with a smile not only on lips but all the way from heart to lips. And the
party will start, no planning, no calling before just extempore party. I am
sure many people my age would remember the evening huddle in the community;
where everyone is a part of a gender& age based groups (usually a gender
neutral age based group only for kids to a certain age). Everyone busy chatting,
playing, gossips, jokes, laughs and at times arguments; all a part of being a
part of the community. The very fabric that the spread of human life is made up
of. (READ: Man is a social Animal)
But all that is a thing of the past. I don’t think anyone
celebrates a sudden unannounced guest anymore. And I have not seen people
having time for those parties or “daily casual community meets.” Because we; the
present day people are busy people.
Busy, that is a good thing. And staying too busy to have insufficient
time for social life is bad but acceptable if it is short lived. However; I see
all around me; people, way too busy to have a life. We
are too busy making a living that we don’t have time to live. That is unfortunate. Almost a curse. I am living that curse and it hurts. Is there a way to lift
that curse? Is there a holy man or something written in the scripture or even a
shaman who can help?
Our parents could do it so there must be a way. The fact is
not that they were not busy, on the contrary they were very busy, mind you
there were way lesser gadgets to improve efficiency on daily chores and there
were limited communication means; still they had time to live. Because they made
a choice to live.
For now I don’t know how I can do it, but last few months
I am being so “busy” that I had no time even for my family. So no social life
and no family life, just one word to define the way it all has been, “BUSY”
While writing this I want to sincerely apologize to my
friends and relative for not having enough time for them in the past especially
to my wife and kids for being too busy and almost unreachable for them for many
months now. And also I want to apologize to myself for what I have deprived
myself of.
At
this time I don’t know how can I be not “so Busy” but I promise that I will
work on a way and implement it soon. May be one step will be to politely returning
the “Monkeys” to people (home, work, society etc.) that those belong to. Since
a part of me being busy has a lot to do with carrying the “Monkeys” that are
not mine#. Letting go of those may give me more
time to think about additional ways to make it better.
See!
I already started thinking of the ways; like I mentioned earlier; all it need
is to make a choice and work on it. I should Live and not just stay busy making
a living……..
Still
don’t know how but I know I will. And that’ is a Promise!!!!
# I
read about Monkey analogy in a book by Ken Blanchard in 2002 and used the
learning successfully at that time soon after forgot about it. It just came
back while writing this piece
