Take Joy

There’s a tragedy that happens in all our lives. A tragedy that no one acknowledges or gives any credence to. A tragedy that is hidden in plain sight, but a tragedy nonetheless.

This tragedy is that as grow older, we simply forget how to have fun. The older we get, the less joyful our lives become. As adults, we get so burdened with our responsibilities that we don’t know the feeling of fun anymore.

Look at any child or group of children. Observe how full of joy they can be. The smallest of things can get them excited. They are always looking for new ways to play and have fun. Every object is a potential toy for them. Groups of children even get together and invent games of their own.

Tell me honestly, when was the last time you felt that way? I mean, when did you get so engrossed in some playful activity that you lost track of time? Do you even remember the last time you truly had fun?

Even though we’ve grown older and forgotten what this feels like, I believe a child still lives inside of us. It never completely dies, it just becomes dormant. We can still awaken our inner child.

“Every child is born an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when they grow up.” Pablo Picasso.

It’s time we take our inner artist-child on a play date. It’s time we remember how to have fun again.

Here’s what you do:

First, block some time on your busy calendar. During this time, switch off your phone. Don’t check your emails or messages or social media. Don’t read the latest news or check your finances. Completely disconnect from the world.

Do anything that interests you. Take a walk on the beach; go for a swim; photograph a sunset; paint a mountain scenery; cook an exotic recipe; write in your journal; play some old board game; sing along to your favorite music, even if it’s corny music that no one else respects; dance barefoot to drum beats; make a collage of old photos; go to a temple or church and chant hymns; take a boat trip on the open seas; go on a long drive with no destination.

Do whatever your heart tells you to do. There are no rules. Just let yourself have fun.

“Follow your bliss, and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” Joseph Campbell.

The more you take time out to have fun, the more that sleeping child will awaken inside you. The more your imagination will be nurtured. The more joy will spontaneously come into your life.

You think you’re too busy for this?

I think if you want to stay creative and productive, you can’t afford not to do this. The heart of all creativity is imagination at play. Without that feeling of play, without that child-like enthusiasm, you will become increasingly jaded as the years roll by. That staleness will affect your work, it will corrode your productivity, and it will seep into your relationships.

On the other hand, awakening the inner child will have wonderful side-affects on your work, your relationships, and on every part of your life. You will start to feel more alive again. Expect new ideas for all kinds of projects to come to you.

It’s great if we’re able to achieve success in our careers, and have good family lives. It’s commendable if we’ve acquired wealth and luxury in our lives.

But what about simple joy? What about having fun? Let’s not forget about that.

“The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy.” Fra Giovanni.

A Prologue

Everybody knows that blood is red, but what they don’t tell you, is how warm it is. A thin trickle of blood made its way down from Rajiv’s forehead, hung off the tip of his nose for a moment, then slipped into his mouth. It tasted so warm.

Rajiv blinked. He was lying flat on the concrete pavement. His skull felt like it was being pounded by a hammer from the inside. His breath came in wheezing gasps. He tried to stand up, but couldn’t move a muscle. He tried to raise his hand, but it wouldn’t respond. Even lifting his neck felt like a herculean effort.

His t-shirt was torn, and blood oozed from deep gashes on his chest. His left ankle was swollen up to the size of a football.

He was in a narrow gully, next to a row of garbage boxes. Sounds of chanting emanated from the main road at the end of the gully.

“Ganpati Bappa, Morya.”

“Mangal Murthi, Morya.”

Rajiv saw a throng of people carrying a large orange-colored idol of Lord Ganesh, the great Hindu god. It was visarjan day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, when devotees took out their idols in grand processions and immersed them in the sea.

Rajiv lay still, staring into the Mumbai night sky. It was thick with smog, yet he could see a star or two. 

What had he done to deserve this?? He only tried to help some people who desperately needed help….a little girl in a faded kurta…a dark boy missing his front teeth…

He didn’t want his life to end. Not like this, lying alone and battered in some obscure gully. He closed his eyes and prayed.

“Please don’t forsake me, Ganpati.”

“Don’t leave me here to die.”

Every inch of his body yelped in pain.

“Rajiv baba?? Is that you?” A voice called.

Rajiv saw a bald, old man bend over him. His face was lined with wrinkles. A face that Rajiv recognized.

“Cha…” Rajiv opened his mouth to speak, but what came out was an unintelligible splutter.

“Don’t say anything,” The old man said. “Don’t try to move.”

“I’ll get help,” He scampered off towards the main road.

Rajiv had no idea how long he remained there, breathing and praying. Could have been minutes, could have been hours. 

At some point, he heard the shrill sound of an ambulance. Voices of men came closer, yelling things at each other. A torchlight was pointed at his face.

Next thing he knew, he was inside the ambulance, an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. In that weary, drug-induced haze, he had a sudden flash of memory. He remembered the faces of the men who had come for him. They had grabbed him and thrashed him with sticks.

One face in particular, illuminated in his mind. The face of a hulking man with broad shoulders and a small neck. And fiery red eyes that never blinked.

Those eyes. He couldn’t forget the look in the man’s eyes, even if he wanted to.

That was his last thought, and then there was darkness…

Escape From Reality

Have you ever wanted to escape from reality? Leave everything behind and get transported to another world?

Maybe you’re bored to death with the mundane daily routine. Maybe your life’s troubles are weighing heavily on you. Your job, your career, your family, your friends, all of it becomes too much to handle at times. You want to get away, if only for a short while.

I bring good news for you. You can escape from your reality. Today, if you want to.

All you have to do is find a good work of fiction to immerse yourself into. A story that draws you in, and doesn’t let you go till the last page is turned.

When a good story gets a hold of you, something magical happens. From wherever you are, you can teleport yourself to different world. A world created by the author’s imagination, and completed by your own. There, you’ll meet interesting new people and go on adventures with them.

You’ll live vicariously through their trials and tribulations, struggles and rewards, pain and joy. They’ll become part of your life during the time you inhabit their world.

When you embark on this journey with your new friends, you’ll begin your escape.

You’ll forget about the problems of the real world, of the day-to-day struggle. For a brief period, you’ll be free. Free to be lost in the realm of your imagination. Free to be like a child again: enchanted and full of wonder.

Now, I know what you’re going to say.

Oh, I would love to read a good story, but I just don’t have the time. My work keeps me busy, and then I have so many things to do at home…where’s the time?

What about all the time you spend on your phone, that addictive device that never leaves your side? How often do you find yourself scrolling through some newsfeed, watching random videos, distracted by sporadic tidbits and forwarded messages, rapidly switching between apps?

If you spend a little less time on that small screen that saps your attention with the frivolous and the random, you can instead redirect your attention towards something more compelling.

Consider this: you found time to read this, didn’t you?

Surely then, you can read a story for half an hour a day. Maybe, before going to sleep at night, maybe during your commute (or maybe even in the bathroom). When you find a story that captivates you, the time for it will materialize in your day.

What should I read, you might ask?

Read anything you want. Be it romance or murder mysteries, courtroom dramas or young adult stories, fantasy or horror….what­ever floats your boat. Follow your curiosity. Find a story that makes you forget your surroundings, and takes you away to another place, where you can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Maybe you’ll enjoy dark fantasy horror stories with zombies chasing vampires. Maybe you’ll like a plain old love triangle, boy-meets-girl, girl-meets-another-boy, etc. Your family, friends and colleagues might look upon your choices with condescension and disdain. But who cares with other people think? Remember, you only have to please yourself. This is your escape. Yours and yours alone.

The human experience is a difficult one. Our lives are chaotic and full of uncertainty. We’re constantly inundated with challenges and decisions. We have so many expectations to meet, and so much is out of our control. We’re often blindsided by things that hurt us. We have a wardrobe full of unfulfilled desires and forgotten dreams.

It’s only natural that we need to escape every now and again. Some people turn to meditation or spirituality or religion. Some turn to alcohol and drugs and other medicinal substances. Some travel to exotic destinations. Some get lost in the world of sports, living every game with their favorite team. Some are swept away by music and dance, art and craft.

In the end, we all need an escape. Something to dispel the dark fog that descends on our minds. A respite from the painful, suffocating, and at times unbearable experiences that life puts us through.

So, have you found yours?

The Terminal Condition

Imagine you have a terminal illness, and have limited time left to live. Would you waste precious moments feeling unhappy about your life situation, angry with other people, upset about little things? Or would you let it all go, and make the most of what time you have left?

I have news for you. You do have a terminal condition. It’s called life. And there is no known cure. You will die someday. You have limited time left.

Years ago, I read a novel called Train to Pakistan by Khuswant Singh. In it was a character named Hukum Chand, a government magistrate, whose backstory created a strong impression on me.

Death had been an obsession for Hukum Chand. As a child, he saw his aunt die after prolonged suffering. For weeks, she had hallucinations, and would wave her arms frantically at imaginary spirits. Eventually she died, shrieking with terror, her tongue sticking out, staring and pointing at the ceiling.

This scene never left Hukum Chand’s mind. Later, he tried to overcome his fear of death by spending countless hours at cremation grounds. He watched bodies, young and old, being brought there, lamented for, and then burned.

Through this, he developed a sense of tranquility. He got over his anxiety about death, but the idea of ultimate dissolution was always present in the background of his mind. It made him kind, charitable, and tolerant. It made him cheerful in adversity. He took the loss of his children with a calm acceptance. He lived through a bad marriage with a spiteful wife, without complaint.

It all came from his belief that the only absolute truth was death. Everything else – pride, ambition, wealth, success, love – was to be taken with a pinch of salt. Nothing really mattered in the end. This was the core of Hukum Chand’s philosophy, and he lived well.

The awareness of the transient nature of all things can be liberating. If nothing lasts, then why worry about what will happen tomorrow, or dwell about what happened yesterday? None of it will matter.

To internalize this awareness, start with something small. Look at any object around you: your phone, a table, a glass, anything. At some point, this thing did not exist. Someone made it, and now you’re seeing it and using it. With time, it will start to decay, and then be discarded and destroyed.

Look at any building, like your home or office. In the past, this structure was not there. Today, it stands before you. It will gradually experience wear and tear. Maybe fifty or a hundred years from now, it will be taken down, and replaced by something new.

Think of the people in your life. Before they were born, they were not in this world. Now, they’re here. As the years roll by, they will inevitably age, and the condition of their body and mind will deteriorate. Until one day, they will no longer be in this world.

Think about the city you live in. Ages ago, this city didn’t exist. The land was very different, and maybe even uninhabited. Then, at one point in history, the city was built. And who knows how long it will last? There’ll come a time when no such city exists anymore. It could get submerged under water, destroyed by earthquakes, or by man-made catastrophes like war.

The same goes for the country, even the planet. Earth was not here from the beginning. It took a while to come into being in the universe. Like any planet, it has a finite lifetime. One day, it too will cease to exist.

Everything is temporary. Nothing lasts. So, don’t take life so seriously. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Understand this: everything you do, become, achieve or create will fade away in time, and eventually be lost in the annals of history.

Don’t hold on to your life’s problems, big or small. Don’t hold on to your attachments to possessions, and to people. Don’t hold on to your expectations of who you are, what you must achieve, and how your life must turn out. Don’t hold on to anything.

Let it all go. 

You’ll feel so much lighter. You’ll be free at last. Free to enjoy each moment, whatever it may bring.

Breathe. Relax. Have fun. Enjoy the moment. Let it go.

Life has two simple rules:

Rule No 1) Don’t worry about the small stuff.

Rule No 2) It’s all small stuff.