We have always heard from older generations about how good things were in the ‘good old days’. One wonders what these good old days were! Were things really that good back then or is it just a piece of imagination in old grannies’ heads - an ideal situation which cannot be met but is just a sweet dream depicting how one wants to see the world? Have they been setting their standards about how things should be too high and too unrealistic?
I have myself shaken my head in exasperation several times when I heard my elders or someone from previous generation describe the almost surreal ‘good old’ world where things were as they should be (in their opinion) and life was enjoyed to the maximum. Where the issues plaguing us today and showing a horrendous picture of the future we are creating for our kids were not even a part of horror movies. Where life was slow and maybe boring but also simple and uncomplicated.
Isn’t the goal of our lives still the same that was back then - to live and let live. To be happy and enjoy every moment that life has gifted us with? To experience the breathtaking wonders of this world - and by wonders of this world I don’t necessarily mean the Colosseum or the Taj Mahal. These too, but also the flowers blooming in their angelic beauty, the birds chirping away their melodious sweet song and the sun setting in all its orange, red and yellow glory. There is so much in this world to enjoy and so much to internalise and get positive vibes from. There is so much to live for and let it tantalise our senses.
Luxembourg - most of us recall till a few years back as a sparsely populated, peaceful place with lazy roads winding around the lush green fields. The people too were unhurried with lots of time on hand and always ready for a small chat. The small houses dotted the pretty manicured gardens and everyone around was a familiar face. But just like everywhere else, here too things have changed.
Scene two: switch to today and the pace of life has surely picked up. Most of us wake up thinking about running to the job, grabbing a quick breakfast en- route. In the office it’s mostly work, politics and lots of coffee from 9 to 5. It’s then time to fight back the traffic jams and use our balance patience for manoeuvring the roads filled with angry honking cars, till we reach home ourselves angry and depressed - only to face the responsibilities back home like dinner to cook, helping kids with homework, cleaning up etc.
No wonder that after such a hectic day, the mind and body just give up and crash on the bed. Some of us even have trouble falling asleep as the day’s struggle still plays on in the mind. Next day it’s the same juggernaut we try to move…and the cycle goes on and on endlessly. We are so busy fighting tooth and nail on daily basis that we don’t have time to stop and think as to what we are fighting for. Where is all this grind leading us to? Is this the purpose of and the way to live this life? Are we treasuring this great gift of life? Are we really appreciating and valuing what we have got? Are we truly living or driving ourselves to a slow, painful death?
Things that have no brand names and no big price tags attached to them fail to draw our attention and fail to awe us, even if they are the best and the most invaluable things in this world. Will we have to give the sun and the moon and the stars the names of Tiffany or Gucci or any other so- called big brand to make it appear more fascinating to us? Will that make us take a moment and stare at the beauty of a star-studded sky or the graceful radiance of the moonlit night or the rainbow forming on the dew drops balanced precariously at the tip of the delicate looking fragile leaf. There is so much colour, so much beauty and so much that can give happiness and pleasure all around us and yet we fail to see it and fail to take advantage of all the world that has been gifted to us on a platter.
Many of the things were same in the ‘good old days’ - the same good old sun, the same good old moon and the same good old stars . Just the way of looking at things was different. Maybe the people then took more time to admire the freely available abundant beauty in nature, they took more time to simply experience and feel everything. If we can come out of this running around in circles and relax and enjoy every moment of our lives, maybe we shall experience the same pleasure, the same satisfaction and enjoy the same peace that they did back then. Maybe we will then return to those ‘good old days’ and maybe we will then value and work towards preserving that good old world for our future generations. Hopefully we’ll soon realise that the pot of gold is not at the end of the rainbow, but in its magical priceless beauty.
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Toshda Roy is an engineer by qualification, a marketing person by profession and a writer by passion.
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