Ever wondered why the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?
A new shiny bag in a window shop -or any object for that matter- can always make our day (and for some make them complete if it's an expensive designer bag).
A job which pays well and makes people feel busy and thus important will have them running after the carrot dangling from the stick till the end of their working days, even if corporate life sucks the soul and happiness out of them like fierce dementors*.
In midst of our distress -and sometimes sheer boredom- we picture a gallant who will come to snatch us from our existing reality to the land where troubles melt like lemon drops**.
From a very early age, we see happiness contained in ideal situations. From fairy tales with lovely castles and classist societies where people can be happy only if they get to the throne, to history books portraying the rise to power and the fall from grace, and ultimately to movies that portray people like getting "dream" objects.
A new shiny bag in a window shop -or any object for that matter- can always make our day (and for some make them complete if it's an expensive designer bag).
A job which pays well and makes people feel busy and thus important will have them running after the carrot dangling from the stick till the end of their working days, even if corporate life sucks the soul and happiness out of them like fierce dementors*.
In midst of our distress -and sometimes sheer boredom- we picture a gallant who will come to snatch us from our existing reality to the land where troubles melt like lemon drops**.
From a very early age, we see happiness contained in ideal situations. From fairy tales with lovely castles and classist societies where people can be happy only if they get to the throne, to history books portraying the rise to power and the fall from grace, and ultimately to movies that portray people like getting "dream" objects.
As we grow older, we cling more and more to ideal situations, we wait, we hold our breath, we remain anxious, we work like crazy to get there. We cling to a thread in midst of our madness, we wait for the soothing light at the end of the tunnel -which by the way may simply be a fright train coming our way**. We see salvation in the form of a place, a person, a job, an object, an achievement and hold our breathes for the longest time ever expecting to be on cloud 9 when we get it.
In midst of our rush and waiting we forget to enjoy the true pleasures, the small things, the perfect moments, the good cup of coffee and chocolate bar, the kiss, the dew drop, sunrise, humming along a favorite tune, we don't stop to notice all this in our frenzy in search for perfection.
Life goes on, and we walk on, still under the illusion that we know better than ever before, oblivious to the fact that we remain the children who grow tired of the new toy after a few playing sessions, the same toy we have screamed and stomped our feet to get.
Life will remain a bitch of a swing, bringing us up to the seventh heaven and then crashing back to earth*** , we ought to know better by now and simply relax and enjoy the journey without waiting to be up nor fearing to go down.
"What you don't have you don't need it now"
Beautiful day - U2
Photo:
Tangier, Morocco view from a local tea house in Cape Spartel where people smoke up to cross to the other side
Notes:
* dementors are ghosts in Harry Potter who do just that, suck the happiness and soul out of you
** lines from the song "over the rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz
** Metallica's "no leaf clover"In midst of our rush and waiting we forget to enjoy the true pleasures, the small things, the perfect moments, the good cup of coffee and chocolate bar, the kiss, the dew drop, sunrise, humming along a favorite tune, we don't stop to notice all this in our frenzy in search for perfection.
Life goes on, and we walk on, still under the illusion that we know better than ever before, oblivious to the fact that we remain the children who grow tired of the new toy after a few playing sessions, the same toy we have screamed and stomped our feet to get.
Life will remain a bitch of a swing, bringing us up to the seventh heaven and then crashing back to earth*** , we ought to know better by now and simply relax and enjoy the journey without waiting to be up nor fearing to go down.
"What you don't have you don't need it now"
Beautiful day - U2
Photo:
Tangier, Morocco view from a local tea house in Cape Spartel where people smoke up to cross to the other side
Notes:
* dementors are ghosts in Harry Potter who do just that, suck the happiness and soul out of you
** lines from the song "over the rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz
***for a lovely description of the swing of life, read Rehab Bassam's blog post El-morgi7a
Today's book: Buddhism for Busy People: finding happiness in an uncertain world
Today's movie: definitely Disney's Toy Story
An inspirational note that says it The Awakening by Sonny Carroll
4 comments:
*PHEW*
akheeran qararti tektebi ba2a?? :)))
this is a bittersweet one ya ji...write on ya 7ayati :))
"Life will remain a bitch of a swing".
Priceless.
I agree with your point, although I have to admit that the highs and lows ("the bitch of a swing") are what make it all worth it. Even those really low times hold significance and even a certain amount of fondness as they are the times in which we whet the keen edge our strength. If life was just a smooth ride, we wouldn't know it as anything but boring, I doubt we would appreciate the quiet if there were not any noise for it to relieve us from.
I happened across your blog because of Blogger Play (a widget that shows a slideshow of only pictures posted on the different blogger blogs), as I noticed your photo and how beautiful it is.
Mistyray, true, we do strive on the highs and lows, and art is born out of extreme sorrow or eurphoria, it allows us as you say to connect with ourselves. It's just that sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves that nothing lasts, not to cling too much and not to despair...
Glad u liked the photo.
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