Going the distance

“Even an infant needs to cry in order to get its food” - A passing observation by my mother when my new-born niece was bawling because she was hungry. Simple, but profoundly true! Beginning with our basic need for food, a living being needs to make their presence felt, and vociferously voice what he/she believes is a birth right and essential for survival. It’s then a little wonder that for the rest of our lives, life really feels like we need to consistently find that next thing to make noise about!

Set goals, decide what you want and go get it. This is probably the most rudimentary tenet most of us have heard. The underlying premise is that at any point, there needs to be a goal and that that very goal needs to be met and a sense of achievement needs to follow. When that’s done, move on to the next one.

I was thinking about the above stuff when I read this beautiful and insightful article on the concept of “Enough”. It talks about how, we are all hankering for more, and that while needs are fulfilled, greed rarely is. Yet, the concept of just living, aimlessly, is elusive to most, a dream to some and perhaps pointless to some.

I think I am slowly drifting towards that last category. Having been on a “career break” for about 4 months now, I began the stint with the blissful aim of being aimless. Today, all I want is to figure out an aim and to achieve it.

For the longest time in my life, I used to plan everything – and usually my plans have been based on best case scenarios and on what I believe is most appropriate and practical. Today, I just plan simple things - for tomorrow I will eat only one sweet thing, I will walk at least 20 minutes etc. And then I achieve that, and I feel I am again worthy of a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, when I achieve the above, it may still have its charm, but I am assuming that 10 days later, I will want to aim higher.

The concept of going the distance used to mean something else to mean. It meant big things, big plans and magnificent dreams. Today on the other hand, it’s simple things. Makes me wonder if I have become too cynical! My husband’s most motivational line is “Because we dream so we do”. For me, I just want to think less, plan small and achieve what I can. Perhaps that will give me the strength to look at longer distances and cross those boundaries as well.

Hum of the day

I planned to live a life; I lived the life in my head. Implementation needed changes; I needed comfort of the known. The known can be uneasy, the unknown brings in hope. I’m still using training wheels to teach me to slowly live that life I dreamt of. I know that if I can just take small steps, my dreams and reality may just intersect.