Small Wonders...

In the busy world when the world vies to go ahead and create several new worlds there is no place where one can find solace to sit back and wile away some time in leisure. Life is racing and we, mere players in this theatre of life, are participants to the race. No one wins in this race but some people surely loose. They lose their peace, solitude and above all their heart and selves. Can there be any practical solution to this whole game of losing and never winning? In the game of gaining control and acquiring power we are left with the basic question who really are the players and who are the on lookers. The onlookers are they who are perhaps the most vulnerable beings the almighty created, the children. They are indeed the most vulnerable, the most innocent and at most times the most fragile beings on earth but how many people really care and really realize this fact even when the fact remains true to every word. In our race to win and dominate, we almost always forget that wittingly or unwittingly they become our pawns. Our demands exceed their interests and capabilities. Our ambitions surpass their dreams and our desires pose the biggest hurdle and threat to their happiness.

All parents and grownups want the little ones to be disciplined and well mannered. This want, apparently seeming selfless and perfect, actually comes as a punishment for the child wherein he is left disturbed and most often makes him/her stubborn. As grownups we tend to medicate even before knowing what the illness actually is or where exactly is it hurting. We complain about kids that they do not go out and play and are busy with video games or movies but do we ever stop to think whether we have given them the space and time to go out and play. In our ride up the success ladder we have acquired all the open spaces to build our mansions of ambition and what they are left with is one small balcony where they try and set up their world. We never try to enter that world lest our precious time is wasted and try our best to bring them out too because for us their world is utopia and holds no meaning. We sulk when obesity and teeth disorders plague our children but forget that it is we who supplied them the doses of chocolates, ice creams, burgers and pizzas in compensation to the time that we devoted to our offices, our colleagues, our friends, in the club playing cards and the late nights watching a football match instead of sharing the simple joys of life with the children.

Let us stop from our very busy lives and ponder over our own childhood, our parents and our lives which we have left behind a long back. We were a bunch of happy people even when our sources were limited. Our children have indefinite access to resources but somehow their access to happiness and the simple pleasures of life has been lost. That is why instead of gazing at nature and gasping at its beauty from their window seats and travelling to the unknown just by closing their eyes their minds are lost in the six inches display of their mobile phones. In the rush to score the maximum marks they have forgot to appreciate what they are studying; in becoming the best singer, the best dancer and the best artist they no longer treat these as arts but as burdens which exist along with the other subjects to haunt and torture.

Let us pause for a while and do some serious thinking and gift our children their childhood as no gift could be better than this and nothing would make them happier. In doing so the closed doors of our peaceful living might open as well.

About the Author:

The Author is Ms. Payal Dan, PGT English Teacher, Meenakshi World School

www.meenakshiworldschool.com