Published in LMD Living - May 2016
“I can’t remember when I last had the luxury of time to read
more than a page of a book, and that too, only on the toilet seat” a colleague
recently shuddered. A valid and ponder-worthy insight to life today. The rising cost of living has also raised
blood pressures considerably in what was once a lazy little island that could
teach the Mexicans a thing or two on the art of the 24-hour siesta. The urban
jungles of Sri Lanka have in recent times turned into something of a mental
asylum for bees. We are yet to reach the suicidal stress levels of the Indians
or Chinese, but it certainly looks like we’re on our way there. Conversations between aunties that were
previously centred on the price of pumpkins have now evolved into the lack of
time to go and buy said pumpkins. Uncles are becoming more and more frequent
visitors at the cardiologist’s clinic because the source of their coronaries
are no longer only their daughters, but also the stresses of keeping up with the
day-to-day pace of life. Given the booming
business of self-help books and stress therapy Youtube videos out there, it
seems the whole world is suffering a massive existential crisis and needs all
the motivation it can get.
Where did we go so wrong? The insipid inspirational memes
are quite right – we’re all slaving away to earn the ability to afford a life
we have no time to lead. If you think about it (providing you actually have the
time to think about it)… at some point of our lives, we forgot the point of
life. We sit at our monochromatic cubicles, slurping up copious amounts of
coffee designed to keep us positive until it’s time to clock off, wishing for
the utopian day when we could be living the Pinterest life. We cower to the
system that breathes over our shoulders like a disapproving grandmother and
before too long, ‘someday’ becomes a mere catchphrase that never sees the light
of reality and you’re left wheezing on your deathbed, wondering where the time
went.
It may be too much of an ask to completely rehash life just
like that and go on that world tour like you’ve always wanted, but perhaps it’s
time we considered listening to the Deepak Chopras of the universe, and adopted
a few tiny changes to our daily ritual, that could in turn make our day
slightly more interesting than the pimple on our management’s backside that we
hate to kiss but still do, for the sake of that monthly pay packet. Maybe if we actively seek to de-stress even
for a few minutes as a mandatory chore for the day, it could eventually lead to
a semblance of much-needed bliss that doesn’t cost an overworked arm and leg.
To make the transition easier, here are three tried and tested tricks you could
take up:
1.
Spend an extra five minutes on the loo. Admit
it, unless you’ve got serious infections in your underparts, you’ve never felt
more serene than when seated on your own private throne. Just increase the time
limit, ignore whoever is banging on the door, and sing ‘Let it Go’ while you’re
at it.
2.
Stop and smell the Gandapaana. Gardens are a
beautiful thing. If you don’t have one, break into your neighbour’s or find a
random patch of green and imagine you’re Maria in the Sound of Music. Fresh
grass feels amazing, when not riddled with dog poo, and can give you just the
peace you need.
3.
Get a pet. Dogs, cats, hamsters, chickens…
whatever works for you. Cuddling an animal, providing it’s not a scorpion, has
an uncanny knack for making you feel more relaxed than your spouse ever did.
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