Traffic jams are mad events. There is honking. There is jostling for tiniest of spaces. There is yelling. There is swearing. The tempers run high. Everybody seems to be in a crazy rush. In spite of they knowing very well that a few meters here and there won't really save them much time.
I was stuck in one such jam today. In Bombay being stuck in traffic jams is as routine as Paris Hilton's escapades. But something strange happened. In middle of the madness a unique calm descended on me. I was sitting patiently in my car watching all the I-will-fight-for-every-inch attitude of all the vehicle drivers around me. Waiting for my turn. Waiting for my space. And when I didn't get any of it, I didn't seek to grab it forcefully. I felt like a third person watching the entire tamasha from afar. Dhoni would have been proud of the calmness I showed. The mind though was wondering about the futility of the whole thing. Why this rush? Why this hatred towards each other for an inch of space? Why this reckless urgency to save only a few moments?
I feel sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. We just get too worked up about our everyday problems. We have become slave to time, money, circumstance and to whim and wishes of other people. No you want to get all excited about your issues, you are free to do that but I hate to be dragged in. Don't tell me that you've to get married. Don't tell me that you have to save money. Don't tell me to not waste time. Don't tell me that you have to do well at exams. What will happen when I do all this? I will only have to do more of the same thing. Does doing it well increase the happiness quotient of our life? Does it improve our understanding of the bigger purpose? I feel our problems are over-rated.
What do we know to claim or renounce the existence of God. Are we so free of bias to clearly tell the right from wrong. Mind and its many works we still can't grasp. Our own strengths and weaknesses we can't gauge. There is so little we know about this world. Most of our knowledge is textbook based. All I'd want to do is make just enough money to sponsor my hitchhiking around the world. All I'd ever care to buy besides the basic things is a lot of books. To see all the art that there is created in here. The movies. The paintings. I'd want to meet all kinds of people. With all kinds of backstories. Yes for my parents and my siblings I'll be there whenever they need me. But all I need otherwise is just one companion who would want to do this exploration with me. Who'd share my curiosity. Who'd have the humility for the knowledge we all posses. Who would be game for any adventure. Who can rise above these petty squabbles between one human being and another. To whom a song will be enough to bring a smile on the face.
The destination is an illusion. My only plan is to enjoy the journey.
