Tuesday, August 4, 2009

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

People love to talk about days gone by. Like they were heaven-sent and glorious.
Pure and playful. Full of colours and joys!
Have you ever wondered why our parents generation keeps reminiscing about the quintessential good old days?????
I am sure that people were people then too. Just with a whole lot less stuff!!!!!
Remember the way people used to sit around the verandahs, balconies, their door steps and watch the world passing by?????
Do you see much of this these days? Do you even know your neighbours?????
When was the last time you spoke to a distant cousin of yours in america????
When was the last time you wrote a letter instead of posting your good news on twitter, facebook, orkut or your blog??????
No wonder then our grandparents and parents miss the good old days when life was more about emotions, humanity and simplicity!!!!!! Not the dry materialistic tech savvy life like we and our children are living today.

I challenge you to take one week out of your busy life and do nothing!

Just sit on your balcony, door step, front lawn, whatever, and listen.

Try to imagine your life with out electricity. Would it change the way
you breathe? The way you feel the warmth of the sun? The scent of
flowers and trees blooming in springtime? Of course not! We just take
these things for granted and we got too busy with our stuff to take the
time out to smell the roses. like the famous lines:
"Life is nothing if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare"!!!!!

The good old days were hard, no doubt about it. People didn't have the good health care and technology that we and they have today.
But....they did have time to enjoy what was around them
They took walks in the park, went to temples, gurudwaras, churches, did charity,nursed the sick and joined the army. God and country were valued and land was a legacy to be treasured.
A man's land was his own and could not be taken away by greedy developers and politicians to make profits. People were made of different stuff then.

Today, people are just living in a virtual illusion of materialism and the media brainwashes us into wanting more "stuff" to make our lives better. There is a race in every sphere of life. Nobody wants to be second in anything. We are living in a world of unhealthy competition. Its just that the realization has not dawned upon us. And when it does it will be too late to turn human beings once again.

The truth is people were much happier then but just didn't know it. We allowed the
media to tell us what to think and we gave up a piece of ourselves.

I think the good old days have something to teach us. They are telling us to be human beings again. Those days are telling us to be quiet again, stop, take a breath and think of yourself.

And please, turn off that damn cell phone...

AND...listen to the birds sing!





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6 comments:

Aniket Thakkar said...

Oh my best friend and I do that at least once a year. We call it 'Tech Sanyaas' No cell, no comp... just alone... my time! We just enjoy the world and whats remaining of its beauty.

Naina said...

that was a very refreshing post.. :D

J P Joshi said...

A very beautiful post. Materialism and spiritualism pull one in opposite directions - one wants you to simplify life while the other one tries to awaken the hidden wants. In my childhood, I have seen whole days being spent under the banyan tree in summers in the village; even in the cities fans and khas khas mats were the ultimate blessing in summers - yes those were more carefree days. Scientific progress gave us good things, of course, with a big price attached.

Enjoyed reading your post, and getting nostalgic.

Solilo said...

Gunmeen, I wrote something similar on a blog that people always want to reminisce the old and curse the present. Only if they would start enjoying the present too!

Nostalgia is good but too much living in the past makes your present bitter.

The Geekie said...

this one refreshed my mind

good post :)

kudos to aniket too

i'll too giv a try

lena said...

That is one really thoughtful post and I can so much relate to it, just because last few weeks I did exactly this, enjoyed my life almost without any kind of technology and hurry involved.
That's seriously brings the best out of you, makes you think about your life and experience the most beautiful and memorable moments :)

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