The Hindu Business Line : Life's joys

One disturbing aspect of modern-day living is missing out on the small joys of life. Just ask yourself these questions: Do you exchange pleasantries with your neighbour at least once in two days? Do you ask your aged mother or father (assuming they live with you), whether they have had a good day, or enjoyed their lunch/dinner?

Do you appreciate your daughter or son, for their little achievements? Do you attend at least one parent-teacher meeting? That the answer to all or any of these questions would be `no' is not unusual. Yet, it is these small joys of life that we are systematically losing out on, albeit unconsciously. Take the media diversion for example. Time that could be more productively is often spent in front of the idiot box. It takes a completely off-beat film like Thavamaai Thavamirundu (Tamil) to remind us that we owe it to our parents, who have made us what we are. Even as part of the rat race, should we not remove the muck in our minds, and learn to live and let live? And even as we may not be able to afford much time for any of the above, we should try and steal time to savour the little joys of life, little parcels of happiness that money cannot buy.

We ought to remember that life is short and making the most of it is possible only through caring and sharing. When we show someone we care, no matter who they may be, we are creating goodwill around us. These are the sources of all of life's small joys.

No one would like to enter his/her twilight years regretting that he/she has not made the most of their lives by stealing these much-cherished moments of joy. So go ahead, snatch this moment of life, and make the most of it!

A. B. Sivakumar

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