What’s the Point of...the Small Things
When was the last time you watched the sunrise and truly enjoyed the way the sky changed colors and the world came alive?
The chirping of birds, the flutter of wings, the gentle breeze moving through the leaves. Or perhaps the placid sound of rain falling on the rooftops and ground. That one moment of peace before the world finally comes awake, and most of these nature sounds are drowned by construction sounds and traffic on the roads.
But we need to hear those construction sounds because it tells us that the world is slowly building to something better. We hear the sounds of cars and think bof laring horns and road rage, when it is just people going to work to make a difference in someone's life, or perhaps even taking a trip to a place they have never seen before.
Indulging in nature sounds and taking a pause seems like such a luxury in the fast-paced lifestyle of today. We may wake up before sunrise, but it is to check emails. The sounds of birds are an interruption to phone calls. Rustling leaves are noisy.
The sounds in nature, which were supposed to placate our anxiety, are viewed as a disturbance. There’s always so much to do and so little time. There’s money to make and budgets to re-frame. There’s always a load of dishes in the sink, and the laundry hamper is always overflowing.
Who has the time to pause and take a break for even five minutes? If we aren’t making money every minute how are we going to pay those monthly bills.
All this keeps us awake at night, making us toss and turn until finally our mind shuts down into uneasy sleep. Few of us resort to listening to nature sounds of peaceful strums to coax is into better sleep.
In all the hustle-bustle of life, we forget to take a minute to just breathe in the fresh air, and look at the world around us, and to just be inspired.
We fantasize about how easy life was centuries ago, but those eras came with their own set of problems. We think that because people had enough free time, the artists the were able to create masterpieces without a worry in the world.
It’s true that the art that was created centuries ago can never be recreated. No one has the kind of patience to watch how the sunlight hits an object, or how there is beauty found in the shadows too. Art is supposed to be quick and easy now, even if it means taping a fruit on the wall.
There is much to enjoy in this world, but we don’t want to find the time for it. Indulging in a few minutes of meditation isn’t earning money. It isn’t finishing the errands of the day. Watching birds or little animals going about their day isn’t doing anything for us, is it?
So…what is the point of forgetting the small things that make life better?
We choose to forget these things. We no longer want to stare at the stars in the night sky because the city lights blind us. Why look up when you can see a sale at your favorite store? Or you have a notification on your phone that reminds you of upcoming bill payments or a message from a contact you haven’t stayed in touch with for a while.
There’s always so much to do, isn’t there? And our personal phones send notification alerts so we don’t forget any of it.
But at night, when we are tossing and turning, we use that very phone to play a constructed nature soundtrack so that just for a moment, we are comforted and can find peace.
Comments
Post a Comment