Look Up, Look Down, Look Around
Where you stand can change your perspective.
Sometimes, when things go under, I go to the rooftop.
It might appear to be a trivial — even borderline crazy — thing to be standing on top of your office’s building for a few moments, while everyone else is busy in work. But it’s not.
At first, I hear the roaring generators. But if I listen closely, I can hear the hum of tension running in the veins of the building. I can feel the depressing timelines, intimidating goals, blood-sucking meetings, shouting orders, buzzing bugs in softwares, eyes locked at the clocks waiting to strike 6, people doing things they don’t want to while thinking about things they want to, beating temples while the hearts are silent… all of it right below where I am standing.
I see that far off tower that is visible today. It wasn’t two days ago. Clouds and fog. A simple reminder of the way life is. It’s all sunshine one day and things make perfect sense; and the very next day, we don’t know what to do with our lives anymore. The key is, the tower seems to tell me, keep going. Things will become clear before they get muddled to get back to clarity once again. Keep going.
I see the sun near the horizon. It’s pleasant to see it today. It was painful to even look in its direction just yesterday. It makes me smile. Slightly. Sometimes, people we love most can be hurtful to us. We are all equipped with stuff to cause pain. No matter what, just don’t lose sight of them. Give them time.
Traffic is blocked on canal road at this time. From up here, it’s pretty easy to see that it will be rolling again very soon. But we fail to see it when we are in that jam. We feel desperate. We feel there is no way out. But there is. There always is. You can never be stuck at one problem forever. It’ll eventually resolve itself. One can call it magic, but it’s basically the way things are. Circumstances change. Sometimes, changing the perspective can be helpful.
Those security guards almost static where they are; that girl with hunched shoulders and tired gait, probably going home after an excruciating day at work; that father walking his disabled boy; that rickshaw driver sadly waiting for fare… they never look up. For many days in each month, the drama of the magnificent sun, the waning and waxing moon, the moody wind and ever-changing clouds is calling to be watched. The lead actors even invite us to participate. It’s free. And it can be the biggest life-booster you can possibly hope for in a day. But our worries never allow us to look up.
“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.”
Look up, there is a couple of birds playing with each other. I find myself jumping with joy, crying, “Stay together!!! Keep chasing each other!!!”.
There is another bird flying solemnly in another direction.
Alone.
I suddenly become acutely aware of myself. It’s getting late. I should be back on my desk.
