Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Collection of special moments the tonic of life

lakshmi
lakshmi
minus
plus

A road sign gets removed and we are lost for directions. The changing phases of development and the needs of society change similarly. While the new technology almost created a generation gap, senior citizens were quick to catch up even if they prefer to use voice messages on social media instead of texting. They say it is easier on the eyes and who has the patience for texting?


Amid the daily rush of work or while texting, we have no idea where what notes have been kept and where. In comes my senior citizen friend who asks me to keep his papers safe until he returns. So I exercise my brain to remember where I have kept the paper and photograph.


“I realised I had only one copy and I would like to keep it,” he said.


We keep things for reference, memory and for sentimental reasons. It shows how each moment matters. But in today’s world, we go through moments with our minds preoccupied, digesting what we just read on social media.


They say everything is an illusion because if you look back, there are occasions when you thought you would never overcome the disaster, and you did. Many a times, we do not realise we have overcome the hurdle because we probably get entangled in the next life event.


Can we stay detached? It is difficult because we have our emotions attached to all of it most of the time. On a positive note, emotions are strong and can be beneficial in achieving success. On the other hand, if emotions stir negativity, it is a scenario that is difficult to overcome.


One method that has helped over the years is ‘shift of focus’. The mind is very tricky and if you let it go on its own, it will easily wander away, which is good for creativity. But when we are stuck in negativity mode, we are on the path of self-destruction and not creativity.


During our student life, maybe we would be observed by parents or teachers but not once you have spread your wings to fly high. In a constant pressure to perform, not many would stop to pull you up if you were to trip and fall. It is even more delicate in a competitive world. Does that mean we ignore our feelings?


Not really. It is important to recognise our feelings because it is part of self-awareness and self-discovery. It’s even more important to accept the feelings. But there is a danger of falling into the trap of self-pity and self-importance, which are not useful when we have responsibilities to fulfil. Instead, all we need to do is shift the focus — it could be a book, a walk or even a shift in the posture and a bit of self-talk where you insist to yourself, “I am going to think about something else.”


Take a path in your mind and come back to find not only you see the problem from a different perspective, but might have probably come up with a solution.


It is only when you lose someone that you realise how much time was spent not enjoying the ‘moment’. At the same time, what gives you comfort are the wonderful moments we were blessed to have had — the laughter, the sentiments and special moments. The collection of those special moments is truly the tonic of life.


The best part of it is we have a choice to make the days we have truly special. So instead of floating through the day, it is important to ‘stop and smell the flowers’, as they say.


It is also important to realise where our thoughts are heading and how to bring it back so that we won’t be caught off guard just like being lost on a new road without the signboards.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon