Smiling Babies..

Let’s talk about the joy of watching babies smile and laugh. Have you noticed how innocent the smile of a baby is? It is the purest form of happiness on earth.

Babies are one of the luckiest of the human species to be totally indifferent from the worries of the world. Their worries are generally matters like ‘oh my stomach’s rumbling, I need food’ or ‘oooh my pants feel wet, I guess I have peed’ or ‘how dare you snatch that toy from my hand!!’. And all they do about it is bawl…not frown, not sulk…just bawl. And that too whole heartedly! Everything they feel and do is from the bottom of their tiny little hearts which are probably the size of their fists. The smallest of things like someone touching their cheeks can make them smile. They surely do have a weird sense of humour as simple things like a ceiling fan, a bunch of keys or even a man’s moustache can amuse them. As much as a dog wagging its tail can bring a smile to a baby’s face, even a plastic cup can do the same. I have also observed that a large number of babies enjoy tugging on to things, probably amazed at their own power to have a grip on something. These things vary from people’s finger (just one finger as that’s all that they can manage), to peoples’ clothes, to peoples’ hair. It is said that a baby starts displaying its personality traits right since it’s born. Some babies, therefore, show their potential to pose in front of a camera by flashing their beautiful toothless smiles even from their bassinets.

Whatever the reason might be, but the minute a baby smiles at you or even to itself, I bet that a person watching cannot help smiling himself. The sight of tiny lips curling up to form a miniature curve displaying the light pink gums, the cheeks being pushed up to become two chubby chunks of soft baby skin, and the slight creases that form on the sides of their curious eyes, just make you want to go and plant a gentle kiss on one of those cute pink cheeks.

They giggle, they smile, they laugh, they shriek in glee…they are the real happiness that we can see…they are the ones who enjoy each small pleasure in their lives to the fullest...

Money !!!

Life had never been so beautiful, so cool, so chilled out. Not a worry about the world, not a thing to bother you! What else do you want in life? Oh wait a minute. There is. Ofcourse there is. One more thing that you need very badly. Money!

You need to brush your teeth, you need money. You need to have breakfast, you need money. You need to give someone a call, you need money. You need to study, you need money. you need to buy someone a present, you need money. you need to be in tune with the world's latest trends, you need money. Everything you do requires money. Moreover, even to get hold of a job to earn money, you again need money! Isn't that surprising, how much we are dependent on money? Money; something that we created once upon a time to make trade easier is now ruling our lives. It has become much more than mere pieces of paper. It is wealth, it is status, it is class. It is a parameter to judge a person.

But why does our world revolve around money? Is there nothing in this world that can be achieved without money? There is. Ofcourse, there is. We just need to identify those simple things and spread joy amongst people to make ourselves and others less materialistic.

Have I stopped enjoying life???

Where have all the simple joys of life gone?
Have we just forgotten to enjoy the small pleasures
in everything while running behind fulfilling bigger dreams?
Why don’t we enjoy the drops of rain falling on our face instead of
shielding it with an umbrella?
Why can’t we find time to stop and enjoy the smell of a flower on a bush by the side of the road?
Are there any bushes left by the side of the road in this jungle of concrete buildings?
Why do we talk to everyone else on the phone for hours but can’t spare even 5 minutes for family?
Why do we talk to our own siblings through messages in spite of living under the same roof?
Why can’t we smile at strangers on the street?
Why are we so frustrated all the time?
Why do we keep ourselves occupied? To run away from the worries in life?
But then why do we look at our worries as problems? Why don’t we look at them as challenges?
Why can’t we appreciate and enjoy the colours thrown in the sky by the rising sun?
Why can’t we sing our hearts out in public instead of acting ‘sophisticated’?
What is the definition of sophistication and why is it often just all about concealing your real feelings and emotions?
Why can’t there be a single moment when we can be ourselves?
Why can’t we laugh our hearts out when our happiness knows no bounds and cry like a baby when we are very badly hurt?
All these questions and many more keep popping in my mind and I keep wondering every day…why? Why are things the way they are? Why have we stopped living life in the true sense of it? And why have we stopped enjoying it? I remember having enjoyed small moments in life as a child. But now, I have myself entered this fake world while trying to keep up with others. Am I running away from my true self then? Or have I just changed as a person, over the years? Do I still feel like hopping around when I am happy? Yes, I do. Then why is it that I don’t do it? Why does a smile still curl up on my lips with the first rain? Is it true that a baby continues to live in every grown up? May be it is. Then where has the baby in me gone? May be like everyone else, even I have locked it in a small room in the corner of my heart.

Now all that matters is my career and studies and a nice job and money. This is all I desire for. But what about my desire to let myself free? In this race to win in life, I have stopped enjoying life.