No time to stand and stare

Yesterday was a hot sultry day as usual.

Feeding claustrophobic,I decided to go out for a whiff of fresh air.

As I stepped down,my eye caught this white cat that had crowned itself atop the roof of a red car.

Its pristine white fur dabbled with shades of brown looked resplendant in fading light.

It was preening itself with two hoots to the world passing by.

It was not bothered with the intrigued and inquisutive looks of the passer-bys.

It looked up in the sky stretching itself with aplomb.

It was enjoying the gentle breeze and cooling itself at the same time.

And from a throned seat,it had a bird’s eye view of the terrain around.

There it had no fear.

The dog eyed it languidly down and it smirked at its enemy number one.

The children who tormented it by pulling its tail,scared it by throwing balls could not reach there.

It was happy and serene for nothing could mar the bliss of this idyllic state.

The deep ombre eyes looked at me seeming to mock me.

It revelled in its ecstasy of the moment without an iota of care.

I stood there mesmerised.

And I got a shock as a sudden revelation hit me.

This cat was more happy than I was.

It had found its joy in the simple beauty of the moment.

It was living that moment,basking in its glory and blooming in it.

And I was all the time caught in the vortex of past,present and future trying to weave a web that snapped at the slightest jerk.

I was always rushing to find the illusory joys and not enjoying those before me.

The momentary surge was always transitory for it was always besieged with ifs and buts.

I could never shed the protocol cloak for the opinions of others always mattered.What would they say?

Keeping up the masquerade of being a perfect person had stupefied my inner self.

I had forgotten how to savour the simple and small joys that life throws at us at every step.

I just trample on them,turn a blind -eye to them and simply walk by.

I had become an automated robot doing the chores of life.

Each day the sun rose and set.

Days, weeks,months and years roll by.Life goes on. Each day is the same.

I had forgotten to smile that reached my eyes and the laugh that echoed in my heart.

And William Henry Davies lines resonate in my mind.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

I wake up from my reverie.

I want to smile,laugh and live again enjoying the liitle joys of my life.