Kaavya Raveendran. Photo: Sven Menschel Text: Kaavya Raveendran
I was just sitting in my office having lunch with my colleagues, when one of them pointed to the window and said: ‘It has started’. And that’s when all my excitement started too. When everyone strategically left for home without getting stuck in snow, I didn’t realise that I should too, and I simply sat and sat, finishing my errands. Meanwhile, I saw people playing outside, building snowmen, driving the snowcapped cars and finally walking their bikes. Wait, what? WALKING THEIR BIKES?!! Yikes, that’s when I realised that I have to as well.
PeddleI live 4 kms away from work. So, walking, that too in the snow, might take forever. So, I gulped my fear of slippery surfaces and attempted to bike slowly through the snow. And, surprisingly, it was not slippery at all; it was just harder to peddle your way through and maintain your balance at the same time. So, I joined the herd of cyclists who were also busy in the same act as I. Amidst all this is when I noticed the real snow-mo. I looked around and it was as though everything was being played at 0.5x speed.
At this point, my struggle of cycling had converted to pure bliss.
The cars were strolling down the roads, while the cyclists were dawdling along them. People were dragging their feet through the snowy footpaths. That’s when light showers of snow started falling in slo-mo. At this point, my struggle of cycling had converted to pure bliss. I slowly made my way to my house while fully enjoying the slow-paced life that surrounded me. I loved how peaceful and quite it felt. It was as though a busy student city had been tranquillised.
LessonThe snow made a brief visit this winter, but it sure did leave a lesson behind. That lesson being to slow down and enjoy the journey of life rather than just mechanically rushing towards your destination. We all are working towards something that we want to achieve, but our want for ‘that something’ becomes so big that we forget to fully live the path to attaining it. And instead, we stress and tire ourselves both physically and mentally.
Ironically, the time we actually spend at our destination is minuscule when compared to the journey that we embark for it. Meaning, to enjoy 100 seconds of happiness we spend 100 days in desperation. The equation doesn’t match, right? So slow down and live your journey like the snow tells you to, because in the end, that is all that makes a difference.
Kaavya is a master’s student of Food Technology.