Was inspired by a para in the book "Eat, Pray, Love" where the protagonist talks about entertainment v/s pleasure..Most of us take time out, spend a fortune and do a lot of planning to entertain ourselves but we may not exactly enjoy it..We, the hardworking lot.. can spend hours toiling in our work... revel in a task done in the best possible way.. work till midnight for the whole week but when it comes to relaxing ourselves, we spend weekends holed up at home doing the same mundane things.. or going out with friends/family for a movie, eating out.. but do we really enjoy it? or somewhere at the back of our minds we'r trapped with the usual tensions of the coming week, that next presentation.. the unfinished household chore..upcoming official travel? The overstressed executive who goes on a vacation but cannot relax fretting about unfinished tasks and upcoming onslaught of mails?
The author talks about " the beauty of doing nothing- The final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated.. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher is your life's achievement.. One doesn't need to be rich to experience this. The art of making something out of nothing.. turning a few simple ingredients into a feast.. a few gathered friends into a festival.. anybody with a talent for happiness can do this easily.. and some people are naturally blessed"
What most of us get into is a sense of guilt.. a nasty question.. Do I really deserve this pleasure? Aren't there more imp things/people around who need my time and attention?
I believe whoever learns this delicate balance of 'being deep into work' and 'switching off completely' leads a fulfilling life... Hope it's something that can be learnt! :-)
