Stop to Smell the Roses

My alarm goes off at 6.20am and I have to drag myself off the bed. Another day beckons and its off to work I go. No "Hi Ho, Hi Ho" singing with dwarfs merrily as you fight your way through the traffic. Instead of mining for diamonds, I am trudging through emails, attending meetings where minutes are kept and hours lost, endless phone calls, well, you get the picture. We have advanced from being hunters and gatherers to form a complex society where we create our surroundings to suit us. We rush to get from one place to another to keep pace with daily obligations. We have devised various means for entertainment such as movies, television, sports, electronic game playstations, theme parks and shopping. We take holidays to get more stressed with hectic schedules to see and do everything possible with the time that was allocated.

We have delved so deeply in our complex social structure that we have fallen out of sync with nature. We have a unconsciously clouded our minds to see and admire only that which are man-made. Many wonders are taken for granted that we no longer see it even if its right under our noses. Did you notice the palette of colors on the wings of that butterfly? Did you see how pretty the flowers are on the plant that was growing in the roadside cracks?

Pleasures do not have to come in big and expensive packages nor does one have to go far to find it. They can be disguised and usually overlooked because it was free. Ever tried, deliberately, taking a walk when the sky opens up with showers of blessing? No umbrella nor raincoat. Can you list down pleasures that you can indulge in your current surroundings?

• Lying under a diamond studded sky
• Counting the number of shooting stars
• Sipping a cup of coffee (or tea) & watching a storm approach
• Sitting on a gently rocking boat & watching the sun go down
• Watching eagles soar on wind currents
• Catching sight of a rainbow
• Sound of waves breaking on the shore
• Playing in the stream and getting wet
• Observing a bee going about gathering pollen
• Close-up of dew on leaves in the early morning
• Listening to the jungle orchestra (sounds comprising of the various jungle insects)
• Watching the dawn break while traveling
• Immersing your senses at a waterfall
• Hot soup on a cold day
• Fireflies
• Lightning streaking across the sky
• Mesmerized by the flickering flame of a campfire

Some may ask what is so great about getting soaked in the rain. Well, it's a matter of perspective with a multi-facetted answer. Find your pleasures as one is limited only by his or her own imagination.