Pleasure of Small Things
We all need breaks to recharge from everyday stress of work, chores, kids and information overload. One of my mentors had taught me a very simple trick to help recharge. Look back at your childhood and identify something you really loved but could not get enough of. Even as a grown up, you will be surprised to discover that you can still indulge the child within you with that thing and derive a similar pleasure out of it.
As a child, I used to love reading comic books. Chacha Chaudhary was my favourite. However, it was not easy to purchase comic books in my hometown. The only bookstore we had was at the train station. This meant that I would buy comics only when my family took our annual train journey to visit grandparents. The few comic books that I collected as a kid were my treasured possession and I must have read each one of them at least ten times.
When my mentor shared this trick with me, I ended up purchasing a bundle of Chacha Chaudhary comics. While the stories now seem predictable and simplistic, holding the comic in my hand, smelling between its pages and looking at the cartoon characters still gives me the same happiness as it did when I was a kid. Taking a 15 minutes break to read one of these comics is now in my list of recreational activities. When I immerse myself into the simple yet ethereal world created by Pran, I am able to temporarily forget all about my own world.
Next time when you are feeling down or feeling exhausted and need a break, see if you can recreate and immerse yourself into one of your own childhood fantasies. Just make sure you do not overdo it and risk losing its charm.
