I 'STOP'd while you 'SNOOZE'd.... and it made all the difference!

       Mornings are beautiful... I recently realised i've been missing on so much beauty and peace by hitting the snooze button a million times. There is nothing that can beat the view at my window as i see the sun rise. It's heavenly... it's beautiful. Picture perfect... Well, that puts me into a quandary! Cos i lovvv the late nights too. Gazing out of the window into the valley with its flickering lights, in competition with the star-studded sky, accompanied by the moon some times. That's a treat too... But a late night doesn't really gel well with an early morning if not accompanied by a lazy afternoon!

  

       Sigh! Have been nocturnal for quite a while now, so i decided to be an early bird for a change. The splendiferous moonlight has been compromised for a resplendent sunrise. Early rising has its own perks. The only hurdle to be conquered is having the alarm to STOP instead of SNOOZE! Sounds easy (does it? ) but it takes every little ounce of your will power to convince yourself to get out of the bed. It somewhat goes like this for almost every other person i know -

1. You hit the sack early at night, all set to wake up early in the morning.
2. You set the alarm and zzzzzz.............
3. You sleep like a dead person with some sweet dreams if you're lucky.
4. Just when you reach the best part, your alarm goes nuts!
5. You are mad at it for spoiling your dream, and also cos you dont wanna get up.
6. You hit the snooze button.
7. Five minutes later, your alarm goes bonkers!
8. You hit snooze again, but this time you're not really able to sleep, but you still close your eyes for that 'five' more minutes of your beauty sleep.
9. Another five minutes, and Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........
10. You finally hit the stop button, but you're still debating in your head whether to wake up or go back to sleep.
11. More debating, and finally (hopefully) say, the good part of you wins, there's another five minutes where you put into action, every little volition you have in you to take that big move of coming out of the blanket.
12. You're still not ready to open your eyes though, and you do the 'horsie' on the bed for a while.
13. More will power, and finally you take that one big brave step out of the bed.
14. You give one half-opened-eye look to your bed, which is, oh, so inviting you to get inside the covers again. The blankets lie with their arms wide open reminding you of the coziness it can provide you.
15. You use the one last rush of will power and walk to the washroom.
16. You brush your teeth, with your eyes still closed.
17. Then comes the most effective sleep-breaker! SPLASH! Right on your face.
18. And you are Wide-Awake! Finally....! 8)

 
        And then, it's a Good morning.....! There is no looking back. I pull the curtains aside and open my netted window and look as far as i can. The street lights from the far end mark a beautiful trail. But they do not stand a chance against the rising glorious sun, which is to soon take over. I hurry and change into comfy clothes and shoes, and out i go... into the dark frosty morning, jog, jog, jog.... till i hear my heart beating in my ear. Every beat i hear, and every trickle of sweat that i feel on my skin, is a happy thought of losing those extra kilos. ;-) The break of the day keeps me going.

       I like to imagine the morning sky as God's palette. He has blue water splashed all over his canvas. He eases a drop of orange into it.. and waits till it gradually spreads... and then adds a drop of red followed by some yellow. The end product being one of the best paintings ever! And he makes one every single morning. All same, yet different, still beautiful...! In a way, it signifies the days of our lives. Same routine, different outcomes!?! It's like God teaches us that however the day passes, there is always that element which when added, has the potential to unearth beauty out of a mess! These are the times which replenish my belief that Miracles Happen.

       As i tread ahead, i see the darkness gradually make way for the light. I look up and welcome the warm rays of the sun onto my face. For i know it marks the beginning of yet another new day, with more hopes, more promises and more challenges. The whole experience is exhilarating at times. I trot on, lowering my pace slowly, finally ending it with a brisk walk. I ramble about for some more time, trying to take in as much as the sunup has to offer me before it turns harsh on my skin.

       A morning started early and fresh, always comes with a promise of an energetic, up-and-coming day! It brings out the cheerful side of you, which otherwise is lost under the cozy blankets. If anybody happens to ask me what i did differently from them, the secret behind my new found joy, beauty and confidence.., my reply would be - "I 'STOP'd while you 'SNOOZE'd.... and it made all the difference!"

Given a chance, i would re-live being grandpa's sunshine again!

In today's super-speedy life, we find ourselves not having time enough to say Good Morning to a 'news-paper-reading' father, or give a mother her well-deserved hug as we leave home only to return late. There is no time to touch the feet of the 'wise-old' gramps, who just sit and watch each generation get smarter and weirder, or say a simple heartfelt I LOVE YOU to your partner, or for that matter, kiss your child Good Night!

When such a packed life poses a question like- "If you had two extra hours in a day, how would you spend it?", like most people; i find myself in a dilemma...! A grave one.

There's a part of me that wants to just laze around and have fun, but then there's another which sends me to a guilt-trip every time i sit idle. We have this strange disease of procrastinating chores just to enjoy more laziness, or to catch 'just-one-more' wink of sleep! And then we find ourselves complaining about lack of time. This amount of time we choose to laze around- being jobless, is compensated by cutting on quality time meant for the people we love. 

Ever wondered why the loved ones are the ones to face this harsh cut? I think i know why. It's cos we take them for granted. We know, that no matter what, these are the people who will always BE. Loved ones are those to whom a small act of a happy deed, however insignificant it be, their happiness is amplified... ten-folds. This reminds me my vacation at my grandparents' home as a kid!

 My Grandad, whom i fondly call 'Ajja' woke up early morning, everyday, same time, from the same side of the bed, traced the same set of steps before stepping outta the house to pluck flowers from the same plants, to be offered to the same temple soon after. No kid likes waking up early, especially when its a holiday! I was no exception either. But i had a strange fascination watching Ajja go around the home, pluck just one or two blooms from each plant in the compound, making sure there are no buds harmed, treading through them ever so delicately. I followed him holding the same basket in my hands as carefully as i could. It made me feel loved and special...! He taught me all the names of the flowers, and their behavior in the process. I wondered what it would be like if Ajja taught at school! Wishful thinking?!

The dirty, muddy me after the whole garden survey would be greeted in with a pretending-to-be mad mom who would quickly send me to a quick bath as all the super gross clothes piled up in the buckets. Wonder what she would have done if not for Surf Excel. Oh, i so loved the fragrance of the fresh clothes after bath!

Fresh and all cleaned up, I diligently followed Ajja to the temple too, every single day. He told me stories about the God in the temple. I wished his stories never ended. I watched the priests give him the special Prasad everyday, the privilege earned over years of persevered visits to the temple! Every vacation offered me the same routine, the same path, the same turns, the same temple and the same stories. But never-the-less, i lovvvvd it cos it was OUR THING! This is one of my best memories from the chapter of my childhood.

Years passed, i grew up... not a kid anymore, they grew older too and shifted homes to live in a flat. Things were never the same again. Vacations were never the same again. The bond was same, but it lacked the little things that made it more special. It lacked spending quality time together. The magical journey through the fairyland of the little princess with her wise old King-Ajja every morning was soon compromised for the time spent watching late night movies, 24x7 internet, chatting with friends.. transforming the lil morning sunshine to the Queen of the night!


This being just one incident from one chapter of my life, i am sure there are lots i can list as an example. What i am trying to tell here is, let's do little things that bring joy to us and our loved ones. Lets indulge in quality time with them, for.. one glowing smile from them brightens our day, so why not give them that little part of our life that they deserve. Given a chance, i would love to spend more time doing things with my grandparents... my parents... my loved ones. Strengthen the bond... become Miss.Sunshine again...!