The Cloak of Boredom
It's the last day of 2021 and a good time for us to reflect back on the year that passed. To the nation and the world in general, it has been nothing short of horrible since the pandemic began. The events of 2021 are those that none of us want to repeat again as we experienced more political upheavals, more deaths due to Covid-19 and culminating with the the worst floods in recent memory.
When I was a kid growing up, every year felt different from the previous one. I was developing fast both intellectually and emotionally. But after you've reached a certain age, every year begins to feel the same. Your thinking does not seem to have deviated much from those of previous years. It feels as if you've stagnated in your development, if not deteriorated.
That's when you understand how the weariness of life creeps in on you. You do not have the energy to seek for adventures anymore. You become risk averse. You get bored seeing the same things repeating again and again--people's behaviour, the movies on TV and the headlines th in the morning papers. Can you blame some old people for being so cranky? Life can be repetitive.
This year's new year celebrations will be muted as most countries are imposing strict controls due to the surging Omicron infections. Which is well and good for me as I've never really understood why certain days, like New Year's Eve, or one's birthday are singled out as 'special' days that need to be celebrated. Isn't every new day a miracle that deserves equal celebration?
Every night when you go to bed, remember that there's no guarantee that you'll wake up tomorrow. You willingly surrender into the arms of sleep and 'die'. What makes you so sure that you'll still exist tomorrow?
Which is why when you wake up in the morning, that's the greatest moment of all that deserves as much thanks and gratitude as all the other special days. Rejoice for you are alive and able to breathe the morning air and that your heart is still pumping blood into every part of your body and you can command your body and limbs to get up and participate in the daily saga of life.
We need to keep our minds fresh to avoid descending into this state of tiredness. Freshness is achieved by seeing the same things in a new light. It is up to us to live life with a creative eye, to see joy and wonder in even the commonest of things.
Penetrate each moment of existence like sunlight on a multi-faceted jewel. Notice all the subtle variations of light and shade, the dazzling reflections that scatter hues across the room. Each moment is a precious gem that is able to spring its surprises. We just need to look closely.
So let's greet the coming year with this resolve, even if we have to see the same dull headlines and trite cliches being repeated everyday. Look at each moment of experience closer and penetrate the secret of its sameness. For Nature conceals its deepest beauty in a cloak of boredom.
