The other day, I was scrolling through news when something caught my attention: a YouTube video, comprising of a father and son celebrating the purchase of a second-hand bicycle, had gathered millions of views. Well! What joy could a second-hand bicycle give, I thought but anyway watched the video.
The sheer delight on the child’s face at his father doing Puja to the old cycle was indeed captivating. The pride and joy on the child’s face, as if his father had purchased an expensive car, was really touching. The little one jumped and clapped as his father beamed with happiness. That had me thinking.
It was my husband’s senior colleague’s 5-year-old’s birthday. We were invited and a gift was mandatory. After much discussion, we settled for an expensive doll. The birthday party began and the child started hurriedly unwrapping all the gifts she had received, right in front of the guests.
The child then declared that none of the gifts were up to her liking, much to the embarrassment of her parents. and the guests. The mother sheepishly informed us that her child finds real joy in playing with real fruits and vegetables. That was unusual for a child of five, I thought.
There were other incidents. My daughter once came home late from school. A concerned me quizzed her about the delay as soon as she came home. She was too excited to notice my anxiety as she narrated about the ‘cutest thing’ which she had ever seen on her way back home. The reason for her delay were actually three little stray kittens which were gazing rather intently into the water gushing out of a broken pipe. When she went closer to them, they shifted their innocent gaze from the gushing water to her.
She went on to describe, with all enthusiasm, how she was captivated by their endearing gaze. My little one had undergone one of the most lovable moments of her life. Well, wasn’t her experience, though ordinary, a memorable one for her? And it cost nothing.
Countless such incidents had me thinking. I can say that the simple joys in life are ‘priceless.’ A nature lover can be absolutely enamoured by the sunrise and sunset just like my daughter couldn’t contain her joy of looking at three stray kittens.
“Welcome small joys in life, Smile, breathe and go slowly,” goes a Zen quote. How true!