Chaos and Calm

These are times of unprecedented chaos.

Our streets are teeming with vehicles and people - few times more than the numbers they are meant to accommodate. Our refuges for the serene and tranquil in the hills are teeming with chaos - traffic jams, absence of parking spaces, water shortages, and such. The wildlife sanctuaries have weddings and music concerts in their immediate vicinity. Moving on from transport and travel to entertainment and media - our films have gotten more violent and gory, our celebrations are incomplete without the violence belted to the ear drums by the DJs, and, in an age where social media’s adverse impacts are discussed with alarming regularity, we are number 1 when it comes to viewers on youtube, messages on Whatsapp, and subscribers on facebook. Talking about numbers, the devotional congregations too are witnessing people throng in numbers not witnessed previously. And, our temples, once associated with peace, have mind bogglingly long queues - people lining up for visit amidst a complex set of rules.

Amidst all these many, if not all, of us will have the urge to get away from this disarray. To take a break from this turmoil.

I have heard the well-heeled talk about how they feel relaxed during their flights aka air travel. They do not mention the 3 hours of traffic and security checks that precede these 3 hour flights! Some years ago a few people I met during rail journeys had talked in a similar vein - they undertook 12 hour train journeys to relax! Is it just about being away from people we are usually surrounded with and the world wide web or is it also about not being at ease either where we are or where we are headed?

People, in large cities, also talk of cutting off - higher floors, noise-proof air-tight windows, gated communities and such. Not sure how that works if we are active on social media where the noise is higher! My experience at campuses, islands unto themselves, tells me that wooded and serene surroundings by themselves have little impact on people who live in them. Most of them remain aloof from the trees, birds and clouds, and continue to run the race they have signed up for.

Are our public spaces - the parks, the beaches, the river fronts - an option? Where do these spaces stand in terms of numbers, accessibility and maintenance?

Coming back to queues - the number of people lining up for travel to other countries and to move out of our country for good are also increasing each year. We are number 1 when it comes to sending immigrants to other countries as well. Is that the way ahead?

At a time when chaos is all around us and only increasing, seeking peace and calm within seems to be a good way to go. We can try to focus on slowing down and simplifying life. To begin with, less of hoarding - eating - screen time - comparing with others, and more of reading - walking - silences - time for self, may allow us to get some theraav and gheraai back in our lives.