IF YOU find people rarely smiling these days it is because too many problems are piling up on them. Expectations in life are too high and they push themselves to the brink of disaster. In the end, they find themselves too deep to come out from the situation of their own making.
They are everywhere around us trying to make most of the twenty four hours of the day. They find hostility everywhere they go and every corner they turn. They are in a prison of their own making. But it does not have to be that way. They need to let go some of the heaviest weights in their minds.
All they need is an inspiration for them to get out of it and enjoy the moment. For me, these real life inspirations are everywhere. When I had nothing to do in one weekend, I drove to a village and started walking around.
There was this villager who was sitting on a stool under a tree surrounded by his sheep, chicken, a couple of cows and a donkey. Oh yes, there was a pregnant cat there as well.
Behind where he sat was his little farm and a house made of clay and mud. Through the wire fence, I could see his wife busying herself with cutting vegetables that were growing around their little house. She was obviously preparing to cook the meal of the day. I looked again at the man. He looked completely content with himself. His whole world was around him.
I drove past his farm to a little marketplace. There were only six stalls, mostly selling fruits and vegetables. There were not many customers there either.
The end of the day, they happily go back to the coziness of their homes where their loving families wait for them. But there is more and I was in that village long enough to see it. Around five in the afternoon, they gather in the town square, not far from the marketplace, sitting on a mat drinking coffee and dates.
There was plenty of laughter in the air and broad smiles on their faces. Every day was pretty the same to them.
No fancy cars, no luxury homes to go back to or money in the bank to worry about. But they have a pretty good reason to live, unlike these people we see in the city. The difference between them is obvious. The people in smaller towns have lower expectations from life. They live their lives as it comes with no strings attached.
They find no hostility around them or more importantly, the world is not conspiring to get even with them.
Simplicity is the key where the word ‘key’ needs to be underlined to permanently close the doors of hostility. I can still see their smiles and the ‘key’ to their happiness is simplicity. No high expectations, hence no heartaches. We should live one day at a time with no conditions and tomorrow will take care itself.
