At some point in our life, we will inevitably reach a stage where we do not want anymore money, fame, power or even love. We may have a few desires left within ourselves, but our mind is so fatigued from all the life hustles that it has no strength left to undertake yet another challenge.

In this very instance, all we seek is a moment of peace. And my yearly ritual that I have described later in this article, is my attempt at experiencing the same.

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These are the early hours of the day — maybe 4, maybe 5. I don’t know. My life is not running by the clock lately, and I feel very happy about it.

I am sitting on the terrace of my parents’ home in our native village — miles and miles away from the the nearest metro city. Wherever my eyes can reach, the land is covered with different shades of green and golden. And amidst this very calm and serene view, The Silent Monk is very patiently waiting for the beautiful sunrise to happen.

In this very moment, there are absolutely no thoughts running in my mind. My mind is in a state of peace that I rarely experience. I can hear the wind gushing past my ears, the birds chirping, and the sound of a tractor from the field nearby.

I feel as if each and every element of the nature — the wind, the sun, the trees and the sky — are trying to say something to me. Or may be they have always been trying to say something to me, but I just did not have the mental space listen to them before!

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My Yearly Ritual

I have an yearly ritual. Whenever I get tired of my busy city life and never ending daily hustles, I head back home to my parents who live in the most peaceful countryside. I keep a full month aside for this activity where I do absolutely nothing, but just spend some time with people who matter most in my life.

As I wait for the sun to rise and put all the farmers to work, my mind cannot help but draw comparisons between the two very contrasting lifestyles — a city life and a countryside life.

I wonder that people at both places have only one life to live, yet both of them do so in a surprisingly different manner.

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Sharing with all of you 7 different observations on how the two lifestyles are so contrastingly different.

I. We end up wanting more things in the city.

As I am sitting in this beautiful landscape, I begin to wonder that there is always a new version of iPhone that we want to upgrade to. That will never stop, and nor will we ever stop chasing them.

Having migrated from the countryside, I realised that my materialistic needs increased once I stepped in the city. A metropolitan city attracts us with the promise of all the glamour it has to offer — the fancy car, the membership of the most sophisticated gym, friday night entry to the most happening pub, and the list goes on.

And there is always an EMI plan for all the useless things in the world, which is available at a single tap on your phone!

We may not realize this but often our life becomes nothing but an endless chase for things — Things that we deem necessary for ourselves but are actually pretty worthless.

I don’t know if I should attribute this to the cities, but I have personally observed that people in cities desire more things than what we actually need to live a beautiful life.

II. Everything is just so expensive in the city.

I remember once telling my father how much rent do I pay for my apartment. His first response was — “Is this the yearly rent?” I could not help but laugh and responded — “No, this is the monthly rent.”

Through this very naïve conversation, you can imagine the magnitude of cost difference I am talking about. The purchasing power of a single dollar is much less in the city as compared to a small village. The basic necessities of life — food, housing and clothes — are available for a fraction of cost in the countryside.

And did I tell you that now a days we are also paying for purified air in the cities?

A big city, that sells you the dream of an ocean, will never even give a drop for free.

III. We are always running behind the endless city hustles.

Add Point I and Point II, and you will understand why we are always running and complaining of busy city lives. One, we want so many things. Second, each and everything is just so expensive. What this means is that we will always be running to earn more money and pay the next installment.

Even before we realize this, our life becomes synonymous with chasing stuff and striking items of the list.

For the past one month, I have literally been doing nothing. I acknowledge this is a luxury that not everyone can afford to have. But should we spend our entire life running — that is a question we need to ask ourselves.

There will always be something to chase for— be it the new car, or a house that we so desperately want. There is no harm in wanting to have things, but we must realize that it does not cost us just our money.

IV. Life is much more simpler than what we make it.

My parents have never eaten in a McDonalds or a Pizza Hut or a Starbucks. They don’t know about the expensive Rolexes, or the latest fancy cars or the designer suits — let alone dream of having any of these things.

And similar is the story of countless other people who live in the countryside — yet you would find them happier than most of the people in the city.

Looking at all of them makes me wonder that even with the most meagre means, one can still live a very fulfilling and happy life.

V. We are becoming more and more slaves of the technology.

It has been close to three days, and I don’t even know where my cellphone is. I do not care to see how many notifications I have, or even how many views I have gotten on my Medium articles.

We lose a lot of our precious time to technology everyday. Innovation and technology that was once meant to save us time, is now coming up with algorithms to endlessly glue users to their platforms.

Remember, no platform or podcast or ‘The Silent Monk’ article can be so great that we dedicate our self reflection time to it.

VI. Our cities are becoming more unlivable.

Our countryside farms may not have fancy restaurants or shining discos or large multiplexes, but they do provide the purest air to breathe in, and that too absolutely free of cost.

Only after having breathed in the fresh countryside air, you would realize that the air in the city tastes different — a bit bitter and pungent maybe. In a city where everything comes with a “30 minute money back guarantee”, finding unpolluted air and water is actually a luxury.

VII. Life is meant to be spent with people you love, and not as a Digital Nomad.

To say that you are a digital nomad — sounds just so cool these days, and I have been living a similar lifestyle for years now. Different cities, sometimes different countries even. But we often forget that this is not what life is meant to be. Life is a festival, and meant to be celebrated with people we love, people whom we call family.

After giving so many years solely to my career and growth, maybe a layoff is waiting for me round the corner. And in all this humble hustle, I have come a long way off from the people I love.

A very interesting observation to share! In the city, I have been living in my posh apartment for the past 3 years, and the only thing I know about my neighbors is that they are a family of 5 — a husband and a wife, two kids, and an elderly female. I guess it is in fashion these days to not know or talk to your neighbors on a regular basis.

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As I sit and draw this comparison, I seem to have a clear preference. These moments often make me reflect my decision of moving away from the beautiful countryside home, and taking on the task of paying EMIs for 25 years for a small apartment. This question demands a deeper introspection, and hence will leave this story for for some other day.

As I wonder about all the questions life is posing in front of me, the sun has risen, and it is time for me to have my morning cup of tea with my family. But before I go inside, the wind is glad that her voice is being heard, the falling leaves are happy to have my company in their final moments, and the sun is just continuously blessing me with its golden red sunrays.

I guess the wind, the sun, the trees and the sky were always trying to say something to me — but their words were getting lost amidst the city honks.

Have you ever wondered what they had been trying to say to you😃? Give it a try — will you!

https://medium.com/good-vibes-club/a-naked-prostitute-a-silent-monk-and-an-almighty-god-and-a-conversation-of-love-hope-and-pain-f58825406d84