Ipod, Ipad, facebook, gas expense, BBC, CNN, NBA playoffs, Itunes, Macbook pro, Manny Pacquiao, Daily newspaper, phone updates, system updates, software review, cheap airline deals, DSLR, DVD, data back up, fashion trends, celebrity gossip, political scandals, booze, office politics, failed projects, promotion, job market, Visa applications, business possibilities, school, traffic jam, brown out, pollution, flood, earthquake trends, credit card bills, over population, PS3 and games, youtube, fast food, toys, torrentz, ISP, phone credit, insurance....
These are just a few of what my everyday self is made up of. When have I really stepped back from all of these distractions? When have I really stepped back and say "I don't want it anymore" or worse- can I, in all honesty ever say this now that things have become more "convenient". When was the last time I had my own time to really look back and look in to what is really essential? It's been a while I suppose.
Over the weekend we went to Sreepur- a farm an hour and half away from the city which we visit once in a while to get away from our daily lives and break the routine and try in our own little way to detach from all these distractions. Upon arriving on the farm we set up Dylan's pop-up pool. For some reason my daughter didn't like the idea of swimming which I didn't really understand because weather was hot and humid, a typical summer in BANGLADESH and the only thing that makes sense is just jump in the cool water, right? Maybe it's because she's not used to bathe in cold water (which i feel sorry for her) or maybe it's the "uziseros" that made her uncomfortable (she's kind of a snob) or maybe I just rushed her into it (way to go papa). But I swear she cried like hell when I dipped half her body into that nice little pool. Of course at that instance my chance to enjoy the water with my daughter was over- I struck out. In a Muslim country one cannot expect to see a woman wearing 2 piece bathing suits so my wife had to wear my boardshorts and shirt. Well, being the mother that she is, she took time in hugging our baby and slowly, slowly dipping her in the pool until finally she was comfortable. And from then on she was UNSTOPPABLE, just like any kid na hindi magpapaawat (my mother in law tried to pull her out several times). My wife also brought a few of her favorite toys- a few colored cups, water squirters shaped like animals, a few random flowers and a dried leaf. I was all sticky and sweaty and my feet were dirty but somebody had to pictures of my mag-ina enjoy the moment, it was one of those ordinary family time that I want to capture on camera. As I was taking pictures I remembered a long forgotten childhood memory of playing with my brother and cousins and neighbors with cut out newspapers which were supposed to be armors from "sumpit", the strands of walis tingting that we decorated with champaca leaves to make it look like fencing swords (using it for gumamela bubbles even at that time seemed immature and gay) or those long cartons of fluorescent bulbs that we used as bazookas when we load it up with "baby rockets" at the time when Christmas smelled like Christmas all over our neighborhood and all those magical moments in those magical years of growing up.
As the sun was starting to go down we went for a short walk to the barn to see the cows, my mother-in-law told us that the cows are being milked and for some strange reason I felt this excitement in my heart about seeing it with my wife and daughter and then I figured I can still be genuinely amazed by the simple nice things. "Thank you Lord"
In the quiet moment in the car on the way back home I was singing in my head the song by Blur on the album "Think Tank" and the line goes "Have you been busy lately that you haven't found the time to open up your mind and watch the world spinning gently out of time"- a wonderful line that will always be sung in my head whenever I take the time to "take a step back".
