• TOPICS
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 3
We, humans, are accustomed to do one thing as soon as we wake up and get up: swing the curtains wide open and check the weather prospects, intuitively wishing them to fit in our expectations.
As such, naturally, a drought-hit farmer is happy to see the rain, a skier at an alpine cottage is thrilled to witness that snowy fairyland and a trekker at Gufapokhari is mesmerised to behold those vivid hues atop Mt. Kumbhakarna.
All this 'excitement' comes as a freebie through an ordinary act of undrawing the curtains.
Wait! Did you just read that the habitual act of opening a curtain was 'ordinary'? I cannot be more wrong. It's by no means an ordinary act but a scrupulous scanning of a new daylight, of a unique day that may bestow its packages of surprises on you - good or bad.
And definitely, it's that beautiful to-do list of yours pulsating behind the curtain of your mind, which could prompt you to open your curtains sleepily.
The next thing we 'ordinarily' do is slide the main door of the house wide open. Again, how wrong am I in stating so bluntly that the act is 'ordinary'.
It's rather extraordinary - we are ready to step on to the outside world that promises umpteen doors of opportunities, discoveries and surprises.
To start with, upon opening your entryway, you may stumble upon that affable neighbour, whose smile may put a smile on your face, too. Here begins your sunny day!
Or the other way round: you may run into someone you have always disliked - for no obvious reasons - but there is absolutely no reason why you cannot befriend the individual.
That very moment could be an opportunity to initiate a new sociability effort, and you may in no time realise how wrong you were to dislike that person, who turned out to be a warm, friendly and candid personality. Thank God or yourself that you opened your gate at an opportune moment!
Again, is it any ordinary act when you step out of your main gate? Not in the slightest it is. Now, you have the opportunity to meet eight billion people, just like your affable neighbour or that individual you no longer dislike.
These eight billion people live in more than two hundred countries, and you have that startling possibility to visit two hundred countries, meet their people and know their cultures. In the process, you will be climbing two hundred mountains and crossing two hundred rivers, while pursuing as many dreams.
Do you still believe that stepping out of your doorstep is just business as usual or it offers a new day in your life?
A version of this article appears in the print on January 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
