DRIVING LESSONS (PART II)--ENJOYING IT ALL THE WAY

January 30, 2005

Dear Reader,

I was taking my children to our ancestral home. It was an old house on a mountain slope beside a creek. It was surrounded by pine forest. At this time of year it must be covered by a thick layer of snow. My seven year daughter and five year son were visiting the home for the first time.

No sooner had I put my car in gear than the children started talking excitedly.

“I will climb the tallest pine tree and gather the pine cones,” said my son.

“I will jump into the creek,” replied my daughter.

“I will ski down the slope and oh, I will enjoy the snow so much,” he exulted.

They kept on talking and enjoying every bit of it till the panoramic scenery of approaching mountains caught their attention.

“Oh, see the little water falls! How beautiful they are! Daddy, can we stop, I want to see how cool the water is,” asked my son, little expecting me to stop.

“See, see, there is a hare in the grass. No, there are two.”

They kept on talking and enjoying every bit of it till we reached the home. As for me and my wife, we were tired and bored by driving and the constant talk of the children. The drive was routine for us. We hardly cast glance left or right out of the side windows. We too were looking forward to enjoying at the ancestral home. But we were not in the habit of enjoying the scenery on the way.

The children jumped down the SUV and started gamboling and laughing and throwing snow balls on each other.

They were happy even before they had reached here or seen it. Even if the mountains and snow were different they would have still enjoyed it. They had pre-decided to enjoy it. They had pre-arranged their mind to enjoy. Their happiness had very little to do with the outer reality. Happiness was in their mind.

Not only were they happy on reaching here or on the way thinking of it, they were happy in arriving here also. They were happy during the journey. They enjoyed thoroughly the road, the grass, the trees, the scenery, the mountains, and the snow. They enjoyed the way to the destination. Though they looked with anticipation and joy towards the destination, they enjoyed every bit of the journey to the destination. They really lived the interval between starting and reaching.

With warm regards,

Yours sincerely,

Gus