Being Connected

It was very late in night when I returned from office. My parents were on a short visit to our place and I was assuming that all would be asleep by that time. I slowly opened the latch and to my amusement both were awake and greeted me with so much warmth and happiness. Since childhood, I have seen my parents following their routines very strictly and have never seen them sleeping so late. But just to be able to spend some time with me they were awake. I was really moved by this gesture. This happens everytime when they come here or when I visit my hometown. They keep all their priorities and schedules aside, just to be able to share some moments with me.

Friends, this is a very common feature in all households. Parents are eagerly looking forward to talk to their kids, to spend some time with them. But do children reciprocate in same way?? This is especially in cases where children have moved out of parents’ homes to other places or other homes. Many children talk to their parents only when they have some free time or when their work pressures are little less. Many days pass away without any communication. Many times parents call but there is no time to respond if in middle of some other important work. But do we really make a point to call back??? Being parents they never mind but my concern is they are the source of our life and growth. They have nurtured us with so much of love and care. A little inquiry, small conversation, expressing love and care and making them feel important requires not much of time but little effort on our part. This goes a long way in ensuring good physical and mental health in autumn of their life.

For me, the spark in my Nani’s eyes and the happiness on her face when I go to meet her and when I relish delicacies prepared by her is beyond any words. It is a feeling which can only be felt and experienced. Whenever I call her she becomes emotional and then keeps on looking forward to my next call or next visit. This feeling of being loved, being so precious is immensely fulfilling. I am sure this is the case with parents and grandparents all around the world.

Friends, Connected is a beautiful word. It symbolises that minds and souls are linked. There is sharing of thoughts and resultant happiness and sorrow. It is interlinking at inner level which goes much beyond just being there for name sake. It is being there consciously to share life and being an integral part of the process.

Whenever we siblings meet, we make it a point to wake up early before all get up so as to spend some quality time together and to have a heart to heart talk. We bond over morning tea to relive the moments spent together during childhood, to share the current experiences and laugh and cry during the same. In daily lives, we chit chat on mobile but the time actually spent together works as reservoir of happiness and comfort.

With the upsurge of digital communication, I feel, we have somewhere lost the warmth of being connected. We have so many friends on social networking platforms. How many friends are actually a part of our day to day lives is a question which makes me wonder the superficial nature of our communication methodologies today.

One of my friends has settled abroad post marriage. We are in communication over messengers and are generally updated about each other lives. But recently she visited my place with her family. Meeting her actually after almost a decade was an altogether different experience. I feel this is the reason why friends enjoy bonding over outings together.

A simple hug on meeting our near and dear ones is magical. “ Jadu ki jhappi” as we fondly call it. Expression of love and affection plays a very crucial role in any relationship. A hug, a conversation or a get-together is always more fulfilling and gratifying than a telephonic conversation or formal update.

Today if we observe, even in homes, our working style, our lifestyle has changed so much. Where both parents are working and are busy throughout the week, just Sundays are reserved for family times. Children sometimes are so disconnected to their parents. I feel, for happy and blissful life ,family bonding is extremely essential. That’s our source of strength and stability in life. The rising number of suicides among children and aged people is indicator of weak family support system. Everybody in family needs to be aware of ups and downs in each other’s life and be there emotionally and physically to guide and support. Many times requirement is of just patient listening and being there. Especially in kids and aged people, I have noticed that they expect just our time and nothing more. Presence and Participation is foundation of Happy, healthy, stable and strong family.

I remember during childhood, any family event used to be a 4-5 days affair. It used to be a great family gettogether wherein all spent time together indulging in music, dance, good food, soulful conversations. Such events created lifetime’s memories for us and beautiful moments which are cherished till date. But nowadays, all such events are generally cut short. Most of us are so engrossed in our professional lives that we are not so keen to take extra time out. Attending events remains just a formality at times. Such events or moments are actually a blessing in disguise in modern times. They are a great way to catch up with so many people who are just in our contact list or social messenger groups. Meeting and greeting people, exchanging some positive thoughts and energy, living some light moments can actually enrich our routine ,mechanical lives. They make us conscious of our living and that our life is more than just work and schedules.

On a personal level for me ,this applies to connection with the Almighty too. Just having a prayer room and idols of deities at home has no meaning unless we feel connected to the Almighty. Merely doing rituals can serve no purpose unless we pour our soul into it.

Connection is all about linking of soul energies and is the basis of any meaningful and true relationship. Relations are not only sending good morning messages daily or forwarding some life lessons or theories or jokes. It’s not about sending some online gifts. It is so much more. It is all about sharing-Sharing our time, our personal space, our thoughts and creating moments and memories. It’s about expression of love and care. Its about being there in good and rough patch of life.We assume many things in life. We keep on postponing conversations, calls, and meetings in pursuit of materialistic achievements. But we all need to be aware that we can have control over everything in life but time is one factor which can cheat us any moment. People in our life are our co-travelers and everyone has to de-board at different times. There is no use of repenting over missed opportunities of connecting.

Friends, however short our journeys may be, we need to make them worthwhile and enjoyable being together and being connected.

It is rightly said,

“Good relationships are like needles of a clock; they only meet for sometime but always stay connected.”