Hearing about my cousin’s daily routine feels overwhelming – right after the coaching classes in the morning, he goes to school. After some eight hours of rigorous studying, he heads to the football ground where he’s supposed to train for some time for he has been selected in the school football team. Tired, he returns home with only a few minutes to change and eat something before his math tuition begins. His home assignments are slated for after dinner.
Recently, he couldn’t attend school for about a week because he hadn’t been feeling too well, and his family was all too concerned about the supposed hamper in his studies caused by the absence. I guess his illness was only his body’s way of demanding rest. I could see that disappointment clearly reflected on his silent being, his red tired eyes longing to play football and then his shoulders totally weighed down by the pressure to score well in his ninth grade exams.
If any one of us had to trade places with him, then many of us surely would wish for a long break with almost nothing to do. No one would love being so busy ever.
However, although life with a long vacation minus work sounds good, not working and staying idle for a long time affects us, our capability, our creativity and way of thinking. Someone has aptly said that an empty mind is a devil’s workshop.
Sure, heading to work to meet deadlines, tackling problems and challenges, and constantly checking with our career goals can be too much at times. But these ‘difficulties’ deserve a big thank you for keeping us busy without which, for very long, our life would be meaningless. I’m confident that I’ll catch my cousin in nostalgia, longing for his busy days, the day when he’s done with his SLC exams and is free for at least three months, if he chooses not to do anything in the free time.
What I’ve understood is, life is neither just about work nor is it just about relaxing and having nothing to do. These two extremes will either make us busy surviving or busy dying. Life is about keeping the right balance, and understanding the need to rest after work and work after rest. Finding the right balance is a life skill which helps keep ourselves healthy and happy. This is the reason why an approaching vacation after having worked for a long time thrills us, while an overdose of vacation doing nothing bores us to death. Doing or having something to do is a part of life, and it is doing that ultimately helps us realize our dreams. On the other hand, not doing anything makes our dream just a dream.
Researchers have found that human beings usually want to get rid of very difficult games, and get bored of very easy ones. But they are constantly interested in the game in which, through some practice and focus, attaining a level up is possible. Dreaming an easy life with nothing to do is boredom, and great difficulties will give us a panic attack and an urge to quit. Having something to achieve is how we really live.
At the end of the day, it not only matters whether or not we are keeping ourselves busy – we should know what we are keeping ourselves busy at. A bee is busy and so is a mosquito – but while bees are praised for their effort, mosquitoes are swatted. Therefore, being busy in a productive way is the key to a healthy and happy life.
The writer is an A-level student at St. Xavier’s College.
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