Today was not a very productive day.
When I say productive, I mean that kind – the LinkedIn motivator kind. I wake up at 4.30 and don’t waste a minute of my time kind.
It’s almost as if one has to wake up and set out on this roller coaster throughout the day, ensuring that not one minute is unspent. You feel guilty if you don’t “achieve” something every singe day.
A lot of this has to do with unrealistic expectations and pressure that we put on ourselves, heavily influenced by a tribe that tries to put a premium on over productivity. And so we measure ourselves by zero inboxes and calls/meetings attended per day, basically on “work done”.
But why does every day have to be the same?
It’s ok to be empty once in a while. It’s ok to not get work done, once in a while. It’s ok to underachieve, once in a while. We are humans, not machines.
Today, I tried my best to sit at the laptop and get stuff done. Just didn’t happen. Then my son walked up to me and tried his hand at typing something. I sushed him away, and then it struck me. Closing my laptop, I walked him into the hall, and just sat with him, while he watched Raju Gita and Harsh attending the Kaalu Madaari show with the Bhaalu and stuff.
Most boring show, but the best time spent.
Considering what we woke up to this morning, life can be quite uncertain. All the work in the world wouldn’t matter when it comes to eventualities. So take it easy once a while.
Leaving you with Amani-bhava – the bliss of no-mind, and a pada:
इह शारीपत्र रुपम् शून्यता शून्यतैव रुपम्
रूपान ना पृथक शून्यता शून्यताया ना पृथग रुपम
iha śāriputra rūpaṃ śūnyatā śūnyataiva rūpaṃ rūpān na pṛthak śūnyatā śūnyatāyā na pṛthag rūpam
“Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Form is not different than emptiness; emptiness is not different than form.”
Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, also known as the Heart Sutra in Buddhism