In the here and now….

What is it with inner peace and “spirituality” these days? It seems to be everywhere, with people either trying to achieve it, preaching about how to get it or #tagging it on Instagram against a backdrop of some pristine scene!! Never one to shy away from trying something new, I immediately hopped on the “inner peace” bandwagon when I saw it coming. It arrives as soon as your life dishes out the tiniest of disappointments or setbacks, and then you are left struggling to find your “lost” inner peace. So that done, I spent many fruitless days in search of it, often looking to Shifu from Kung Fu Panda 2 for inspiration and muttering inner peace inner peace under my breath (found it helps in presence of nosy relatives. They think you are crazy and stay away).

And so I was pleasantly surprised when one day it appeared, quite unexpectedly, out of the blue. I believe inner peace springs up in the presence of people you love the most. People you’ve known for ever, the ones you’ve grown up with. You don’t need to measure your words with them, nor your actions, they shall be there forever and always. And well, if they cant they’ll tell it to your face after which you’d probably punch them and that would be that!!!

There are moments which slap you in the face, and force you to live them. Without the haunting thoughts of tomorrow…just here and now. For me it was a train journey home. Back from an impromptu and quite successful (for once) shopping trip, with my favorite people. I sat by the window…looking away to the distant lights. Listening to the “thatad thatad” of the train. Laughter and voices in the background. Having (very wisely) handed over the tally of who owed what to whom to the other two, I contentedly stared out the window. And there…Right there in that fleeting moment, I found it. Inner peace. I didn’t want to be anywhere else but right there, right then. No uncertain future peeked at me from way over from the corner of my mind, and no thoughts haunted me. The thoughts could rest in their graves (albeit temporarily). Or they could come back as scarier, darker, undead versions. Hardly matters!! I had what I was looking for and it would always be there. Ready to emerge at just the right moment. I knew it was going to be fleeting, but for that moment nothing mattered. I could relish the uncertainty of tomorrow…embrace it….get lost in it and then maybe find my way again. For now all that mattered was those precious few people…who would be there…forever and always!!