How often have we said — “just a minute”, “one minute please”, “I’ll be there in a minute”. A minute is too short for the one running after it, too long for the one waiting for it to get over, unreachable when one is expectant.
These phrases have become too common in our daily lives. We hear it almost constantly. But have we really sat back and thought about the value of a “minute”? In our everyday rush, we are always after so many of these minutes.
A minute to shut the door, run, then a minute in the lift, run, a minute to catch the bus before it leaves, a minute before the boss is in the office and on it goes. Without even realising we are counting the minutes.
Let us just sit back and think. We are so acutely aware of the minute that we guard it almost zealously. We have a pre-set task for every minute. But we are human beings! Humanity is our essence and feelings are our strong holds.
A tasteless, joyless life
Marking every minute to our own needs are leading us to a tasteless, joyless life. We are using up all our minutes to gather materials — but minutes are not infinite. Everyone has his or her own predefined stock.
So why don’t we change the power of this “minute” and empower it to envelop all? A minute to us maybe a lifetime to someone else. A minute to sit with grandparents helps them relive years. A minute with parents help lessen their burden. A minute with the child helps build the future. A minute with siblings brings a lightness to our overburdened shoulders.
A minute of silence for the one gone is a sign of respect. But a minute spent when they were around would humble us with the gratitude that we would earn. A minute is all that it takes to change the game. If we start realising this we can save ourselves from running after every minute.
A minute to the examinee is like a moment in which history is to be written. A minute to the winning team in a game seems like years, while the losing team sees it go like a blip. A minute to someone ringing the bell seems like eternity while the one rushing to open the door the minute seems to slip as if non-existent.
When minute seems to stop
The minute when a mother lays her eyes on her newborn never seems to end, while the father waits impatiently counting minutes. The minute when the eyes first met seems like magic, when time seems to stop and before long we realise many minutes have passed. The minute seems to stop, for the one left behind, tending to stretch it till the beloved can be seen no more.
We have put a price on every of our minutes and made it so expensive that now us, the creators, find it difficult to afford it. Now the minute drives us. We have to finish a job a minute before our competitors, we have to be ready to drive on the minute the light turns to green to avoid the irritated honk from behind, the answers should be at the tip of our tongues, the minute the question is asked, and so on it goes.
But can we not use our minutes every time in a very different way? It takes only a minute to put a smile on a suffering face. So why do we not do it? It only takes a minute to look around God’s creation. So why don’t we spend it? It takes only a minute to appreciate each other. So why not engage in it? It takes only a minute to put a soothing hand on a burning forehead.
So why do we not reach out to it? It only takes a minute to apologise. Why do we not get over with it? It takes only a minute’s act of kindness to change someone’s life. Why not act on it? It takes as little as a “thank you” to put a smile on a hard worker’s face. So why not indulge in it? It takes a minute to realise that different views do not necessarily mean a contradiction. So why not accept it?
Above all it takes only one minute to realise that we are human beings. So humanity is our normality. We do not have infinite minutes — so let us use each minute wisely. As human beings we are capable of every good deed. Let’s utilise our very valuable and precious minutes in a novel way.
Mamata Bandyopadhyay is a homemaker based in Dubai.
