Off the Cuff: I remember the carefree days...

I remember those days of glorious sunshine, those days of carefree living, those days of bliss, when yesterday was but a dream and tomorrow a vision. The present was all that mattered, because there really was so much to occupy the senses for the moment that the future really did not matter.

I remember, as a teen-ager, rambling about the hills and valleys of my hometown - a quaint, quiet and picturesque little town, nestled between two hills, with a "highway" running across the middle. And flowers growing in wild abandon.

Though they grew in the hills, where few of us humans could, and possibly would, appreciate their charms, they none-theless continued to bloom. Perhaps, fairies and other form of heavenly creatures took pleasure in their company?

I remember the deep well behind our house, where we used to enjoy many an impromptu shower. Oh! how delightfully cold and relaxing the water felt as it gushed down our sweat-soaked bodies.

Sweet, honey-coated water nestled in the shallow of its basin, which we would drink from to our hearts content on many a hot and humid afternoon.

I remember those tall dark trees swaying gently in the breeze all around our house. In my innocent mind as a kid, I used to think their tops touched the sky!

I remember the wild animals crying out in the distance, hinting of an unexplored world, a world of mystery and wonder.

Most of all I remember the silence.

Have you ever listened to the silence?

Real silence, when everything is so still and calm, when you can actually hear the earth speak? It is only during such introspective moments that you are compelled to question, to seek some deeper meaning in your life.

They also make us realise the fleeting nature of our journey on this Earth - a mirage that will silently, without any fanfare, die out on us one fine day.

Here I stand today, just another faceless entity in the great big rat race, another tiny speck in the vast sea of humanity, rushing against tide and time - no idea where - trying to make the most of each minute in terms of name, fame and fortune. The cycle just overwhelms you.

Why don't we realise that for each goal or desire that gets fulfilled, a dozen more spring forth from the human breast?

There are millions of us out there, labouring through life, thinking of the future.

But, at the end of the day - albeit, when it's a bit too late - we will wake up to realise we are through with life, without having lived life at all.