Just a long long drive...

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Maddening rush
Keeping pace with 9 to 5
A lot we miss under the sun
A lot to keep awake at late night
How far we shall bear?
How much we will sacrifice?
Life is not a complex labyrinth
But a long long drive…

A sip of chai with your love
Hide and Seek with your child
Listening to your Dad's old wisdom
A return smile when a stranger smiled
It won't cost us money
It will bring twinkle in our eyes
Life is not a complex labyrinth
But a long long drive…

Burn midnight oil growing up
Slog to keep up in the race
Miss all in unwanted seriousness
Nothing of it, we will take to our graves
Why drench in overloaded clamor?
Why we over-surmise?
Life is not a complex labyrinth
But a long long drive…

I watched this documentary on Chief Official White House Photographer, Pete Souza and stumbled upon this interesting part where President Obama tells ’Why we shouldn’t take life too seriously’ in reference to a picture which was displayed in White House Gallery for a year and a half.

I quote President Obama,

"A little boy came with his family. He was the son of someone who works at the White House. It couldn't been more than 3 or 4 years old. And he very boldly told me that people told him that he and I have the same hair cut. He want to see that if that was true. I put down my head so he could examine my hair and helpfully pointed out all the grey hair and he decide to pat me on the head, just to get a feel for it. I took that picture and it stayed there for whole year and a half, just because it reminds you not to take yourself too seriously. If a 3 year old can pat you on the head in the Oval Office then you are probably keeping your sense of humor."

If the most important person on Earth can feel so, we should also take a break and think about unburdening ourselves. As…

Life is not a complex labyrinth
But a long long drive…

Just, Enjoy it!


P. S. - Forward the video to 59 secs to watch this part.
*Image Source - Youtube Video

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 3, 2014 at 11:11 AM

    What a wonderful reminder to ENJOY life!

    ReplyDelete
  2. BloggerWloggerMarch 3, 2014 at 11:26 AM

    Woww.. Life beautifully portrayed! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Writefully YoursMarch 3, 2014 at 1:17 PM

    All said and done, Obama should be more serious! But ya, all of us lesser mortals, should follow ur words,print them and paste them in our office cubicles! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Danny SimonMarch 3, 2014 at 4:58 PM

    Wish everyone would be so... well written :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rohit_blogger at http://floating-expressions.blogspot.in/March 3, 2014 at 7:54 PM

    thoroughly loved and enjoyed this one Saru..the poem as deep as the awersome President Obama..often an entire lifespan passes and only when wisdom dawns upon us we realize the luminosity of beautiful life..your posts particularly the poems reflect beautifully the timeless reality of life..throughout shimmering with the eternal truth..the show must go on~

    ReplyDelete
  6. D.NambiarMarch 3, 2014 at 8:35 PM

    Great message there -- something we ought to be reminded of from time to time. And that picture is sure precious!

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  7. Rahul BhatiaMarch 3, 2014 at 10:33 PM

    Indeed life is not to be taken too seriously but enjoyed as a long drive! Lovely anecdote at the end, Saru:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. प्रवीण पाण्डेयMarch 3, 2014 at 10:43 PM

    Impressed !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ankur AnandMarch 3, 2014 at 11:10 PM

    long drives are always enjoyable .. well written as always :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Afshan ShaikMarch 3, 2014 at 11:52 PM

    Firsst thing I observed after reading the post is the pics whch occupy almost the whole page !

    such a cute anecdote and a lovely lesson!
    Like they say dont take ur self too seriously. No one else takes

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMarch 4, 2014 at 12:34 AM

    A lovely read Saru. Life is nothing but a long, long drive..so true.

    ReplyDelete
  12. संजय भास्‍कर March 4, 2014 at 1:27 AM

    well written as always :) enjoyable

    ReplyDelete
  13. SoumyaMarch 4, 2014 at 2:55 AM

    Oh this was awesome Saru! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Stuti DhyaniMarch 4, 2014 at 4:10 AM

    RIghtly said Saru. It reminds me of William Henry Davies' lines-
    " What is this life if, full of care,
    We have no time to stand and stare."

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousMarch 4, 2014 at 6:57 AM

    A reminder to live life the way one should be.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jayashree SrivatsanMarch 4, 2014 at 9:49 AM

    I totally agree. While running after different things in life we forget the most important thing we need to do with it i.e. Live !

    ReplyDelete
  17. Red HandedMarch 4, 2014 at 10:25 AM

    Hah now that is something!!
    Life isnt meant to be seriously taken!

    ReplyDelete
  18. ekta khetanMarch 4, 2014 at 10:32 AM

    beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  19. K V V S MURTHYMarch 4, 2014 at 10:33 AM

    Interesting post..!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Poonam KhandujaMarch 4, 2014 at 11:23 AM

    Brilliant! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. www.lifepartneracademy.comMarch 4, 2014 at 12:23 PM

    Very true! Life's a very very long drive but the road is getting murkier by the day. Good reminder to enjoy life.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Someone is SpecialMarch 4, 2014 at 2:23 PM

    A beautiful way to enjoy life!!! And a wonderful video Saru!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Arpita’s thoughtsMarch 4, 2014 at 5:02 PM

    Thank you for this special post Saru!! The thoughts embedded in the poetry is intriguing,

    ReplyDelete
  24. Arish DhawanMarch 4, 2014 at 10:24 PM

    Wish th world had a little more of those

    ReplyDelete
  25. PrashanthMarch 4, 2014 at 10:26 PM

    Loved the pic and the gesture shown by Obama is also great...:) Very well worded Saru and thanks for sharing...:)

    ReplyDelete
  26. KrishnaMarch 5, 2014 at 12:45 AM

    Nice gesture from Mr. President.

    ReplyDelete
  27. joshi danielMarch 5, 2014 at 1:05 AM

    very well said :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Preethi VenugopalaMarch 5, 2014 at 2:39 AM

    I loved your poem and I adore Obama..:)

    ReplyDelete
  29. PayalMarch 5, 2014 at 3:43 AM

    Wow! I loved the words :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anita SabatMarch 5, 2014 at 4:13 AM

    Lovely Post, Saru! Great lesson to keep in mind!
    Congrats for your Asian paints win :) Take the prize seriously! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. jinglesMarch 5, 2014 at 4:20 AM

    Saru...u r an amazing writer...u put big thoughts in simple words!

    Ur blogs r worth reading at all times :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. AnonymousMarch 5, 2014 at 4:27 AM

    well said....

    ReplyDelete
  33. UnknownMarch 5, 2014 at 8:08 AM

    It gives us a lovely message. I will try to implement it sincerely. :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. SujithMarch 5, 2014 at 9:04 AM

    Thanks....

    ReplyDelete
  35. UnknownMarch 5, 2014 at 9:45 AM

    Totally impressed Saru!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Dark KnightMarch 5, 2014 at 2:26 PM

    Very glad to see a post about the hectic pace of most people's life... boy can I relate to this one! We all need to be reminded to stop and enjoy life every bit that we can.

    Thanks for another great post, and for that video. Loved it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Saurabh ChawlaMarch 8, 2014 at 7:00 AM

    Indeed our life is a long long drive :) Good one Saru :)

    ReplyDelete
  38. AnonymousMarch 8, 2014 at 11:52 AM

    Very inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  39. UnknownMarch 30, 2014 at 12:19 AM

    Well, I don't believe much of what Obama says. But yes, Life is a long, long drive, and not a complex labyrinth. The poem was good enough and the point you brought up is genuine - the pace and situations of life kills most of what life means to us actually.

    ReplyDelete
  40. AnonymousJune 15, 2015 at 6:53 PM

    So beautifully written about hope and inspiration as we tread on the long and complex journey. Love every word, Saru:)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Manisha SharmaJune 28, 2015 at 12:49 PM

    This picture is of the time when this kid wanted to see if Obama had the same hair as his, and Obama had gladly bowed down before him :) :)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Saru SinghalJuly 4, 2015 at 10:55 AM

    @Everyone - Thanks a ton for reading and for your generous comment.

    ReplyDelete

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