It’s Okay To Take A Step Back
I’m sitting in a Starbucks as I write this - drinking my average cappuccino in a chain that springs up new outlets like mushrooms. I’ve never been a fan of global chains of cafes. For me, a cafe experience is not just about getting a dose of caffeine or good ambience. A cafe speaks of someone’s passion, someone’s vision and someone’s taste. There is a marked difference between cafes created to make money and those that are labours of love. Each time I visit a cafe I love, I am inspired.
However, for now, Starbucks will have to do for its unmatched experience of working out of a cafe. I guess there is also much that can be said about a conglomerate growing at the pace Starbucks does, creating a sense of familiarity, quality and availability all around the world. I am in awe of the pace at which organisations like this operate. Having spent most of this year at a job that left me with little time for anything else, it also makes me cringe slightly.
Finally having quit this job and all the toxicity that came with it, I have a newfound sense of excitement for what lies ahead. I am amazed at how at ease I feel, how I suddenly have the time to return to yoga, or even eat breakfast in silence. My phone no longer gives me stress. My nights are not flooded with WhatsApp messages from people whose faces I used to see for 8-10 hours everyday. I have time to go grocery shopping, watch a series, read a book. Most importantly, I am not mentally exhausted.
I am aware that this is a temporary phase, one that will change as soon as I get another job. But somewhere between terms like ‘startup culture’ and ‘hustling’, I’d forgotten that I came to an unknown city to build a life, not just a career. Too much of our lives revolve around our jobs. An entitled person’s statement, one could say. I am sure that there are people who work much harder than me just to make ends meet. And while that is an unfortunate occurrence, I am more amazed by how people who have seemingly enough, cannot seem to take a break because of the top-down percolation of the hustling attitude. Our lives were meant to be lived - amongst friends and family, in the shade of a mango tree in a park or behind the pages of a riveting book. Where is the mindfulness in our actions? Everything we do is a rushed attempt to finish on time, so the next task for the day can begin.
Maybe I shall soon go back to the pace I was at, maybe my next job will take over my life similarly. But for now, I am happy sipping on bad coffee, occasionally checking out passer-byes from my window seat in a cafe where every 3 minutes, someone yells a name. Maybe my job today is to remind everyone to chill out, take a step back, smell the flowers, really taste their food, close their eyes from time to time, think about someone they love and hopefully, smile a lot.