But ivattu raje!

This is a story my aunt told me a few years ago.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and Monday blues had already begun to creep in for her. She thought about the upcoming work week and that it would begin in just a few hours. She sighed and voiced her frustration to a six-year-old kid next door. The child responded in the most nonchalant manner, saying, “But ivattu raje,” which means “But today is a holiday” in Kannada.

I was mind-blown. The little one chose to live in the present. Sometimes, the most powerful conversations in life happen with children. They have a way of simplifying complex things. And what do we grown-ups do? We complicate the simple things.

Maybe if we stopped worrying about tomorrow’s ‘kelsa’ and started enjoying today’s ‘raje’, life would feel a lot better.