The (not so dreadful) Pause

By Rachana Shukla

The 'infamous' pause  which everyone dreads can be looked upto with a different perspective ( if we have an eye to look for).

There would be many times in our life when we would need to pause, not stop.

There is a difference between pausing and stopping, right. 

But why is it still looked upon as a sign of immaturity, or laziness, or fear, or lack of clarity in goals/future. 

Can't someone just pause because they want to, willingly. 

Knowing very well the causes of it, yes both good as well as bad. And not feel guilty of it.

It's too good to read a philosophical note or two, like, 'when the seas are rough, the fisherman mends their nets'

Or 'sharpen the spear until you get to hunt'

But does one truly have the patience? or I would say courage to sit still and work towards those so-called 'petty' things like mending the nets and sharpening the tools. Aren't they seem to be too mundane?

Why the tougher or bigger tasks are always looked upto as 'Important tasks'.

Catching fishes from the rough sea is seen as a major task (yes it is!). But the tedious task of mending the nets takes the back seat. 

Imagine, if you had not devoted the time in mending the nets; proper fishing would be difficult. You could have, out of impatience, done just half of the mending. But then during the actual showtime the nets would break. They would not be able to take the weight of the fishes.  

We tend to forget to load ourselves with essential ammunition prior to initiating a task. We feel the time taken to do so would be of a waste and instead just start the work. Yes! I am not diminishing the experiences of on the job learning. And not to procrastinate prior to the task. But, not to ignore the other side as well; the Preparation. 

So, if you feel like taking a pause, or if the situation demands a pause; do not hesitate to take one. In the still waters, we can see our reflection clearly. Similarly, the mundane work would allow us to hear our thoughts and teach patience prior to the 'Showtime'.

By Rachana Shukla