What is this life?

What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
-Leisure, by W.H. Davies

One of my favourite poems is Leisure, by William Henry Davies. It truely speaks of the society today that seems to be forever chasing that ubiquitious goal of success while feeling unfulfilled in the 24(+3) hours of life they managed to pack in a day.

I feel stressed. We all feel stressed. Maybe it's not more than just another word to toss around these days. 'Oh crap, my car broke down, I'm so stressed. Now I've got to go get it fixed and I'm late for work/uni/whatever already'. Or 'I got a crap mark on my report, I'm so stressed out now'. Or the bus had a flat tire, my wife had a baby, the bus had a baby...

I'm not challenging the fact that we're stressed, nor do I say that there isn't stress in any of those situations. It's just... I feel that where has the simple joys of life gone? Where has the feeling of grass between your toes and catching tadpoles in the drain... or sailing paper boats down the sidewalk... where has it gone?

Instead people go for spas, and relaxation sessions and all. I don't know about you but I'll feel stressed the moment the bill comes. I don't mean to say they don't work. It's just that I feel that we should stop and take a breather sometimes.

Bake a cake. Watch the rain fall outside the window. Read something silly.


I try to tell myself that when you stop and look sometimes, time doesn't run away from you. In reality, it doesn't stop. It doesn't let you cram in that last bit of Chemistry that you can't remember, or let you get more chores or errands done. But do I really want to go through life not feeling pleasure in seeing how the raindrops can race themselves down the glass window pane in such meandering streaks, or how the squares of streetlights race by at night in the car, flickering by like a warm illumination to tell you that you're not alone?

I like that little crook of time to yourself.

And I think standing and staring -- and letting the time pass by, sometimes -- is just fine.