Soon after the monsoon, when the earth was still wet, verdant foliage all around and treetops heavy with water on their leaves, our gardener Francis would appear at our doorstep. He would offer to clear out the weeds and moss from our home garden and trim the hedges. It wasn’t an easy feat because our garden was big, the flower beds had to be ploughed, the plants had to be pruned and the lawn mowed.

Each time it took Francis and his wife almost eight hours of feverish activity with full concentration, to put the garden in order. In return, he got his meagre lunch of daal and roti and daily wage.
What was unique about Francis was his calm demeanor, completely unfazed by the hard labor he put in and the total concentration with which he worked. He had the capacity to laugh even in his penury because of the way he had modeled his life - to live simply, present, and fulfilled.
Francis, from the Ho tribe of Sambalpur, had never gone to any school. But he was my first teacher, who taught me the value of simplicity and living in the present moment.
Now, modern life is decidedly more complicated than life in the time of the Ho, nevertheless, their commitment to presence offers a simple solution to the chaos of an ever-connected life.
If we do less and become more engaged in everything we do, we’re able to enjoy our lives now instead of waiting and hoping we’ll find happiness and fulfillment sometime in the future, when we’ve accomplished or earned enough. Living this kind of life enables us to be always present like the Ho tribe.
But this requires us to tune out the noise of the world, an ever-present buzzing that drowns out the voice of our soul as the years add up.
Do you remember, as a kid, everything was exciting, magical and joyous? We were happy for no apparent reason. We were driven by curiosity and refused to be idle.
Only when we are fully present that we get a chance to listen and hear what our soul is saying. In the present moment you can free yourself from enslavement to the mind and enter into this enlightened state of present moment, and sustain it in everyday life.
Left unchecked the rat race of the mind crushes your soul like the grass beneath a bull fight. This way of living is toxic for the mind, body, and soul. It’s a disease that fills you with stress, destroys your family, and gives you little to hope for.
“Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.” says Robert Frost, one of the world’s best-loved and most famous poets. Be wary of following the pack, and don’t do anything simply because everyone else is doing it. Also, do what you do in the manner that you perceive it, regardless of how everyone is doing it, or has done it. The importance of choosing your own path is reflected in the poem’s conclusion—that taking the road “less traveled by” makes all the difference. Virtually all the people we revere took the road less traveled by, and that is why they were able to make a difference.
Deep down we all know that material things will not make us happier. We know that all the materialism in the world will not fill the void of missing out on life. We know deep down that the rat race is a game we don’t need to be a part of.
What is important is to resolve to live each day, living with the present moment awareness for the rest of your life. At the same time, we must learn to tune into life’s simple pleasures—the excitement of meeting your pet dog after a hard day at office, the unexpected compliment from the security guard at the metro station, the warmth of the winter sun or the way your son’s eyes light up when he smiles—and recognize that this is happiness. And It’s available at any time if you’re not too busy or caught up in your head to appreciate it.
Francis, my gardener from Ho tribe would point overhead to the passing day as a reminder that this is the only day we have. There’s no sense looking backwards unless that’s the direction you want to go. Each and every day carries a new opportunity to be present and live a rich life. An opportunity to do good and be
happy.
As Echart Tolle says “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
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