The importance of a hiatus

If I am to metaphorically describe myself, it will be the 1928 Ford Model A from the 1958 Bollywood classic, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. It runs smooth; at times too smooth perhaps but not too long before suddenly braking to provide a wild twist. I do not wish to be a 90mph roadrunner eternally beep-beeping towards an imaginary goal. Nor the boring tortoise that walked slowly but never paused. I like my pauses. Like good sushi, they are palatable, classy and expensive.

I love reading about ordinary people who went on to achieve great things because they loved the things they did. And the more I read I realize that I belong to the unfortunate medley who are stuck between being painfully aware of what they are good at and having to profess allegiance to a vocation simply because it is too unconventional to state otherwise. Therefore; to quote a dialogue from Gladiator, "Sometimes I do what I have to; at other time I do what I want to". The pause gives me the vent to be what I want to; a dreamer, an idealist, a writer, a painter, a sculptor, even a singer (mediocre at best in reality, but consummate nonetheless in my dreams). Once done, I join the highway, where everyone's an Aston Martin on the move to they-know-not-where, yet scared to pause for fear of being branded a loser.

A pause, is ironically a period of activity for the bohemian part of my brain. It may mean breaking away from the diurnal routine and drowning in a deluge of movies. It may mean skipping dinner in a mad race to reach the end of an absorbing novel. It may be an exhausting trip to an idyllic town in the countryside to see the house where a childhood hero lived. It may mean an inordinate wait for nothing, but just a gamble to witness the one thing that your eye yearns to see. The pause, gives one a chance (as slight as it may be) to break away from routine and rebel to become what Bernard Shaw called "the unreasonable man", for a while at least.

So, if like me, you have not read a good book in a while; Not been able to patiently hold your breath and wait  for the opportune moment to press the shutter (because of too many thoughts in your head); Not been able to read and know well about the place you went to visit, and the unknown cuisine you ate; and have only been able to aimlessly roam in shopping centers to opiate your mind to a mental stupor; Then pause. Maybe it is time to pull yourself over the curb and clean the sludge.