SIGNBOARDS

Signboards!

Some absurd noise woke me up on that Saturday morning.?I looked at the clock. It’s only 4.45 am.?With an infuriation, I turned to the other side and tried to sleep again under my cosy blanket.?But no luck. The mind is so restless.?An unstoppable long train of thoughts started running in my mind.?The heaviness of the body made me roll over the bed and I somehow stepped on the floor.?The chillness of the floor sent an electric shock to the brain which distracted my thoughts for some moments.?For some time I wandered, did not know what to do.?Took a book and started reading.?But, no, I didn’t feel like reading too.?Walked towards the balcony stood in the dark by looking at the sky.?A cool breeze caressed my face.?It touched the great bliss. I tried taking long breaths for some time.?Suddenly, my phone sang my regular 5 am alarm song.?I started getting worried about why am I not able to sleep.?A seed of worry started growing deep in me.?Followed by other worries such as, “maybe I’m growing old”, “what am I doing on Saturday morning”, “wait, am I wasting my time standing on the balcony”, “it has been 25 minutes since I’m awake”,?“should I be looking at my work”.?I experienced seed of worry is growing like a tree.

Gained some consciousness and decided, “let me go for a ride”!?That incredible decision completely derailed my panicking thoughts.?I quickly wore a full sleeves t-shirt, grabbed a helmet, key and mask.?It was a bit cold out there, did not take the jacket, "will I fall sick, but, how could I open the wardrobe and make noise while my son and wife are asleep".?Somewhere my overthinking was boosting my stress hormones.?I walked away from home as I did not want to fall into another trap of thoughts and waste more time.?Sat on the bike and pressed the ignition.?It thudded beautifully. Finally, I made a move.

It was still dark outside. Within a few minutes, I joined the highway.?Saturday chilled morning, long road, and passion for the ride, created some adrenaline in me.?Felt all my worry of sleeplessness is fading away.?Then I remembered the ted-talk where a scientist was talking about how important sleep is to live a longer and more stress-free life.?“Yes, sleep is very important.?Probably, that’s what life gives.?The choices! Either live longer by sleeping or live by enjoying the various experiences.?Quantity versus quality”

?I continued riding against the cold air.?It was penetrating me from head to toe.?I did notice the numbness in my fingers.?Meanwhile, somewhere far between trees, bright orange rays of the sun were peeping through.?Are these rays of hope? Another series of thoughts started triggering.?"We have been trapped under karma of work from home, increased stress due to multiple variants of viruses, lockdowns, fear of infections...".?Suddenly, a truck ran nearby, alerted me, and brought the focus back to the road.?I accelerated and continued the ride.?Still, sun rays were smiling behind the trees and moved along with me.

After a few mins of the ride, I reached a section where the road became narrow due to construction work.?I was probably at 60km/hour speed.?Suddenly, the front wheel of the bike started wobbling and I lost complete balance.?Before I could stop safely, the bike crashed in the mud.?Both of us got bloody muddy. My hand was hurt.?But nothing much happened to the bike.?A gentleman who was at the roadside came and helped me lift the bike.?He appeared to be the in-charge of roadwork.?I was totally furious. I asked him, “Sir, can’t you put at least one signboard”.?He pointed his index finger to the small board which was inadequate.?“Hopeless guys”. I murmured and pushed the bike out of the mud and started the bike.?Looking at my condition, he asked me to wait for some time and then go.?I stared at him and kept moving.

After a few minutes, my ankle started aching and the pain increased.?A few kilometres had already passed.?With no other option, I had to stop and park.?Crawled onto a small rock beside the highway.?Shook the leg with the hope of fixing the pain.?Looked around, there were plenty of signboards.?Mind started blaming self for not reading through.?How many of us really read the signboards on the roads??Of course, a few of them might read consciously but many of them don’t see the signboards themselves.?Some groups of people, read, but they ignore and continue their journey.?To add more complexity, the signboards do not reveal all the pitfalls.

Aren't the same happening with our life too??We all are riding our life and the journey will experience various twists and turns.?But how consciously are we watching or observing our signboards??My friend, who had wheezing issues ignored his infection during covid wave two and lost his life.?I was thinking that I’m enjoying working from home until acute back pain triggered.?Moreover, long hours of work from home create a tremendous amount of stress on us.?The saddest part is many of us are not even aware of it.?We are trying to be busy by working long hours, doing a cooking experiment, eating something new, posting on Instagram etc. At the same time, we ignore all the signs that mind and body are revealing.

Our social interactions have become limited, eating habits dramatically changed, our thought processes entangled with stress (no clarity),?physical and mental wellbeing are getting consolidated under online sessions.?It would be better we do not think about vaccinations as we do not know what it is really doing inside us.?Under such circumstances, it is good to show some positive vibes and act as the hero but at the same time,?we must acknowledge that we are humans and watch out for our own signboards which are warning us.?Most of the time, we are engrossed in our work life and we tend to ignore the signboards.?Organisations are trying their best to educate us about the importance of health and wellbeing, but it’s only a path.?We must walk the path to reap the benefit out of it.

I continued sitting by the side of the road with the burden of thoughts.?Few other bikers stopped by and honked at me to check if I need any help.?That sudden intervention alerted and brought me to the moment.?I raised my hand and gave them a signal that “everything is ok”.?It was amazing to see how a rider stops and care for another one (stranger).?Many a time I think all these riders belong to the same religion driven by strong caring culture.

Sun stopped playing hide and seek between the trees by appearing right at the top.?I sat there looking at the busy highway.?As usual, my uncontrollable mind slipped to thoughts.

The gush of thoughts made me murmur.?I realised that pain was reducing and started to ride back home.?This time, I was looking at signboards and reading consciously “go slow”, “sharp turn ahead”, “drive?carefully”,?“narrow road ahead”… When I was passing?by?the spot where I fell I saw another man busy arguing with the road-in-charge.?I couldn’t stop smiling. These signboards were already there, maybe it was different sizes and shapes.?I ignored reading and understanding them as if no hazard will hit me.?I realised this was the biggest mistake.?I learnt that it was my responsibility to read the signboards for a better and smooth journey.?This applies journey of life too.

This article may not recommend 10 steps to work-life balance or the top 5 tips to reduce stress because the internet is already full of such content.?But please be mindful. Watch out for your signboards proactively.?If you experience anything like stress, pain, anxiety, gastritis, fear, sleeplessness, unclear thoughts or any such signs.?DO NOT ignore. All of these are your signboards.?You need to pause and reflect.?Take measures accordingly. Because during the ride of life, skipping one signboard could be dangerous.

Before I conclude, I would like to leave a personal thought.?"Stay away from the rules of this materialistic society which is excessively concerned about material possessions like expensive cars, clothes, money or any such things.?but try to improve the experience of life by travelling more, helping each other, reading books, focusing on overall health, speaking to people, laughing and smiling more.

So, are you reading your signboards?