The whole point of life

This day last week, I was just back home to Siliguri from Kalimpong after spending a long weekend with my two best friends- Nirupama and Alija.

I had a wonderful time meeting my friends in Kalimpong and now I am back again in Kolkata.

​Kalimpong is a small hill station in West Bengal and I being a mountain lover, am in love with any hill station.

It is peaceful, charming and the weather especially now in spring, is so pleasant and lovely.

Once you become an adult and go about your ways in life, after graduation and once you get a job especially, as you might already know, how hard it is for schedules to match to be able to meet each other at the same time.

But this time we hadn’t even planned.

I was supposed to go home with my mum and my dog.

Suddenly my friend who stays in Delhi texted me saying that she too would be able to come home during the same time I was home.

My other friend is already from Kalimpong so it would be perfect for us to get together since it had been more than 2 years since the three of us met.

We are college friends and we three were roommates back then when we used to stay in a PG (Paying Guest) in Darjeeling while studying at St. Joseph’s College, North Point.

That’s how our friendship started in 2014.

Of most of my college days, I remember having the most fun in our small room where the three of us used to live.

When the three of us are together, entertainment is unlimited.

Our other friends used to say that if they just kept the three of us together, they could watch us like as if watching a Television show and they would be entertained.

We stayed at Nirupama’s place in Kalimpong this time.

My other friend who came from Delhi went straight to Kalimpong after she landed.

I too after I reached home in Siliguri, went straight to Kalimpong to meet them.

It takes 2 and a half hours to reach Kalimpong from Siliguri by cab.

You have to pass through the Teesta River and forests and narrow roads.

And so the three of us met- Vishu, Niru and Ali (our nicknames)

Nirupama has a scooty, but since we were three of us, I decided to rent another scooty for myself for three days.

And so we went around Kalimpong town- mostly places away from the main town- in the cliffs of hills which we call ‘Daara’,

We took things to eat there and just sat there talking and enjoying our little dry picnic underneath the wide open sky, feeling the warm sun and cool wind breeze.

Only later in the evening, we would stop at a cafe before heading home.

If I had to sum up my time when I was with them, it’s this- we talked and talked and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed and roamed around all day.

Our entire to-do for three days was to get up, eat breakfast made by Niru’s mum, get ready and roam around all day.

Many people say that you can’t have it all: that if you want to be successful or reach your peak levels of productivity and all of your goals- you can’t have it all.

They say you have to sacrifice your time out with friends and sacrifice enjoyment.

I don’t believe in that.

It’s always possible to give time for enjoyment and it’s all the more important that you do give time for it- time to do nothing, but have fun. It is important too.

I say this because I have seen many people who become so engrossed in their goals, their career and their work that they make it their whole life.

But work is not our whole life. Work is just a part of life.

Having fun in life is the whole point of life

Living carefree and indulging in enjoyment is the whole point of working so hard for yourself.

What use is working so hard if you don’t know what else to do when you’re not working?

What use is earning so much if you can’t enjoy some free days for yourself with friends and family?

I am happy with my ability to leave all of the rest and just enjoy the moment.

I forget all of my to-do, other plans, goals for the day, my blog, this newsletter and everything and just enjoy my time when I am with my loved ones.

Of course, fun and enjoyment also cannot go on indefinitely, otherwise fun stops being fun too.

You need to find the right balance.

But now and then, you deserve to enjoy. You deserve a break.

You deserve to rest. You deserve to forget everything and just be carefree without any guilt.

And this is what I wanted to remind you through today’s newsletter.

There will always be time to work on the things you want to, but it’s not every day that we get a chance to go out and enjoy ourselves with our loved ones, so if you get a chance, grab it and be present with them fully.

They will love it and you will love it equally.