Infinite Ink

The (un)revolutionary thoughts of a (non)famous (almost)writer

The highlight reel of my (non-Ramadan) day goes as follows:

Coffee.

More coffee.

Food!

An amazing writing breakthrough that will change the landscape of literature for years to come.

OK, coming back to reality: coffee.

If you want a play-by-play breakdown, you will have to wait, because even I don't have the patience to list that down. I will probably go to sleep in the middle of documenting it. Funny thing is, living it isn't sleep-inducing, but describing it is. We are more engaged with the mundane and the ordinary aspects of our lives than we are willing to admit. For example, the living person engages with the sight of rain falling, the sound of birds chirping, the smell of a warm beverage, the taste of morning toast, and the texture of a newly unwrapped soap bar. The zombie-fied person engages only with things that have a screen, and even then he or she is half distracted by something else with a screen.

Why do we turn on the TV for background noise? The thought flits idly across my mind as I tap away on the keyboard, surrounded by my family members who are tapping away on their own screens. The TV blares in the middle of us all.

If it were up to me, there would be no TV, just a big central bookcase in the middle of the room, nice and artsy, filled tastefully with my favorite books. Then again, I'd also have a book contract, a newspaper column and a crazy-hit blog. Wouldn't we all, if it were up to us? Don't get me wrong, I know it's all hard work, uphill work, backbreaking work-to put it simply, WORK-but it's work I can do gladly. You can cry and work or you can smile and work. Usually you don't get to do what you love, but you can spend a little time trying to do that, and if you luck out, you can dedicate more time to it.

In a way, it's a good thing everything isn't up to us. We'd go overboard.

The past year, I had a year of no-writing, all-reading, to shape up my skills, supposedly. It was fun. Reading is an enjoyable, no-pressure activity for me. It was a nice year. Well, almost. I broke the rules before the year was up by posting stories on Wattpad, but I think I got the guilt-free no-write time I needed to refresh my brain.

What are your (un)revolutionary thoughts for the day?