STICKS AND ROCKS

‘I always hear you pour the water at 05,59. Every morning.’, explained my son as he noticed that I was not awake at the usual time.

It’s true. I have our teas ready by six every morning. Today, I was more tired than past days. By the end of the week, the need to get up earlier than we had to in the past was getting to me. To both of us. However, my son informed me that he was unable to sleep. So, he stayed awake most of the night, tossing and turning.

Despite the early awakening, the simple ritual of sharing time together during our meals is one for which I am grateful. Even if it is only a cup of tea. Inevitably, there is always an interesting topic of conversation that comes about.

‘You didn’t throw away my sticks. Or my rocks.’, my son glanced at the items under the bench by our door as we walked towards the stairs and to our car.

‘Of course not’, I stated and let him know how I also used to collect those same items.

We had about ten minutes’ time together until we got to the pickup point for the LEO bus. Somehow, we ended up talking about the cave man days and how they wore ‘luxury clothes’ in the way of animal skins.

‘Nowadays we have to pay hundreds of dollars for that!’, my son exclaimed.

This then led to how the early people used merely sticks and rocks to go about getting their evening meals and how they walked all the time. A simpler life than we lead now. Yet, it seemed a more fulfilling time as they all sat down together to feast on the tiger they hunted for their dinner.

With all of the technological advancements, we have somehow managed to step into a time of increased complexity, stress, and unhappiness. Away from the simple and fulfilling life we should be living and into a time when we make endless excuses about not having the time for hobbies or other interests, to include sharing time with family during meals.

Somehow, we need to find a way to simplify our lives. To return to a more primitive time. A time of ‘sticks and rocks’, where we streamline our lives and find the time for things which truly matter. The added stresses brought on by way of social media hinder our development as a human species. It distracts us from what we enjoy in order to spend hours each day observing and obsessing and following influencers. For what? To alleviate boredom? Where then do we find the time for our own enjoyment? For our hobbies? The truth is that there is always time for something if we truly want to make the time. It’s all a matter of our priorities.

As we arrived at the pickup location, I asked my son if he wanted a donut since the donut place was in the same area. He hesitated for a bit, knowing that it wasn’t something we usually eat, then agreed. He chose one donut and a half dozen donut holes. He shared the donut holes with me and then he was on his way to school as I returned home to work. Until the late afternoon when I would bring him back home for more interesting conversations and a meal.