Hello to the people of this chaotically beautiful world.
So today's story go back to like six-years ago. The day I went to the university for my undergraduate degree, and during Orea (Ragging), senior of the university suggested one thing to all of us - just do not loose your inner child. At first, I, or maybe we, did not get the point. Years passed everything really took a huge shift, shift hard enough to go back, and smooth enough to make us not feel the change.
Let me give you an example. There are five major cultures in Pakistan, and they have their own specific name for dance like events. Punjabi has their bhangra, Sariki with Jhummar, Pashtoon with Atan, Sindhi with Ho-Jamalo (I am not sure about the exact name, but we used to call it "Ho Jamalo), and Balochi with Chaap. And, in the beginning, just like any mewbie, I used to take part in each of the above mentioned dances. But with the passage of time, like four-semesters later, everything changed. I became a rigid Punjabi, and started to have biasness towards other.
Okay the example ends here. And what happens later is some other story, but the main point is: I lost my inner child.
Inner Child is still here, but it only comes with one thing - Football.
This is a fact, and every week I come to realise this point. The whole love for literature thing has made me a curious person. And I do like that nature of mine. I analyse everything now. But the problem is that inner child.
But hey, as I said above, there is football to make that inner child appear and happy. And, once again, today was that day.
By the way, during the Covid-19 years. I damaged my ligament partially; it turned out to be ACL. There is need for surgery to get it fully recovered. But for the time being, I tried yoga and gym, but the 100% is still not here. So I just try to play with cautious nature. I avoid harsh tackle, and yes, sometimes my knee slip to the side. But it is okay! I am not going to be a professional. So just for fun is good enough reason.
How to enjoy life?
From my experience, the most beautiful thing about having an inner child is that it reminds us how to enjoy life without making everything adulted (complicated). As we grow older, we learn to analyse, judge, compare and what not. The fun part is there, but it does not hit the same. It does not stay there for long. It just gets burdernized. And, unfortunately, we start looking for perfection in everything, while the little things that once made us happy slowly lose their charm. But remember: that inner child is still there, waiting for us to give it some space. It reminds us that life is not only about responsibilities, achievements and becoming something.
And maybe, this is why I love to play and watch football so much. For those few moments on the field, I am not the person who overthinks everything or tries to understand the deeper meaning behind every little thing. Yes the rationale is there. The body movement is there. And football for the most part is: mind game. But at the same time, I am just a guy chasing a ball, laughing with friends, and enjoying the moment. Maybe I cannot play like I used to, and maybe my knee will never be the same again, but that does not mean I have to give up on the happiness - the inner child - it brings me. We do not always need to be the best at something to enjoy it. Sometimes, doing something simply because it makes us happy is enough. So, I guess that senior was right after all. Growing up is inevitable, or maybe I find it this way, but losing the child inside us should never be a requirement.
Friedrich Nietzsche in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" quipped this thing beautifully: "In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play."
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Peace 馃晩
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Pictures were taken by Infinix Note 30, shared to me by my friend, as I usually leave my phone back at home during football sessions.