Poetry

I guarantee you do not need a cellphone,
A bag of fries, unopened can of pop,
A passenger behind you raising hell, drone
About your driving with no plan to stop;
A toddler trying hard to lose his harness
Or children crying out to have their say
Mixed in with whines complaining of the farness
Of wherever you’re headed to this day.
You do not need these things to be distracted
Although they’re bound to help without a doubt,
If you won’t rest until your life’s impacted
By injury that glamorizes gout,
Just tell yourself that you’re distraction-free,
Then watch yourself distract you totally.

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This truly is intended as a public service message. (The cynical tone is deliberate but NOT meant to make light of the matter.)

• Distracted driving is a hazard
• Thoughts can distract just as much as anything else
• Don’t let your guard down
• Focus on what matters!

Is happiness some quarry we pursue
Embedded in material desires?
When did it cease to be a part of you
And turn into an object that requires
Pursuing? Is our devolution done?
Do we exert ourselves from dawn till night
That we may travel miles to find the sun
Then swim a sea of gadgets for delight?
I understand that leisure must be earned
But let there not be madness in such earning
Before we find our minds and bodies burned
For such pursuit has elements of burning.
How odd to be pursuing what is found
With us if only we would look around.

– – –
How happy are you in your pursuit of happiness?
– Sh. Amin Kholwadia