Lyad: Let’s Get Unmotivated
The other day, I was chatting with two of my friends. I told them that I feel I am in a happy phase of life after quitting my job. I am spending my days reading, gardening, watching TV, going for a walk, and taking afternoon naps. This is like a dream life and I am scared that this honeymoon wouldn’t last long.
One of the friends excitedly said, ‘I envy you.’
She has a nine-to-five corporate work-from-home job. And wait, here is the fun part. She lives in a small town in the Himalayas. While she works, she can look out of her window and glance at snow-capped mountains. The truth is, I envy her as much as she envies me.
The other friend was more apprehensive. She said that perhaps I am wasting my potential by being too lyad (This is a Bengali word that can be roughly translated as a state of extreme laziness, sluggishness, or unwillingness to do anything productive. It’s often used humorously or casually to describe someone who is lounging around, procrastinating, or being unmotivated. It is a commonly used Bengali slang that fits my current state perfectly.)
The two different perspectives then lead to a full-fledged debate that could even put Arnab Goswamy to shame. My first friend is a risk-taker. She said that life is meant to be lived happily. If I am happy, then there is nothing to worry about. The other friend, an avid traveler, said that if everyone was as complacent as me, humanity wouldn’t have invented fire. We wouldn’t have even invented wheels. I agree, she had a point.
My counter-argument was that who cares if nobody invented wheels or fire. Humans survived by eating raw fruits, vegetables, and meat. I would have done that. I would have stayed in a cave, and woke up without any alarm screaming, only after my body had adequate sleep. Then I would have gone out, plucked some fruits, eaten them, then roamed around for a while, swam in the river, sat on top of a hill to watch sunset and then fall asleep again. Imagine being able to live in a cave without paying any rent, EMI, or mortgage. I could have also traveled from one place to another without the need to buy expensive flight tickets.
Next, my friend said, ‘ But how would you have survived without books?’ This was one a tricky one, but maine bhi balla uthake mara, ‘I said, I would have read the cave paintings’ Not sure where the ball landed but friend stayed silent after this.
After a while, all of us were on the same page that we have wasted years of our lives doing things that added no value to our lives or even our bank accounts. Thankfully, all three of us have somehow found out time to do things that matter. The first friend packed up her life in Mumbai and shifted to the hills, while the second one has traveled almost 3/4th of the world. And all three of us love being independent but not at the cost of sacrificing the real things in life like family, friends, and hobbies.
There was a time when people studied to learn but now people send their kids to schools so that these kids can score marks and get good jobs. Even 15 years after 3 Idiots, nothing has changed. Earning money has become the only focus in our lives. We are constantly shamed for not being productive enough. Gen-Z people are often criticized for being ‘unprofessional’ as they refuse to work extra hours. Are they really that? or are you angry with them because you cannot exploit them the way you can exploit the millennial?
We have created such a toxic culture around us that being busy is ‘cool’. Everyone is busy and nobody has time. This restlessness was not there when we were growing up. Taking rest has become shameful, being lazy almost invites capital punishment.
In 2025, I have taken the resolution to live guilt-free. I know, there will be days, when the world will get the better of me and I will go down the rabbit hole cursing myself for wasting my education, skill set, and professional experiences. Nevertheless, I will focus on things that matter. Purpose of life is to SURVIVE. Trust me, nothing else matters. As long as you are alive, try to be happy and make others happy.
I follow lots of podcasts on physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. When I think of myself in this huge unending universe, I feel so insignificant. We all are insignificant, yet we keep running to make ourselves significant by earning money, fame, status, etc. Yet, at the end, we leave behind everything and become dust. Our Earth is a rare planet where there is life. We were gifted a beautiful and colorful nature with blue oceans, green grasses, white mountains, yellow deserts, red flowers, and brown insects. However, we were not happy with this natural beauty, we started creating our own cities. We felled trees and replaced it with buildings, we replaced green hills with garbage dumps, and so many other atrocities we did. I am sure, if the world had “less motivated” people we wouldn’t have had to worry about climate change, ozone hole, war, and nuclear weapons. Initially, we replaced nature with concrete, and now very soon we will replace human beings with AI robots. All this is happened because of over-motivated people who cannot rest and enjoy.
Social media is full of people trying to motivate you to do things, earn money, and become famous. But if you carefully think, you will realize that most of the work that we do actually doesn’t make any difference to us or the universe.
Hospice nurses recount that most people on their dying bed regret not spending enough time with loved ones, holding onto grudges, and not expressing their true feelings. Many wish they had worked less, pursued their dreams, and cared less about others’ opinions. They regret neglecting their health, missing out on travel and new experiences, and not living in the present. Some wish they had been kinder, more forgiving, and more appreciative of life’s simple joys. In the end, material success fades, and what truly matters is love, memories, and inner peace.
This shows that most of us spend our lives doing things that add no joy to our lives. At the end, we regret not doing things that would have made us happier. I do not want to die with regrets (perhaps I will regret not being enough motivated to become Indira Nooyi). For now, I am happy ‘not’ doing enough. I am happy staying at home, reading, writing, sleeping, gardening, cooking, cleaning, and eating. I am happy being home in my own sheltered cocoon.
This became a long post. Let me know your thoughts. Am I wasting my life or actually living it? Are you happy doing what you are doing?
This piece is written in response to the 236th edition of Fiction Monday inspired by the word prompt – Nature hosted by Vinitha Dileep.
