[Also published here: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/04/is-love-supposed-to-be-automatic--rajni-tripathi/]

When given the opportunity of a free Saturday night, the thought of simply resting and nesting is so completely engulfing that not another thought rummages through the mind. A cup of ginger tea and a good book is all that is required, at least for the time being.

Then, all of a sudden, restlessness starts creeping in. You feel jittery because, while the idea of curling up with a good book is delicious and enjoyable at first, you feel as if your hands and feet should be doing something more than just picking up a cup of tea.

From the moment we learned how to talk and walk at the same time, it was soccer games, dance rehearsals, choir practice, and homework that were on our schedules. Our multi-tasking capabilities were being generated even before we could understand what any of the words in this sentence meant.

We are a nation of runners, of movers, of action–trying to accomplish a plethora of goals in small spans of time or setting up a million long-term objectives and endeavoring towards them. If we’re not doing that, then we’re racking our neurons to make sure that we haven’t forgotten a task. Our minds and body are always running.

Born and adapted to such a life style can alter a person’s reactions to new ideas, recognitions, realizations and epiphanies. If it’s personal (going by a broad definition encompassing friendships) then it changes perceptions and values. When it’s a universal truth or metaphysical, then it’s either rejected or assimilated. All three have profound influences on all generations, but somehow, this generation adapts in a much more distinct way.

I believe that way, is to maintain the velocity at which we are running and at the same time, incorporate, assimilate, change. We don’t stop.

If and when we do have minutes, hours or days when somehow we’ve missed scheduling something in–how do we stop our mind and body from running?