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28 September 2026

There are periods in life when we are so busy waiting for the next thing that we hardly notice the thing that is happening now.

We wait for the weekend.

Then for a holiday.

Then for retirement.

Then for the next journey, the next book, the next plan.

There is always something ahead.

I sometimes wonder how many ordinary moments we pass without really being present in them.

A cup of tea with someone we love. A familiar voice in the house. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Sitting quietly near a window while rain falls outside.

Nothing remarkable.

Yet these are often the moments that return to us years later.

Perhaps life does not announce its important moments when they arrive.

There is no small bell saying, “Remember this. You will miss it someday.”

We understand only afterwards.

That is why perhaps we should occasionally stop looking so far ahead.

Not because plans are unimportant.

But because while we are busy preparing for the life we hope to have, there is a life already sitting quietly in front of us.

And it deserves to be noticed.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com