Monday column: What is it like to be a villager?

WHEN I SPENT a few days last week in a small village just completely isolated from Muscat, I learned a valuable lesson where I am usually surrounded by people who are on the rush.

Villagers are never in a hurry. They always have time for things that are important. What I was really impressed most is that they are good listeners. They look at you on the face while you talk and listen to every word you say.

Unlike in Muscat, where people pretend to listen while their are eyes are firmly glued on their mobile phones. They become completely deaf as you speak to them. Just an occasional nod of the head but their minds are miles away though you are sitting just a foot away from them.

In the village, they are never blunt. They also never try to be accurate or win an argument. They just enjoy your company instead of trying to prove something. I think it is the fresh, unpolluted air that they breathe every day that keeps their minds clear from provocations. Not to mention the lack of noise and the sight of machines and human competing each other on the roads.

No road is packed in a village. No two people ever engaged in an argument. Tolerance with each other is the norm there. Villagers are in a complete harmony with the nature that surrounds them. I am not exaggerating but I noticed that they are even kind to their animals. I was mildly surprise to know that one of the villagers named both his cows so he could call them when he needed them.

He explained that showing kindness to animals has better rewards.

“My cows give more milk than other cows. I believe because I treat them with kindness all the time,” the villager told me.
And so are his chickens when it comes to laying eggs. When I came back to Muscat, I could not help thinking about it. I searched for a telephone of a friend who teaches psychology at the Sultan Qaboos University and called him. He confirmed it that domestic animals can respond to human kindness and become obedient to their owners.

But that is not all. Villagers are not in a hurry, either. They take their time whatever they do. If something does not work today, they try again tomorrow but using different techniques. They are not lazy either. They wake up just before the sun rises and started their day. Why? Because they can finish working early and have more time for their families and friends.

They meet in one of the several village gathering places drinking coffee and eating dates while they talk. It is also a place where they help each other when anyone of them is in any kind of hardship. These evening sittings also serve as a place of advice and counseling.  That means, the courtyards are not just meeting places but charity, advisory and therapy centers for all villagers.

I am also impressed by their patience. Because they reserve a special tolerance for ‘idiots’ from the city like me who have the tendency of being impatient rather than relaxing to enjoy the quiet and peaceful life.