We all know the great man who said it… but for those who may have tried to live by this adage, you would know the mixed chances of success it has. You will be lucky if the change you wanted to see (And were being) actually turned out that way!
So think about this stay-at-home executive, limited with the support available for reasons known to all of us, trying to ensure things are in order. Fastidious as this person may be, after months of labouring, obviously a reality check of time and energy as well as pain in the wisening bones did teach a lesson…
…That it doesn’t always work as the great man perceived. Maybe the nation is easier to influence than the very independently spirited residents of the household.
So here was I trying to make sure that the cushions that were squashed after supporting the spine and bottom the whole day, would stay fluffed up. Or the crease that appeared on the sofas/ beds/ all other contraptions that were being considered akin to work places had a semblance of originality after being trampled upon thus.
Day in and day out, weekends, weekdays (you see work has expanded to fill them all)- I slogged. Dreamily thinking that one day, the person responsible would see the difference- before and after! Alas, that was not meant to be. After all the great man quoted above, made the change happen for the nation by just being it- why then could I fail on such a microcosmic scale.
The senior around, and the ones available on phone soothed my bruised sensibilities. I was advised to look the other way.. to let it be. No one (but me) really cared, and well those imaginary folks who probably did were anyways not visiting for a while. Disfigured and unshapely as they may be, the bed sheet and pillows seemed to not coz sleeplessness the way I have experienced on a bed that has more than 2 vertical/ horizontal/ diagonal creases. It’s a skill that I doubt I will ever cultivate. Alas, maybe, it’s the change I will never be!
It’s the same with this nasty habit of planning and preparing. Much as I try to influence the next generation regarding the benefits of it and hence the compulsion- maligned I am for being over-stressed and not living in the moment!! I am told that its manageable, and that I should not worry, the latter being my second nature.
Now it’s not that this living in the moment characteristic always leads to the desirable results. So we have had instances where we forgot essentials only to be creating havoc in lives of others who very supportively will run helter skelter to ensure that need is met in the most efficient manner at the shortest notice fathomable. Like the time we forgot to check on the costumes for a performance, only to find an essential aspect missing, the day prior. With the markets shut or the weekly holiday, someone went all the way to the other end of the Maximum city – leaving all else aside- to ensure the needful was made available.
I was told people learn by watching, and not just because you told them, will they do something. This applies most to children. But no, I don’t agree with it any more. They don’t learn… perhaps because they don’t watch! Or even if they deigned to .. it’s a characteristic that probably takes a few years to make an appearance in the DNA. Blame it on the genes!
I recollect the time when I used to return from school, fling my clothes, bags, bottle, and all else.. all over the place, only to be reminded much later to clear them up. The point to be noted was ‘reminded’, not ‘reprimanded’.
After several repeated reminders, which obviously were intruding into my very busy schedule, I would notice everything back in the place exactly where it needed to be! Now THAT is a guilt one finds difficult to live with (or at least I did)! I would make some murmurs about how apologetic I was for not being able to undertake the task myself.
Of course, come the next day, and we were back in our original form… the saga repeating itself day after day, until the time I reached a hostel. And guess what, the issue wasn’t that someone seemingly was nagging you about stuff unsettled… the issue was it got all mixed up! So you’d end up with a skirt several sizes bigger, or a sock (gosh that’s the worst) that trailed down with pathetic states of the elastic- when you thought you had just procured new pairs. Now that’s when life changes! Lessons learnt, you await the time the same experience would be available for those who have refuted your orders (ahem! Reminders thus far).
The point is we do try to sway the world in the direction we’d rather be or the fastidiousness (as the case may be) that we practice and preach- whichever order that came in. In fact, in some cases, there is only practicing and no preaching- the latter being too below the dignity of people to drive or too above the threshold of patience to administer.
Much as I want to teach a lesson- and maybe I should learn to- its beyond me. Its not that I haven’t tried, but its not me.. for reasons already stated.
Attempts there have been many… though fallen to deaf ears or let’s say blinkered eyes!
I guess the change that I aspire to see… is not in thee!
