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Delayed thoughts

Last Updated 06 July 2012, 17:00 IST

There are many instances  when the right thoughts don’t come at right time.

Three years ago when my older son was in LKG (lower kindergarten) his teacher Mrs Menon had a problem with him right from the start of the academic year. One day she called me aside and said ‘Madam, your son doesn’t listen to me, he doesn’t write when I ask him to write.’ Listening to this negative remark about my son, my thoughts were blocked, I just nodded my head and feeling ashamed said ‘Okay M’am, I’ll see to it that he listens to you next time’ and walked back home with my child.

Later during the day, when I was pondering over the same issue, I thought to myself,  ‘Isn’t the teacher responsible to check this act of my child? Isn’t it her job to make him comfortable in the new environment and lovingly get the writing work done from him?’ After all, he was a four-year-old toddler at that time.

Alas! If these thoughts had not been delayed, I could have conveyed them to the teacher immediately and never felt ashamed. There are many such instances in life when the right thoughts have delayed in reaching the mind at right moment. The other day I heard my husband mumbling ‘Heck...I should have said this to my boss’ and was regretting for not saying so at that time. Hence, I am not the only one with this pain of delayed thoughts, there are many more in my league. Perhaps it’s the presence of mind at that minute which matters.

Some time it happens in a gathering, when one is wondering what to speak, what topic to start with. Especially if it’s a short gathering, by the time the right thoughts are sequenced and verbally formed, the gathering is dispersed, leaving your relatives and friends with a negative impression about yourself.  Therefore it is advisable for the people of my league to prepare for such gatherings ahead, by thinking of an appropriate topic to be discussed, and this is possible only if one knows the schedule of the gathering well in advance. For those with the gift of gab -- please allow our thoughts to flow undisturbed, for your interference would leave us mum.

I am sure, there are many out there who will agree with me on this and have gone through similar situations in life. For them, I say ‘Do not regret at your delayed thoughts, but store them and use them next time when you face similar situations.’

There is yet another category of delayed thoughts, they are not the forgotten ones, but just that the flash appears late. These thoughts are those which you know, but they don’t come to your mind at that particular time. It happens sometimes when you are speaking to someone, wanting to tell them something, but suddenly that thought vanishes from your mind.

People call this as forgetfulness or absentmindedness, but I would call it just a delayed thought, which comes to your mind after the time for that particular errand has elapsed.

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(Published 06 July 2012, 17:00 IST)

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