06 Mar Words … And words are all I have!

I had a huge list of ideas to work on and weave stories out of, during my morning walk earlier today.

Why is that the ideas have to strike me at the worst of times? Have you ever noticed they come visiting only when you are at a dinner party with the most chatty person in the adjoining chair or in the elevator when the boss is discussing that all-important career-altering project. Each time nothing is available to be able to jot down the ideas, nor is it feasible to take notes. Imagine using a lip gloss to scribble with on a dinner napkin! Or trying to set up a calendar entry on your smartphone using one hand, while you balance those files with another when all you can think of is how to switch apps and get into notepad. The waiter will spill a drink on your napkin or the guest on your other side would knock over his while trying to reach for the fish fingers. The elevator would screech to a halt because of a power failure, so you can’t get off and rush to your desk either. Smartphone to the rescue, I would probably get another mind-blowing idea – to pretend making another calendar entry while actually typing the outline  in Evernote even as the boss continues his never-ending instructions. Unfortunately, like all gadgets in my life, my phone also has a mind and will of its own and in most likelihood, would refuse to even start up, sending me into an absolute frenzy. Realizing the world conspires against me and nothing will work at just that moment, I may decide to take a deep breath and would start forming the sentences in my mind while desperately trying to memorize them like the periodic table. Since it’s a brain wave, it won’t last for more than the length of a sentence. I would be safe in assuming that I would remember it until I have pen and paper. One or two sentences are easy to recall, right? Wrong! The world has set out to annihilate me.

And so, this morning it’s not a brain wave but a fricking tsunami of thoughts! That’s when I give in to the higher powers and let the thoughts flow. Deep in thought, I walk back home. Words rushing through my mind like the hurricane winds. As excited as a long lost puppy who has just returned home to its owner, I hop and skip and run to my desk, only to realize that my pen is lost somewhere. Like the phone, the laptop also refuses to start. Finally, it comes to life from its hibernating sleep, and excitedly starts up the last used program. I Gotta Feeling blares out from the speakers, causing all words to float away into oblivion like wisps of smoke.

Image Courtesy – Unsplash.com

I sit on my chair and resignedly look up at those higher powers that have a bone to pick with me. I tell myself to grab the moment and make the best use of it. I get up and start swaying to the music, believing in it and desperately hoping that the feeling is true and the words make an appearance again and truly make it a good night for me.