When I was young my mother always used to remind me of many things. The regular statement that I always heard from her was – “You don’t remember anything”. And I actually felt many times that I used to forget almost everything. It was a time of stress and tension – school books, exams, sports, class politics, curricular activities, punishments, report-cards – and few other things that we teenagers generally engage during school times.
Irony was, whatever was told to remember, was meant to be forgotten.
I even started writing small chits, but usually forgot that I even wrote a chit. Then I started keeping a diary. Wrote everything, but then after few days I realised that instead of writing work to be done, I was writing my stories – stories of a teenager. In all this my mother never forgot to slap me or to complain to my father about it. He also never forgot the side of my cheek which was to be slapped that day.
In school, teacher also had many complaints – “You don’t remember your homework” – “You don’t remember to bring books” – “You don’t remember time-table” and “You don’t remember exams” etc. In nutshell, I failed to remember anything and everything.
It was so stressful. Not able to remember things was a curse. No one spared me. People who themselves had forgotten many things, reminded me of what I had forgotten.
Irony is, today, after so many years, not remembering things is a bliss. Times have changed.
Today, my mother tells me to start learning how to forget and forgive – “Start forgetting things and don’t remember too much. Give your mind some space and peace of mind”, she would call me and tell. In family, people would generally ask me – “Are you thinking something” or “What is going on in your mind”. Believe me, sometimes even if there is nothing, I tend to recollect if there was something, that I was supposed to remember, but forgetting.
Life has changed. People have changed. Society has changed. Relations have changed.
Today, when we want to forget things, the memories refuse to leave. Today, we want to have some space in mind to think what we want to do, but we end up thinking what others want us to do. Today, the definition of ‘thinking’ has been renamed as ‘thinker’ – a person that is respected with wishful designation.
Today, I am always thinking something or the other. My mind is never free of thoughts and always engaged and occupied. The eyes become blank sometimes and search for unknown.
Today, while praying in front of Bholenath, I ask for peace of mind. And this peace of mind can only come when I stop thinking. Stop thinking about others and start thinking about myself.
Tired of this vicious circle, I decided to put my mind into most desirable activity – writing stories or authoring books. Now, I am thinking afresh, thinking something new, and of course, writing something new as well.
You can only forget old things when you have something new to remember. Recreate incidents that excited you once and write them. Writing helps you relieve pressure and also increases your imagination skills.
Why think of forgetting, when you already have space for recreating. Think about it.