Count to ten…..

“Count to ten and take a deep breath” - This age-old mantra was renewed by a Management Guru as part of a seminar on Anger Management a couple of years ago.

A classic case of the demanding boss who has just chewed the head of his executive secretary as (he feels) the entrusted task was not up to the mark. Imagine the rage of the secretary who is ready to tear her hair in despair (the secretary is usually a lady, right?) while muttering unmentionable words under her breath. Both of them need to calm down asap… Well, count to ten and take a deep breath (hey lady, not worth giving in to any impulsive act, calm down and plan your revenge!)

On your way to catch a flight, caught up in an unprecedented traffic jam, no cops in sight to clear the way ….. relax, count to ten and take a deep breath, you probably worked this into the ride to the airport anyway, chances are you’ll reach early and have a lot of time to enjoy watching the hustle and bustle around you or just sit around (or stand) and stare! (This kind of unprecedented traffic jam actually happened in namma Bengaluru a couple of weeks ago. You may have read newspaper reports of school-bus-loads of children returning home and patients en route hospitals, people on their way to catch flights and many others, stuck for well nigh over eight hours on an arterial road, frantic parents and indignant relatives jamming the police control-room and newspaper offices with calls, the irresponsible and unrepentant honchos of a political party brushing off the accusations defiantly, the police totally clueless on the course of action, utter chaos, …..(sorry, this mantra does not work in such situations. Someone actually tried chanting Om Namah Shivaya.)

On a personal front, imagine the oft-repeated scene at lunch-time in our home. Our cute little grandson Avyay comes back from play-school and yours truly has the pleasureable task of feeding him. My DH joins Avi for lunch at the table, ostensibly to keep him company. By the time I’m ready to start, both have finished and DH very considerately asks me if he can go take a catnap! I grit my teeth and maintain a stony silence that goes over his head…. So I have to count to ten before I stop simmering! (Nowadays, this has stopped affecting me, I get my own back by slipping away to log on to IL, leaving Avi in his care!)

My sister is due to call me from the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1lace>US</st1lace></st1:country-region> any moment, the phone rings and guess what? It is some Call-Centre person wanting to give me an interest-free loan/insurance/a new add-on mobile connection and what-have-you. Grrrr! Yes, I start counting to ten to stop myself from snapping at the hapless interlocuter!

Some one said, ‘Do a good deed everyday to credit your Karmic bank balance’, I decided to accompany a friend a on shopping spree (or so I thought). We ended up going from store to store on <st1:Street><st1:address>Brigade Road</st1:address></st1:Street>, <st1:Street><st1:address>Commercial Street</st1:address></st1:Street>, Garuda Mall and returned home empty-handed. Whew! You bet I counted from one to ten so many times, if you woke me up from a deep sleep and asked me to count backwards, you’ll be sorry you asked! And I learnt a good lesson to boot!

I am desperately trying to write a master-piece to post in the IL Forum. Alas! I sit staring at the blank screen, not a single idea so much as stirs in my dormant brain. Now I know counting to ten will be futile, I am the cause and the result of this mental inertia (Hey, that sounds good, even though I say so myself!). So I do the what I like to do most – Namasmaranam of my Beloved Devi Bhavani Maa.

 

Dearest Viji,

As usual you are the first one to post a fb to most of the new threads!
So glad you enjoyed reading it and felt that it is helpful to count to ten,

Thanks a ton,

Padma

 

Dear Chitra,

It is true that the benefits of counting to ten to simmer down totally go out our minds at the precise moment we need to do it!

Thanks for your appreciation, dear Chitra,

Padma

 

Dear Sriniketan,

I laughed heartily at the mental picture of having one's mouth stuffed with a porulvilangaa urandai, may take a couple of hours before we can say anything (athu karanju pora varaikkum!), one will also forget the original reason for the irritation!

Nice and amusing fb from you, Sri, thanks

Padma

 

Dear Devs,

You really overwhelm me with your spontaneous fbs, I was imagining you counting to 50 as you slowly relaxed and let go of the irritation/anger/ire you felt for obviously justifiable reasons!

These are such negative emotions that they actually leave one drained. Nothing is gained by getting all worked up. (This is the voice of experience speaking!!!???!!!)

Thanks, love n bear hugs, Devs dear

Padma