We have a situation
here. I’m in major trouble. I haven’t talked to TOM (The Other Me…for those
who, like me, forgot that she exists or are meeting her for the first time) in
more than a year and now I’m faced with the prospect of having that difficult
conversation. What if she starts asking me questions I can’t answer? What if
she doesn’t approve of what I’m doing now… the life choices that I have made?
Will she understand my reasons for staying away for so long? Do I have any
genuine reasons to offer?
It is with these
questions, whirring faster in my mind than insects around a candle, that I head
out (heading in would be more appropriate, no?) to meet TOM.
………..It begins with an exceedingly
tight hug, which ends with a rather awkward silence………….
Me: Umm…. Hi!
You look nice.
TOM: Wish I could say the same about you. Did you
show your hairstylist a poodle’s photograph for inspiration? Have you grown a
tail yet? **Does a quick check** Damn.
Not yet. But soon. Very Soon.
Me: Thanks for that!
You’ve really forgotten your manners and etiquette!
TOM: Well… Someone doesn’t talk to me. It’s been
more than a year if my memory doesn’t fail me. The Doc told me I’ll die of emotional
neglect one of these days. You know, nobody to talk to, nobody who truly cares…
the same thing that mothers go through when their little ones leave home for
high flying jobs, putting them in the empty-nester category? Ring any bells?
Me: **Looks left and
right, guiltily thinking of the parents I have left behind. Thinking of TOM
dying because I never check on her doesn’t help either**
TOM: C’mon!
You can do better than that! You have Guilt written all over your face… I
thought you would’ve learnt something at B-School. Looks like you forgot to
take that course called “Effective Strategies to Implement Two-Facedness!”
Anyway, what happened to your plans of changing the world? What are you doing
these days?
Me: **With
well-rehearsed enthusiasm**
Well, I’m working my first job. I
spend the days traversing every dusty street that the city has on offer,
visiting neighborhoods that I never dreamt I’d visit…sometimes trying to do
things which I believe to be outright unreasonable. But mind you, it’s an
eye-opening experience. I meet so many new people each day. I’m learning how
large corporates run, how the money flows, what are the practical difficulties
that small businesses face… and lots more.
TOM: Did I ask you
about your job?
Me: **Completely taken
aback. It takes me a moment to come up with a lame response”
But I thought…
TOM: Let me ask you
again… what are you doing these days?
Me: **Takes a long time to think… pondering over
the significance of this question**
You know TOM, I don’t really know.
I’ve never found it this difficult to express myself candidly. Even now I’m
wondering what if some company HR happens to read this? Will they take me to be
someone always dissatisfied with what she has? Is this likely to ruin my future
employment prospects? Do I always have to be politically correct? Everywhere I
go, there seems to be this pressure of saying the right thing to the right
people at the right time.
This entire job thing. Yes, it’s
fun. Yes, the money is good. But what am I really doing? I’m 24. I should be
doing way more than working in the field and snatching a few hours of sleep. I
should be writing more often, reading more, partying harder, learning a new
dance form, improving my calligraphy. But all I end up doing is purely
operational work-related stuff. And then people expect me to come up with
strategic insights about how XYZ can achieve greater heights. How does one even
do that?
TOM: I think I can
understand your situation. But aren’t all your friends going through the same thing?
Me: Some of them are, yes. But I’ve never been
this uncertain ever before. I don’t seem to have a goal anymore. What am I
working towards? Yes, the writer dream is still there. But how does one even
start chasing something this vague? Am I even willing to take that plunge? And
when?
TOM: Those are
things you’ll have to break your head over.
Me: **Smirking
inside, thinking that TOM doesn’t really know anything about the real world and
it’s struggles after all**
That needs time, which is the only
thing that I don’t seem to have TOM. In fact, that is precisely the reason why
I am so reluctant to go back home these days. Being idle at home lets my
thoughts run in a thousand different directions. In the throes of this
addictive drug called Everyday Existence, I can comfortably forget that I don’t
know where I want to be tomorrow.
TOM: **She
begins with one of her irritating all-knowing smiles. As if she has just
succeeded in making me confess something that I wasn’t willing to accept up
until now**
Wow. That was sort of profound.
Deep, in fact, by your standards… given that you haven’t done a lot of thinking
in a lot of time. But I’ll give you hope… you’re still questioning yourself,
you might be happy but still not satisfied, you’re still in touch with your
deepest emotions (uncertainty, in this case. What does all this point to?
Me: I know you
don’t want me to answer. :P
TOM: Well, yes. All of this shows that you’re
still alive inside. You might not know where you want to be yet. But you do
have that restlessness to do more, to be more. And without letting it sound
like I’m consoling you or subjecting you to one of my hideously boring
motivational speeches… this discontent is exactly what you need to succeed.
Me: To be
honest, it sounded exactly like both those things. But I’ll take your word for
it.
With that the phone
rings… Like a reflex I move to answer it. This conversation cut short, the
train of thought lost, my brain once again abuzz with the data that I need to
prepare and the reports that I need to send out. And just like that, those
precious few moments that I had with myself were gone. I now realize that I
couldn’t even get to the main agenda for this session with TOM. Guess that’s
how time runs out…
(You can find Round 1 of these conversations at http://www.fishperspective.com/2016/04/conversations-with-me.html)
