An Open Letter To Arid Hopes!

Open Letter

noun

“A letter addressed to a particular person or group of people but intended for publication in a newspaper or journal.”

The very concept of an open letter has become overrated lately with multitudes of people writing letters to politicians, movie stars or just any authority! The content could be about a bad service or how the expectations didn’t match up to their actions. I also read somewhere, how a viewer wrote an email to one of the television channels, requesting them to change his favorite show’s timings because it clashed with his wife’s show. It, indeed, is a tough life!

There are however lesser letters addressed to self. To those arid hopes. To those closing eyes. To those mute lips. To that charred soul.

No one knows me better than I. You might think you can decode my silence but darling, you aren’t right. I have the sole right to judge myself and my choices because I can do that better than anyone else.

In the last twenty five odd years of existence, I’ve learnt a million things. Some of them helped me carve, some I still detest, some mistakes I keep repeating, some flaws made me prouder.

A few things I thought would help me become successful and happy have become non-existent in my life now. It’s time I pay condolences to them to pave way for some fragrance (by the same flowers).

1. Good Marks: We were always conditioned to study more, some more and a little more. Our marks were never enough to satiate the desires of our parents, teachers or relatives. There was always one cousin or neighbor who scored more than us.
2. Geeky Subjects: “What do you want to become? Doctor, Engineer, Lawyer or a Pilot?” No more options! Our world revolved around these four professions only. No parents, back then, understood photography or traveling or dancing more than just a hobby.
3. Mastery at Cooking: “Go help mommy in the kitchen.” How many times have you heard a father ordering his son to enter the kitchen? How many times does your father cook for the entire family? Even if the male counterparts enjoy cooking, they wouldn’t enjoy taking up the entire kitchen responsibility. But the ‘weaker’ section is destined to!
4. Study now, play later: Score good marks in board exams, life is merrier then. Grab a seat in a good college, life is merrier then. Get through a good management course, life is merrier then. Earn a job with a handsome salary, life is merrier then. Many of us are still waiting for the merrier phase.
5. Stay Mum: “Don’t talk back!” Why are we instructed to hold back feelings? Why can’t I correct someone if the facts (s)he presents aren’t correct? Why are we supposed to be soft spoken when deep inside there’s lava flowing from the volcano?

It’s time I embrace life’s simplicity and make the hopes alive.

Dear Dreams,

You’ve been an integral part of me even before I knew what ‘dreams’ meant. Given the sun sign I was born with, I keep thinking about you in broad daylight too. Most of my lectures have been spent imagining scenarios and creating some solid conversations with people who matter.I don’t take a moment to enter a reverie of fantasies. Amidst these musings, I realized life isn’t a cakewalk. I had my own share of hiccups, heartbreaks and failures. Each one had a lesson with it.

The soul shatters for a while, but it becomes necessary to look up and re-adjust your esteem.

There are ten things (in a random order), I wish to keep doing everyday so that my day starts and ends with a smile.

1. To love myself: We’re all flawed. Not everyone is blessed with a pretty face or a clean heart or the perfect persona. It is perfectly okay to be imperfect. But keep working on building a better version of yourself.
2. To make mistakes: It’s good to choose a strategy and play safe. But, mistakes help you find a path you didn’t even know existed. There’s a new layer of self confidence formed after you learn from every mistake. But repeating the same mistake is being plain foolish.
3. To stop over-analyzing: I love thinking. I am capable of peeling multiple coatings of a simple conversation. “Did I say the right thing?”, “No, I should’ve said this”, “O Lord! He must think I’m a fool.” and so on… The conclusion? Restlessness.
4. To control emotions: With a string of never-ending thoughts comes a vicious circle of emotions. A bizarre concoction of thoughts is no less than a poisonous drink. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to keep the emotions at bay and bring your brain to the front seat.
5. To crave for success: Keep climbing the stairs towards your happiness. Be it a position or a degree or a passion or a product, do what makes you successful. It is also important to be ethically successful.
6. To devote to my parents: It’s a thought that stuck me late. I realized it late that they only demand our affection. They live to see us smile. Do your bit to keep their smile intact.
7. To stay positive: A tricky but a major one! Try to find humor around. There’s so much to see and learn, use this opportunity before you stagnate yourself to cynicism.
8. To never visit the past: It is okay to remember the lessons taught by your past but it is not okay to re-visit and fall prey to the pangs again. Let bygones be bygones and move on!
9. To fall in love: It’s a beautiful feeling to find pleasure in everything. Take a gaze around, fall in love with strangers, patterns, food and everything life has to offer.
10. To travel: Visiting a new place not just provides you a break but widens your horizon in terms of your outlook and avenues. Befriend the local people, learn their language, cultures and mannerisms. You might just fall in love with love some more.

I hope I keep following my heart. Even if I invite some angst in the process, it’ll be my accountability to pay heed to it or not.

Are there any arid hopes of yours too?

Keep watering them!

n.k.

via Daily Prompt: Arid