SOME TALK TO YOU IN THEIR FREE TIME; AND SOME FREE THEIR TIME TO TALK TO YOU

















“Some talk to you in their free time; and some free their time to talk to you…
Learn the difference.”

– Via (Think pozitive.com)

The difference is clear: We need to ‘free our time’ to talk – in true sense – to our dear-and-near ones. But, in reality, what most of us do – and I am no saint in that – is that, with the nearest-and- dearest ones, we, invariably, talk only ‘when we are free’… which is a sight as rare as Halley’s Comet!

“Please, please do not be too busy to talk to your parents… Don’t get irritated when they call you… Never ever say ‘call me later’…” A friend of mine literally pleaded with me and my wife, the other day, when we had visited her to offer our condolences on her father’s death. “I would often shout at him when he used to call me at odd times… I feel guilty, now, for telling him with impatience, ‘I am busy dad, call me later.”

My friend’s father could not make that call, again!

So, that night, when my wife and I came home, we were not talking to each other… The passionate plea of our friend – ‘Please, please do not be too busy to talk to your parents…’ was haunting us… It was the familiar ‘sin’ committed by almost all of us… Taking our own people for granted… with our acidic reactions… our impatience, bluntness and insensitivity… Yes, we, too, were guilty of our ‘sin’!

A while ago, as I was typing this Post, three little children – age around 3-4 -  pushed my office glass-door and declared, “Hi naughty-girls uncle, what are you doing?”

Now, it was ‘Meri billi mujhe hi meow’… “Naughty girls,” was how I would tease them. They had now given it back to me!

I was in a full flow and I was also short of time to complete my Post. The three little-ladies pulled the chairs and settled, “What are you doing?”

My immediate instinct was to gently drag them to the door, tell them in sweet-and-firm words, “I am doing some very important work, darlings… So, you all go out and play.”

They did not budge… The ‘naughtiness’, in fact, increased… they were jumping, pulling, pushing, giggling, yelling and, literally, testing my patience!”

“Please, please… do not be too busy to talk to…” I remembered our friend’s plea. So, I, immediately, turned my chair towards the three little-devils and joined in their masti… It barely lasted for five minutes… When another little devil was sighted outside, these three left me alone and, not even bothered to say ‘Bye’… They have not returned, yet!

Probably, all that is needed to do when our aged-and-ailing parents call us, or, for that matter, when  any of our near-and-dear ones call us - at so-called ‘odd times’ -  yes, when we are very busy… is to keep our tools down, turn our chairs towards them and do a little bit of hearty listening and talking…

Yes, we need to ‘free our time’ to do that.


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Madan Manik


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