Tuesday, March 12, 2019

The Importance of important...





In the midst of a (seemingly) important message I was posting on a whatsapp group, my son came in rushing, explaining the rules of a game he had thought up. He loves talking (maa par gaya hain :)), so I did what I usually do...I ignored his animated talk and went back to typing my message.

Now imagine two parellel worlds playing out that moment, my child emptying his heart out to me about this exciting new world he has created. And I am standing right next to his universe, completely unaware of this wonderful happening!

I had missed a moment with my son because I did not think it was important enough.

Why do we only have to pay attention to emergencies? Why does our child have our complete attention only in times of crisis (exams for example, a crisis more for us than them anyway). Why are the little everyday things with these minions not important enough?

Is it because we have stuffed 28 hours into a 24 hour day? Or the times we are at home and physically with them, we are consumed by our need to ‘stay in touch with the world’ via social media? Or because in our list of priorities (which are longer than half marathons nowadays), spending time being silly and playful with our child figures on the 21st km?

He will never be 7 years, 11 months and 13 days ever again. He may never have this animated discussion about this particular game again. He may sense your disinterest and slowly stop sharing his silly rants altogether (god forbid!). Or you may just miss a glimpse of a budding scientist with a breakthrough in game theory – or the entrepreneur developing cutting edge technology – or the artist waiting to be acknowledged...you may end up creating a lifetime of doubt and insecurity in the child – that he is not good enough.

So stop it, right now. Whatever it is you are doing, and go and hug your child, kiss him silly and tell him how much mom loves him. Next time he has sometime to share, make him feel it is important enough for you.

I’m going to do just that...give him my ear.
Love & light
Manisha

14 comments:

  1. Wow , this is so much the need of the hour , so well said , these missed moments n time of the child wont ever come back again !
    Dear Manisha ,Your writing is so real , it touched my heart , so relatable . Thanks for reaffirming, yes the kind of attention we gv to our kids builts their security n self belief

    Awaiting more blogs from u n sure sharing this one

    Your fan ��

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    1. Thank you for all the inspiration & support Di.
      Love
      Manisha

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  2. Very rightly pointed out Manisha!

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  3. This is really an amazing realization and points out to the Irony in the modern world. The way it is worded is effective and as a reader I can connect to each and every word being conveyed.

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  4. Sad reality and a good reminder. I am very concious about touching my phone when Sathvik is around. There is no sillies, no "insignificant"s, no kidding...when they want to share or talk. Everything has a meaning behind and thoughts have gone into it in their genius brains . So we have to respect that!
    Great start to blogging...keep them coming!

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  5. Wow this ones an eye opener �� very well written

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  6. Many of us have still not realised that these little moments that we tend to ignore are the moments which make life a lovely journey...
    Very well written.

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  7. I realized this very late Manisha. But now I make sure that I spend lot of time with her. I hope it is not ty late.

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  8. Very well said!!! Many times unknowingly these things happen n we regret later.... Thank you Manisha for this ...

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  9. You said it right manisha.. Our kids will never be this age again. It's better to take out time for them than for social media

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  10. So beautifully written dear friend... You should write more often.. Lots of love.. 💝

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