The “As if” Remodeled

The unannounced visit of a snake and a danger prone wooden panel used for weightlifting exercises by my father in the backyard prompted us to spend a generous amount in setting up a mini gymnasium upstairs. My younger one who was stressed by the dilemma caused by career choices and conservative family pressures regarding academics was instructed to tidy up the mini gymnasium before my father is back from work.

I was pulling her leg like any sister is supposed to do. And I was wondering at the unnecessary effort and energy she was investing in the task. She was basically moving on her knees to sweep off any molecular dirt left on the floor. At one point I felt bad for her and asked her to take it easy and to leave the unwanted heavy tiles piled up on the terrace as it was. After a couple of hours, she began shouting my name and called out mom too to see the result. The sweat-drenched girl stood there with a superwoman pose and the gym looked spic and span. She moved about 50 kilograms of tiles downstairs. She earned Rs 50 as pocket money for the herculean task of cleaning this trash land aged 7. Nevertheless, she was happy. Actually, happier.

The bedtime sisters’ talk is a divine routine we mostly don’t miss if not for my article ideation moments leading to late-night writing. And now here I am writing down today’s bedtime insights by my sister. I asked her why she went that far in cleaning the space. She said she never realized cleaning up a place physically actually led to cleaning up her thoughts. She felt challenged when I asked her to leave the heavy tasks. She thoroughly enjoyed the pride of seeing the place getting tidier for each drop of her sweat. I was reminded of a recent post I put up in LinkedIn and thought of giving it another dimension. The “As if” Remodeled.

The communication expert as well as best-selling author Dale Carnegie once wrote about a corporate executive who suffered from severe health issues and stress almost to a point of nervous breakdown. After a moment of enlightenment with Dr. William L. Sadler, a famous psychiatrist of his times, the corporate executive sets out to clear his table at the office. And it eventually led to him sorting out his professional and health issues. There’s more to the story than what I mentioned. But I shall stick to the topic under discussion here. Please make it a point to read his books. I can guarantee you’ll have something to jot down and remember for life.

When the mind is messed up and you can’t seem to do anything productive either; or when any deliberate attempt is put into finishing the presentation or studying for the upcoming evaluation tests and your mind is lost in umpteen issues; put on the tracklist, get your tools, and start cleaning up from the messiest bit of your house. The visual and physical impact might boost your senses to clear up your pigsty upstairs. If nothing you’ll get at least a 50 bucks I hope.