Present
Every self-help/Improvement video or book I have ever watched and read eventually arrives at the same destination. "Be present." It is delivered with absolute certainty, as though the words themselves contain the answer. The speaker or the writer pauses dramatically. Then they move on. Nobody ever explains how . The instruction reminds me of something completely unrelated; my school days. Every morning after assembly our class teacher would call out our names during attendance. My entire school life my roll number was always 8 save for the final year in school when it changed to 7. But that is a story for another day. Back to the attendance “Bhangle?” "Present." “Charwad?” "Present." “Daga?” "Present." We all answered, never realising how ironic that word actually was. We were physically occupying a wooden chair inside a classroom, but our minds were almost never there. Some of us were thinking about cricket. Others were wondering what tiffin ...