One routine morning, while I was rushing towards my clinic,I overheard some nursery kids playing Fire on the mountain… run, run, run….!
The sound and the tune kept lingering in myhead the whole day. Almost all of us must have played this game as a child like me. I was having a bit of a nostalgia moment, and at that very instant a couple entered the cabin.
After formal introductions were through, the wife initiated. She addressed to various changes in her husband. She also described few of the recent instances where he became hostile. I was observing him. He was in complete distress and looked very tired.
He broke his silence in the independent session. He said, “I was an average student. After school, I followed my parents’ decision and studied IT. After I got my degree, with fair attempts I could crack one of the interviews and got a job. I’ve been job- hopping for better prospects. Meanwhile, I got married and I have two loving kids. I am trying my level best to keep up to my commitments. Fulfilling everyone’s demands, meeting the deadlines… I can’t cope with all this; I can’t sleep…I lose my temper and so on…” I was listening to him, however the tune from earlier that morning hadn’t really left me.
We didn’t even realize when this game has become an ingrained part of our lives. We are all running today to achieve various goals and we hardly have time for ourselves. “No time to breathe”h as become a very handy statement. We are taxing ourselves so hard which results in deterioration of physical and mental health.
In the succeeding session, we planned some modifications in his lifestyle and progressively I noticed him being calm and patient.
After a few days, as usual, I was going to my clinic; I heard the same rhyme, Fire on…! I smiled and continued walking when I heard a little girl’s voice shouting STOP.
The kids stopped and I realized that running is fine but the mountain cannot be on fire forever! That very moment I realized something and decided to take some moments for myself. “What about you?”