Time outs

Be strong, be positive and march on. Everyday we live life, sometimes on our terms, sometimes on terms set by others. Yet, we live on. The wear and tear of everyday living - if we can call it that, our frustrations, our limitations, our loneliness and our pretenses, all just keep on piling up till we reach the brink of our tolerance and can take no more.



Being an adult is difficult. Being  a responsible adult is harder. One of the traits of adulthood is that we don't respond instantly or express exactly how we feel. Children can throw tantrums, can wail out loud in public, can laugh and play without any restrictions when and where they want. But as we grow older , we learn to grin and bear. We are taught to keep our emotions on leash, to swallow anger, to smile through the pain and even when we are happy to show restraint.

Restraint and  judiciousness  in our actions are essential to  fit into the norms of society. Society needs structure, discipline and restraint to exist.We  wouldn't be able to survive without the discipline to postpone our natural instincts, the covering up of our fears and frustrations. But all this covering up, takes it toll on you. The suppressed emotions waiting to surface, needs privacy to vent out - the poison needs to bleed out. Some take the help of alcohol, some put obsessive and streneous demands on their body.

Being  woman , I am fortunate that I have liberty  and the tool to let all the bottled up emotions to just escape which is perfectly acceptable by society. I cry .Nothing cleanses the heart and soul better than a good cry.The luxury of freedom to just wallow in self-pity, to just give my feelings the priority, is what I call time out for myself. I allow myself time -out from being strong, from being brave and happy and just let the wave of tears overcome every other feeling.

Time outs are just that- an intermission before we go back and start living like adults again, a break to be kind to ourselves, and indulgence to let ourselves just be self centered kids.