Lessons from a mouth ulcer

 A seemingly insignificant growth on the tongue. What looks absolutely trivial in the beginning, turns out to be menacingly painful. Oh it’s just a small thing in the mouth! A petty parasite depending on the tongue, after all: we may assume. But Hell No!

The tongue talks to the brain, sends signals of a bodily inconvenience. The tongue, and the mind still want to eat and drink the usual way: the faculty of taste is still intact, for that’s the deal-breaker! So when the hands and the nose reach out to the favourite mug of coffee as part of morning routine, you know your entire day is inconvenienced: reason – this silly growth in the mouth.

The tongue plays tricks by changing sides for you and telling you to chew on the other side: sends signals to the brain giving directions on how to finish the meal in front of you!

By the time you realise that there’s an ointment for these mouth sores, you may have already obliviously succumbed to the ways of the damaged tongue!

The rest is for the medicines and prayers that do the work in getting you back to normalcy.

But let’s take a step back here for a bit. Something as tiny as a mouth ulcer has a say in our day to day, and here we are, fighting mighty egos and lofty grudges – my problem is bigger than yours, being thanklessly ruthful and disrespectful to situations that others are facing, mindless gossips about people, using people to work in one's favour, and what not? Side-effects of referencing ourselves to a mere mortal bodily identity.

While you’re still chewing on this thought, the only real thing you’d want to do is: just shut up. There’s so much probably to think and talk back. You’d be so tempted to open your mouth and keep giving your two cents to every pressing problem in the world, as if it were ours to resolve! This is when you truly value the need for silence. The pleasure of maintaining silence and minding your own business is unparalleled.

And if this means lesser social interactions, then cheers to that! Peace of mind and privacy are far more priceless than the ability to be the family’s nightingale. You get to be productive and run days in your own accord. Situations have a naturally easy way of getting resolved if only we learnt to just keep quiet. While having the gift of the gab is for a different discussion altogether, the power of silence certainly takes precedence.

Thanks to the parasite on the mouth, once again!