Lost and never found
Imagine losing something, could be anything from an ear-ring to a house-key to a book to a UFO, and then looking for it for hours. Even after committing yourself solely to the cause, you can’t place it. You jog your memory back and forth, trying to pinpoint the precise moment you lost that object. No luck, sir. Not happening, ma’am. Finally, after wrestling with your peace of mind for days, you finally give up. The detachment is so strong that you don’t even think about it anymore. The object and the incident involving its disappearance and the resulting search have all departed your mind. Only a ghost of a memory is left. Everything seems fine anyhow. Just that one day, maybe weeks later or maybe months later or maybe years later, you wake up to stumble upon the once lost object somewhere you least expected it to be. Viola! That looks familiar. It’s either collecting dust or has remained untouched by the whims of the world. Whichever way you look it, there is no denying why you managed to lead your life without it. You thought it was essential. Maybe it was so but not so much that you couldn’t live without it.
Makes sense?
Now imagine thinking about something, could be anything from a funny joke to an acerbic one-liner to a point you want to make in an argument against yourself, and suddenly it’s gone. Poof! You were distracted for a second by the loud sirens of a passing ambulance. By the time your subconsciousness sphinctered back to focus, that particular thought has already left the room. It’s nowhere to be seen. A cloud of unease replaces your halo. It’s a terrible feeling… to be unsure and incomplete. Thoughts are more than just thoughts. They are the architects of your actions as well as inactions. You try to reenact the physical scenes in your head, so as to grasp on the thread that could help you catch the lost train of thought. But no, you’ve not only lost the platform but also the track. It’s too late now. Sorry. You keep at it though, hoping to find it later. Maybe relaxing and giving up on it might help. What if the thought feels neglected and kangaroos right back into your skull? Nope. Been days now. No sign, whatsoever. The only problem in this scenario being, even if you get that gem of a thought back several weeks or months hence, you won’t know for sure that you’d lost it in the first place. And to me, that is a sick tragedy.
