Time Out

The best part of playing hide & seek, freeze tag, catch the thief, tip-top, dark room, racing, cricket, throwball, basketball as kids, was time out. ‘Don’t catch me’, ‘I need a time out’ or ‘two-times’ as was more famous when I was a kid. It used to be just that simple. You just had to request for a time out if things got too much or if you were overwhelmed. You see, kids understand that everyone has their own pace of processing stuff, circumstances, or a rather simple rivalry in a game. Moreover, they respect the other person’s need of wanting a time out, a break as we understand it as adults.

Sometimes I wish that life can give us a time out. A much-needed break to compose ourselves, to silence our inner demons, to sort our emotions, to get our act together for appearing strong, to come up for air from the polluted ocean that is our world. Because no one cares if you are truly brave or strong or confident, the only thing that matters is what you project outward. And for that, we need time outs. To look inside and soothe the actual contradictory feelings, to calm the rage down, to compose ourselves for whatever comes next. To get our baggage in order until the next time out.

Sometimes that time out is just a moment, other times an hour or a day or a week or month or maybe a year, sometimes it may even be a few minutes every day. At times it’s just a wish that someone, anyone take your place for a day to make those decisions for you, to become the peacemaker in your place. But above all become your champion for infinity. Sometimes you just want to stop thinking even for mundane things like what to wear to work, when to eat so on & so forth. Sometimes you just want to get lost in the chaos of your being only to sort yourself out. And it is in times like these when you realize that you have to be your biggest champion ever and fight for that timeout for your sanity. Because you may have someone at some point who is there for you in every way but you can never guarantee it. You can always only be sure about yourself. So be your biggest champion, your most favourite person. It sounds simple, no? But God, it’s darn near impossible, though every day is a small step toward being your own ‘time out champion’.

Tooba Tanveer