The Sound of the Gong - The First Time by Leena






The Sound of the Gong…. The First Time


The sound of the gong….. At temple doors, the sound of the gong brings in a sense of awakening, clearing and unclogging the mind of clutter. It brings in a sense of peace, almost like a primal whisper for the soul. And so in our life too, at some point, we all experience that sound of the gong, that one moment when suddenly, amidst confusion and chaos, the path forward suddenly seems to be clear. 


The other day I was speaking to a very close friend of mine and something she said made me recollect my very first time. And before you start imagining things, let me clarify, it's NOT the first time that most of you would be thinking of …… I am speaking of the first time I saw my article published in Woman's Era magazine, a leading lifestyle magazine in India. Nothing can surpass that adrenaline rush of seeing what you’ve written, in black and white, and knowing that that article would be read by so many people all over India. 

Thinking back, the best part was I didn't even write that article with an aim to get it published. It was more of a catharsis…. A mode of self healing to overcome a rough patch I was going through in life. But when I shared this with a few friends, they suggested maybe I should try and get it published. That was the moment I knew, maybe I did have a talent for writing. That was the sound of the gong for me. 


Years later, when my kid was 8, I decided to dedicate a poem to her for her birthday. Looking at her sheer delight and happiness reading a poem dedicated solely to her was once again, the sound of the gong. Since then, for the last 4 years, I have written one poem each year. For me, the sound of the gong has always depicted a positive change, a new start, a new beginning. 

.............Leena


 

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