Soumya woke up with a strange sensation. A tooth in the left upper corner of her mouth was troubling her. A few days ago, when she realised that it was a bit shaky, she was overcome by this strange temptation to shake the tooth with her tongue. Soon, it became a habit, so much so that she’d be intently involved in her tongue playing with the loose tooth that it made her lose focus from the ongoing conversation.
That morning, the troubling tooth was precariously clinging to the gum. She realised that the tooth would come out at any moment. And it did! The next time she pushed the loose tooth with her tongue, it yanked off. And within a moment, the tooth that troubled her for a week was now in her hand. Bingo! There goes the trouble, she thought. However, she had no idea it was the beginning of another set of troubles—a bigger one at that.
Soumya was now constantly worried about the missing tooth. The tongue that was playing with the loose tooth now played with the gap. More than even the shaking tooth, the missing tooth troubled her. She became extremely conscious of it. Despite being at the corner and not visible to anyone, she wondered if anyone looking at her was staring at the gap among the set of teeth.
Slowly, the missing tooth and the gap consumed Soumya. Everything in her life seemed to move around it. It was in her thoughts while cooking, while working at the office, and even while on a date. There wasn’t a time she wasn’t pulled away from what was happening around her, the missing tooth becoming the all-consuming preoccupation.
We don’t know what eventually happened to Soumya. But if you’re laughing at how ridiculously she behaved, hold your thoughts. For, you’re doing the same, even at this moment.
The broken tooth is the mind’s preoccupation with what we don’t have, getting anxious about it instead of caring for what we possess. That gap keeps the mind busy by conjuring up umpteen illogical fears and possibilities. May this realisation dawn upon us that even with one broken tooth, we’re still left with thirty-one. It’s high time, we focussed on them.
Rajessh M. Iyer is a storyteller who explores human relationships through meaningful anecdotes, parables, and stories; he shares his work on www.rajesshmiyer.com.