That elusive Eureka moment!

Everytime I read anything that appeals to me - a good sentence, a new idea or even an interesting word, I make it a point to jot it down - something that my father has always advised me to do. When you look back at this collection, it will invariably spark a sense of joy in you, he always says. 

Just like time and opportunities, many an interesting thing - be it spur of inspiration, an anecdote or a-life-changing-world-changing idea - gets lost out in the milieu, and forever, if one does not take the pain to actually write it down.

The other day, as I was scrolling through WhatsApp status messages, i found that one of my contacts had put up an interesting status message. It was about not discussing your goals with anybody, but just going ahead and doing it. Throughout the day, I reminded myself to write it out, but never got around to actually doing it. Talk about procrastination! And like all status messages, it had disappeared the next day. Yes, the essence of the message has stuck in my mind. But the sentence has disappeared. Despite scouring through the results that were thrown up as I typed out various permutations of words to that effect on the Google search bar, the beautiful sentence, was lost to me.

The significance of putting down ideas, ( I mean the Eureka moments here!) on paper is even greater. For the idea is yours. It has occurred to you and you alone. From either the depths of your being or from the heights of imagination! Either way, no amount of ‘googling’ your brain can help you find it, if it is gone. Of course, in some very cases the sentence/work may deign to reappear. But, by experience I can say that such things happen only in the rarest of rare cases. I remember reading an editorial in one of the national dailies recently, where the author had a brilliant idea but couldn’t write it down because he was in the shower, and one thing led to another and the idea deserted him completely. Many famous authors are known to get their ideas at bizzare hours like three in the morning and they immediately rush to capture them. Elizabeth Gilbert, in one of her TED Talks, even speaks about catching hold of an idea ‘by the tail’ and never letting it escape ! 

So, I always make it a point to carry a pen and a small notebook(not a mobile phone, because I am an old school, paper-and-pen kind of person!) around with me. What if something 'noteworthy', lurking round the corner catches me unawares!