Enjoy sheer fun of life’s oops and bloopers
“I t is kind of embarrassing that in my early 20s I used to want to be a princess. But I didn’t want to have to marry somebody in order to do it,” wrote American model and author Tyra Banks. True, life is a series of embarrassing moments that leave one bemused and bewildered, shamed, shaken yet smiling. So many times we get embarrassed beyond words. Sometimes it is our children, our spouse or just circumstances, the embarrassing moment when you are yelling at someone and mess up a word.
It so happened that the other day as I took the roll call in college, a student asked me to give the pen that I held in my hand. I promptly replied, “I don’t give my pen to anyone”. Hesitatingly, he said, “But you took my pen to take the attendance”. Red in the face, I felt like sinking into the earth. Though I wanted to laugh out loud yet I had to satisfy myself with a chuckle to tide over the embarrassing moment.
Most things in life are a lifetime of pleasure and a moment of embarrassment. Photography immortalises such moments.
At a wedding, my friend approached a man in a white shirt and black trousers and asked him for a glass of juice only to realise that he was one of the groom’s closest friends and not a waiter. We all looked sheepishly here and there, disowning the entire episode.
Life is full of such oops and blooper moments where one feels like never stepping into the same situation anywhere. Years ago, my son punched a child sitting next to him in a doctor’s clinic. While the child looked annoyed, I as a mother felt ashamed.
The gaggle of giggling girls in a large gathering made me smile as sitting in a group they discussed a boy who had been fooling them one by one. They called him a jerk who ill-treated girls and was irresponsible. Laughing loudly as one of them turned her back, she found him sitting behind them with a girl, who listening to their conversation hurled the choicest abuses. The girls were so dumbstruck that they too left the venue in a jiffy but the damage had been done. Perhaps, that’s poetic justice.
Times have changed. Now children recklessly browse through websites and watch TV with parents at ease. But we’ve been through many an awkward moment while watching TV with elders for company. We would sit still and look at our parents from the corner of the eye during certain scenes. Looking back fills one with nostalgia and naughty winks.
All I know is that in the end, we forget the embarrassment, allowing ourselves to float away laughing over the deep waters with our eyes closed.
I feel everyone has embarrassing moments in life. It shows we are human. If one never gets scared or embarrassed, it means one never took chances.
The best way to handle an awkward moment is to gracefully move on and if possible try to find humour in the situation. American writer and comedian Ellen DeGeneres rightly observes, “There are all sort of books offering advice on how to deal with life-threatening situations but where is the advice on dealing with an embarrassing moment?”
So recall and relive life’s oops and bloopers. Lighten up, love and laugh at them. It is sheer fun and felicity.
AT A WEDDING, MY FRIEND APPROACHED A MAN IN A WHITE SHIRT AND BLACK TROUSERS AND ASKED HIM FOR A GLASS OF JUICE ONLY TO REALISE THAT HE WAS ONE OF THE GROOM’S CLOSEST FRIENDS AND NOT A WAITER