E for Express!

I am known for my eyes going wide open when there is something surprising or shocking and I am really good at expressing things. Oh yes, I am good at bragging about myself too which I think is also part of expressing or at least that’s what I say. But then many of us have issues with expressing in few situations. I for one cannot express when I am angry or when someone insults me. First, it takes some time for my brain to process the fact that I have been insulted and by the time I react the person would have left or yes, that’s it the person would have left. Likewise when I am angry, especially if it is a person I love, I keep mum I take more bullshit and I don’t express how that person made me feel. Years after this thing I would bring it up and the person would have forgotten that something like that actually happened. Then the same friend who made me realize about my arrogance told me that I should tell people how they make me feel and I should do it then and there. I started practicing it. Trust me, even now when I am angry or feel insulted I keep mum in many situations and people take me for granted. I just tell that person that I will talk to them later and people who know me well will catch that hint. I strongly feel that everybody should know to express. We should express how the other person makes us feel good or bad say it!

I love surprises and surprising my loved ones. Sometimes, I just send them gifts for no reason because that’s my way of showing my love and how much they mean to me. So once, we arranged for a surprise party for one of my friends on her birthday. Even the mutual friends and friends who were not known to her were there at the party just for me. Honestly, we went to great extents to surprise her and when we brought her to the party hall she gave a very blank look. She smiled a very reserved smile and we cut cakes put it on her face and that’s that! She took the gifts from us and that day -- we just left. I know that’s her she is not expressive AT ALL! But the least I expected from her was a message saying “Thank you” Nada! I felt like an idiot. Sometimes, your friends know who you are, but really it’s not our duty to go around justifying your reserved nature to the other people in the room who came there for our sake. The most polite thing you could do is thank everybody for taking the pain of coming there when they didn’t even know you in first place.

On the other hand, I have a very good friend and he is so expressive. Both positively and negatively expressive, he says everything on your face. He gives me compliments everytime I see him and that always lifts my spirits up and when I look horrible he would say you don’t look like how you looked the other day. I love such people they make life simpler and don’t let you wonder what is going on in their head while we narrate tales to them. You can say that’s him but then we can always change from being what we are. A human can always mould himself to what he wants to be. That’s being human we change and adapt.

Sometimes, there is nothing wrong in stepping out of your comfort because there are people who have come way out of their comfort zones and accepted you - a total stranger in their life. They deserve more than your silence. From today learn to say, “I love you”, “I miss you”, “thank you”, “I am sorry”, “excuse me!”, “Hey, I didn’t like this!”, “Stop hurting me” instead of keeping mum and wait for the right time to express. There is no right time to express this is the time and after this you just don’t have to because it’s not going to make a difference because it’s happening now so say it now!

Stop being shy with your loved ones, stop waiting for them to go first, start being expressive! Start it today it might be difficult in the beginning but there’s always a first time and let that first time be today.