On taking the plunge

Before I take the plunge a Calvin and Hobbes strip caught my eye on writing assignments. With the thought of the ink bottle not far behind, I thought it would be interesting to share the same.

Now on to the agenda. A plumber with an uneventful life would probably remark “I never took the plunge, I only took a plunger”. There are a few among us who have a memory that the rest would not have. That is the one relating to proposing to other. The other here could be the she or a he as the case may be. It is the memory that consists of a point that has been reached when someone took the plunge. Now that is a memory that would never be in an ‘arranged marriage’ situation. In fact the arranged marriage situation is full of taking the plunge, the final verdict is known many days later.

Simpler ones would exist in case of learning to swim – literally taking a plunge. Learning to ride a cycle would be another example. The smokers amongst us can reflect on when they took a plunge to smoke. The diabetics can fondly remember instead when they took a plunger instead like the plumber!

What are the emotions that help us reach that point of no return where we literally throw caution to winds and go ahead with the action consequently? The point, when we decide to answer in a particular way at the interviews. The point where we decide to ask like Oliver – “Give me more”. The point we decided to go ahead hitting the large than life bully. The choice of engineering is something that may haunt many of us. Will it be Mechanical in Suratkal or Electrical in Guwahati?

Life never prepares us for such a situation. It is the collective consciousness that we have that lets us decide in a split second of what is right and what is wrong,  what needs to be done or not. A decision that, we live with for the rest of our lives and perhaps the future generations as well.

Looking back we are either saddled with a sense of achievement or happiness. In some cases we may be mired in a sense of shame or guilt depending on the fateful plunge you took that day. Is it a matter of luck or is it a matter of divine intervention or is it something entirely relating to juxtaposition of the stars, planets and the traffic?