Unsaid Words - #ATOZCHALLENGE – U (2026)

 

Are people always honest with themselves?

This was one question on Monica’s mind today as she read Daniel Kahneman’s book about fast and slow thinking. Do we sometimes need to stop and hear things we do not say? Our unsaid words.

So, today Monica resolved to try to listen to unsaid words. When she noticed a behaviour, she wouldn’t judge from get go. Instead, she would try to look for a deeper reason. Maybe people were unaware of their actual motivations. Would she be able to fathom them?

In any case, it wouldn’t hurt to try. With that intent, she began her day.

The neighbour, Mrs. Akanksha Gupta, was at her family table. She was habitually dominating the conversation. When she spoke nobody else could speak. They went unheard and distraught. And she was obviously none the wiser.

Today, she intentionally walked up to her to return her pickle jar, and then broached this topic about the fact that metro travel was convenient.

“Ah yes, you like to travel by the metro. That’s because you reach sooner than the radio cabs, and you save a good half hour on travel.”

Monica was about to say, it gave her and her friends some time and space to connect during the commute. But Mrs. Gupta had already formed her opinion and had stuck to it. Worse, she pushed her words forcefully down Monica’s throat as well, as if she were going to say the same thing. Did she have the right to do this to anybody?

“So, my fast brain tells me Mrs. Gupta is a royal pain in the rear and needs a crash course on decorousness. What does my slow brain tell me?”

Something may have happened in her past that may have led her to feel either invisible or unwanted.

So, this was her way of fooling herself into feeling indispensable. She felt she had to force fit herself in places just to be seen. While this was tragic, it wasn’t the best way to deal with rejection. It’s you who needs convincing that you matter. The world will always act as per its convenience.

The next person she met was angry Uncle Boman who was having a nasty fight with the security guard. This was a usual affair. Uncle Boman often said things like “You don’t know who I am.” “You will regret this later.” It gave the impression that he was a narcissist.

“What happened, Uncle Boman?” Monica inquired. Her gut feel told this might be about the guard parking his car right in the corner. He always wanted the prime, accessible slot.

“This idiot, Sanjay. I told him to park my vehicle in the front row. It’s a luxury SUV, not some shoddy make like Sharma’s Kazuki Van-C. That Akansha behaves like it’s an E-class Merc. I cannot let my vehicle sit with those compromise vehicles of essentially low IQ people.”

“So, my fast brain tells me Uncle Boman has way too much ego for anyone’s liking let alone Sanjay whom he thinks is his personal valet. What does my slow brain tell me?”

Boman Mistry was a self-made man who had worked his way up from a second-hand scooty to a luxury SUV. He valued everything he got because he knew how it came. But then he didn’t realise when appreciation turned into possessive leaning. He began to associate his identity with all his possessions.

Monica walked up to him, smiling and then greeted him with her customary good morning Uncle Boman.

“Uncle, a famous personality said this on a TV show that the wealth can change hands but knowledge stays with you. It’s the real treasure of life. Would you agree?”

 The intellectual Uncle Boman almost instantly understood what I was getting at. He angry expression melted into a look of compassion. He smiled gently and then moved the SUV to his desired parked. That day, he even went and apologised to a rather perplexed Sanjay.

As she headed for the metro station, Monica began to muse. Why do people unnecessarily complicate their lives? Just a little pause and a thought and maybe they would think or even act differently. She dug herself into the book yet again.

“These Junction station folks should just take the bus.” A lady spoke rather begrudgingly as she eyed Monica. She had been accused of crowding a train even after buying a legitimate ticket. This was so unfair. Rage started tensing up her face and she was about to clap back.

“What the hell, she’s just another frustrated traveller in this crowded commute of so-called convenience.” Someone spoke from the crowd.

The epiphany seemed to calm her down instantly and develop empathy for the lady. As soon as Junction station arrived, she offered her a place to sit. The lady looked apologetically at Monica.

“No worries. We’re all in this together.” Monica smiled at her while exiting the automatic door.

The lady nodded in embarrassment. The metro sped away.

Monica looked around for more examples of people who would will her to think fast and then slow. This would be the way her task for the day and certainly a step towards being a more empathetic person.