Bin there done that

 In the last few days, I have been literally tongue tied after a throat surgery.

With potent antibiotics that assimilate chemicals at regular intervals into all parts of the physical being, there is an antibiotic hangover as opposed to the "groggy" feeling.

During the recent festival celebrating Lord Ganesha, it struck me that it would be auspicious to embark on some new initiative.

Mobility being a challenge it had to be something sedentary, yet a journey of endeavour.

I decided to do what perhaps very few fellow humans have done...

Clean up my mail box.

Having close to 65000+ messages, it had been constantly whispering that I'd used up 98% of the available space for a few weeks now.

And I decided to address its concern.

Acknowledging that I may delete the wrong mails in my current state, I decided to go to the origin of the mail box which I set up in 2005. 

Attempted screening the first 50 mails and then the next and so on and so forth.

The first one was the welcome to gmail message and didn't need too much analysis..Press Delete.

Then the responses to my first mail out, wherein I shared the mail id with the students at Queensland University of Technology where I was a full time student....Press Delete.

After going through a few more, it didn't appeal to the laidback side of my persona that needed indulgence given, well, the current reality.

Toggled across a few more screens

Then I unearthed  heaps and heaps...

Of  product and event mailers from multiple professional fora that I was a part of ... unsolicited real estate and stock market updates....birthday greetings from candidates contesting elections for professional bodies...dating requests...fund raising alerts... the spam was deafening.

Did a few key word searches.

Hit upon the search word "update" which automatically isolated 18000+ mails. I promptly binned them.

And then I got into the flow of things.

Quick scans of each page before the customary "delete for ever" from the bin.

Over the last couple of days, I completed the task.

Now I am looking at the other emails.

Most of them are unopened forwards which are easy to deal with.

Along the way are memories popping up...of life experiences, adventures and events... that have influenced/developed me and brought me to the present.

Now it is time to re-acknowledge them albeit briefly and dispassionately and move on.

This also helped reconnect with old friends who I'm sure are bewildered to suddenly receive an email that they shared a decade back announcing a new arrival in the family!

The sting is also gone out of painful experiences....while a treasure trove of memories is safely archived.

Cathartic experience for sure.

No if you'll excuse me I need to get back to the 1000s of unattended emails... to open up capacity for new emails and related life experiences as life's energy and indomitable spirit surges ahead

Please don't drop me a line or two now to wish me luck in this endeavour...you understand of course!