The sudden meltdown had a negative impact all around. I grunted as one started to wash the vessels. My husband echoed the sentiment with a growl about a missing button. Reacting to our cue, the boys went back to hibernating under their sheets. The bull’s eye burned on the pan. It now looked like a menacing animal with a jaundiced eye. I covered up the dark surface by infusing it with a thick layer of ketchup. My foul temper held up until everyone had left home.
Crossing this psychological benchmark brought back a sense of normalcy and my blood pressure stayed normal for a brief period. A vendor had a cart full of what looked like good tomatoes from afar. A stout lady from across the road was making a big buy. That brought me, the small investor, out of my home. I rallied around the cart with my bag and managed a bargain price for my purchase. The victory spiked my mood and brought on a sense of exaggerated exuberance. But barely an hour later, another cart, also laden with tomatoes, came up in view. The price was 20 per cent less and that plunged my sentiments to the other extreme.
Apparently, some farmers had just dumped huge stocks into the market, causing the prices to crash. The loaded lady convinced me to look at the macro picture and book gains when the tide was low. I followed her advice and ended up with a fridge full of assets in red and my self-image at an all-day low. In the evening, my mood slipped further when my sons came in with a bad report card. I felt so depleted by the end of the day that one started to fear for one’s health. I still ate dinner with relish and slept restfully, though. My last thought for the day was that since my fundamentals were strong, my body could certainly weather another ride on the domestic roller coaster.
From: Vishal - a pure soul like You.
