Linkin Park and ‘Numb’ - NESS

Let me tell you a little secret about professional writing. When you write professionally, not everything you write about would be fun and interesting. Lots of times, you are given topics you have hated since school. Maths and finance for example, fell in this category, and weren’t too apt for me.

But, what can you actually do about it? When you had taken the mental pledge that you ‘would solemnly affirm to…’ How do you not break your own heart, and put your self at bay? The answer is Linkin Park.

This morning was one such day when I was supposed to write on a trending fintech topic, and honestly the very thought of it blew me off. When I confided in a dear friend of mine, he suggested we walk down the memory lane. His ‘down memory lane’ typically referred to some old, lively music… When Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ cropped up…

‘I am tired of being what you want me to be…’ “Wow!” exclaimed my colleague, “Man this is such a uplifting composition.” Indeed it was. Poor soul! I can somewhere decipher his state of mind, when he gets elated to a line that says, “I’ve become so numb, I can’t feel you there…”

Courtesy: YouTube

Uncannily, something similar happened to me too. All this while, when I found jotting one line difficult, by the time Park fellows reached ‘Can’t you see you are smothering me’, I completed three paragraphs! I proof read and copy checked, and believe me, this was for the very first time in my writing career that I could spot only two grammatical errors.

‘Oh My! Was I correct or I got myopic for some reason?’ No chance! I did actually pen down three paragraphs? Like three concrete paragraphs? Factually correct by the way. :) 

Now, this is where the paradox lies. Well, on the one hand, the lyrics said, “I have become so numb, I can’t feel you there”. And, on the other, my accuracy aggravated. Well, what kind of a mystery is this exactly? Or was this some kind of an invisible magic wand, that these fellows cast on me?

Tell me you are thinking about it. As for me, I am still mulling over the thought of saving ‘Numb’ for my next boring piece!