The eternal cord

Dr Sumedha Kushwaha *

When the doors of destiny are shut beyond the hope of getting open ever, when the windows of fate are tinted black that there is no means for even a ray of light to enter, when the path towards destination seems astray, when the towering tides seem sure to drown you down!

These are indeed those situations when the pain and hopelessness of substantial magnitude afflicts us all at some point of time in life. And, these are tough times in life. These are certainly not ordinary tempos, it’s when the beats of life are too tough for us to dance to its rhythm.

Inspite of all these hardships, why do people come back to normality ? From where do these individuals get the courage to dream again ? How does mankind get courage to fool its poor heart again into false strings of hope ? What motivates them to commit themselves to the same exuberance and buoyancy in life ? What makes the average human being fight the battle with the same vigor again ?

Either people after such situations get dreadfully and utterly independent or ? Probably, they are so fragmented that situations and people do not have the ability to break them anymore. Or they shed a part of them somewhere on the journey and ever onwards become an incomplete jigsaw puzzle.

Or, they heal when they find just a small spec in the ocean of this wilderness that they cling to. They hold on to it with all their might with the hope that it will take them to the shores.

It is the mutual dependence of the infinitesimally small particle and the person that the warmth felt is real, the small solutions seem to work, it gives them an opportunity to share their life stories with each other, tell each about their past and dream of a beautiful future, it helps them ward off loneliness in this arduous journey, they take care of each other and when one goes astray the other brings back on track.

There might be times of separation but they are united in some enigmatic ways. And if someone tells you to describe this relationship, you can’t. Because the moment you put a label to it, you disregard it totally. It would always be an unjust effort to justify an abstract.

This spec that you cling on to might be a book or some holy person or an idol or a stranger or a friend or a song or a workshop or even your pet. It strengthens your “why” to get back in the game of life.

Waking up dead everyday, living a life of no passion and purpose, the silent shrieks of aimlessness that harrow you down everyday- those things evaporate without any signs of mist in the air.

Victor Frankl in his book “Man’s search for meaning” which is an account of prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz says when the “Why” is clear, “How” doesn’t bother too much. It’s actually the why which makes all the difference, which distinguishes your destination and direction from others.

And finding this why is getting direct access the source code. Its equivalent to finding the sole reason of existence.

Take out some time this week to connect with yourself and find out your why. It will not only help you to know yourself better but also will help you to face challenges undauntedly.

In the times of despair and hopelessness, it will be your reason to keep up a good fight.