Welcome back, friends, to another edition of the Monday Truclusions. This is a special edition and a memorable one because this is the 25th week I have been writing this column. I am extremely thankful to the KYS team for believing in my writing abilities, and to all of you wonderful readers who are the reason this column continues to exist.
This, coincidently, has also been a rollercoaster week for me emotionally. I found myself having to make a firm decision, and I experienced two of the longest nights of my life.
Finding Your Own Path
But before I tell you more about the past week, I need to tell you a story. A story of a video I saw recently:
The video begins with a guy by name of David getting ready to go to work, a very common scene in all our lives. He gets ready, grooms himself, and has his breakfast. Just when David is about to lock his door and go to work, he picks up a walking stick. That is when you realise that David is visually impaired.
He completes his work for the day and, as usual, heads home in the evening. This is when life throws a new challenge at him – while he is walking back to his house, an accident occurs and his walking stick breaks. Luckily, he isn’t injured, but faces great difficulty making his way home.
Discovering A New Hope
That night, he found himself wondering how he would be able to go to work with a broken cane? Then a voice from deep within comforts him, saying that a new dawn would bring new hope and a solution to his problem. Relieved, he goes to bed peacefully.
The next morning, he is getting ready to go to the office and when he opens the door, he senses the presence of a dog. He realises that it is the dog that he had fed a couple of weeks ago. What he hasn’t realised is that for a few weeks, the dog has been following him wherever he goes. He feeds the dog some bread and as he leaves to go to work, he realises that the dog is helping him by leading the way.
A Kindred Spirit
David goes back to his house, brings a leash that he had, and ties the dog to it and lets it lead his way. David is amazed at the dog’s behaviour, he is even more astonished because of his faith from the previous night. His thoughts of finding a solution to his problem are coming true.
The dog very efficiently takes him to his workplace and waits all day for him, and in the evening, takes him home. On the way home, a pamphlet flew to him, and David asks a passerby about the content of the paper. He is told that the pamphlet contains details of a missing dog that looks similar to the one that is with him.
David requests the passerby to take him to the address mentioned in the pamphlet and the passerby obliges. It is only when the trio reaches the mentioned address that the dog rediscovers its master. The lady who owns the dog is very happy that she has her pet back. Soon both of them have struck up a cordial relationship, and two years later they are married.
Making A Positive Change
Now, let’s put this tale into perspective, why did I narrate this story to you? And what does this story have to do with my week?
To give you the whole story, I will have to turn the clock back ten days. It was a Thursday evening when I returned from office and, as usual, walked into the house holding my walker. My mom was supporting me from behind. Suddenly, I tripped, and mom stopped me from falling.
Mom’s weak back added to her ordeal because she couldn’t lift me. I couldn’t take any of my weight on my feet. Only a Herculean effort from mom helped put me back on the sofa. This effort filled her with pain and fatigue, and me with guilt. Mom, being the person that she is, didn’t blame me for her pain; but I could see the pain in her eyes.
I realised that it wasn’t because of her back hurting, but the disappointment that she wasn’t strong enough to lift me. On the other hand, I felt guilty that her back was hurting because of me. It wasn’t the first time I had fallen like this. But this time, I felt like something was broken within me. I couldn’t sleep that night for quite a while.
When I thought about it, I asked myself why I tripped. One of the reasons could be that my legs felt weak after the 15 steps I had walked from the cab to the house. That was when I remembered my skip level manager, Mr.Viji Vargheze, had spoken to me about a very encouraging and capable trainer at the office gym. I made up my mind to ask him to introduce me to the trainer, as Viji himself follows his workout regimes very diligently.
Finding An Inner (And Outer) Strength
Viji, being a fitness enthusiast and a very encouraging and inspiring personality himself, did not deny my request. Thus began my gym regime. He is so meticulous that every day of the past week, he has made sure that I work out, and that nothing goes wrong in the gym. I must say that Narsimha, the trainer, is extremely good at his work. I have decided to ensure my body grows stronger. Narsimha is very caring and dedicates the 60 minutes that I am in the gym to me.
Some people might feel like I’m taking unnecessary risks, but according to me doing nothing is the greatest risk.
What touched me most during my workout experience was Viji’s wonderful attitude and gesture. He not only encouraged me to work out, but also created an environment where he questioned so many people, saying, “When Ashwin can come and work out in the gym, why don’t you?” Hence creating a culture of fitness. Another thing he was able to do to encourage me to workout was encouraging people to help me in the gym. Hence creating a culture of people lending a helping hand to those who need it.
Some more food for thought – with faith and willpower is anything impossible? We do face situations in daily life where we feel like all doors are closed to us, and we have nowhere to go. But we must remind ourselves that there is always a way to resolve a situation. I am not sure if anything major will change because I’m working out, but I have learned that hard work, sooner or later, does pay off. If nothing, at least I shall have the satisfaction of saying I tried my best to make a change.
This is how I sum up my past week:
I heard my body crackle,
Making me wonder if could break the shackle?
Will I harvest only pain?
Would my effort go in vain?
Every time a drop of sweat touched floor,
I asked from myself for more.
The deeper within you dive,
The longer the fire in you stays alive.
Never mind any wound or its scar,
You have just got to keep raising the bar.
There will be times you fall,
Never fear to put yourself together for the long haul.
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Monday Truclusions – The Challenge Of Building Your Own Legacy.
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