LIFE… NOTHING GREATER THAN THAT!!

It has been thirty years today. On this very day in 1990, my father passed away at the age of thirty-nine. Indeed, an abrupt end to a life which knew how to live it fully. Needless to say, it would have been totally unexpected for anyone who could understand the gravity of it, to assume that something like that could have happened. But then, that is life! Its most significant truth lies in death.

Anyways, the point of today’s blog is not mourning the death, but to highlight the importance of life and living. I have lived a life which is three times what I was when it all happened at the age of ten. Though I obviously understood what had happened but reflecting back, I know that I was nowhere able to acknowledge the intensity of the situation. Life was about to change forever, and it indeed did.

Though I remember some of the memories of my childhood faintly, it is actually the life that happened post the August of 1990, which I lived consciously and stays with me in my conscious mind always. We were a small family, and life presented its own unique challenges almost every single day for us to sail through. All I have in my remembrances is the grace and courage with which the parent of this family, manoeuvred through, and still does. 

Yes, it is my mother, who silently took charge of playing the role of both a mother as well as a father, as thus provided her children with the necessary shelter, that complete parenthood can give. I am sure that she would have had her own struggles in preparing herself for such a role, and not everything would have come naturally to her to do so. But never even once, I could feel the presence of any such struggle around us. That is the level of grace and grit which my mother displayed in acting as a parent.

I, for the person I am, look at people first as what they are, and then to what relationship I have with them. And though I truly feel that my mother is a great parent, I have always respected her for being a more incredible human being. My love and regard for her comes from the kind of life she has lived, and not merely because she happens to be my mother. I understand that some people might not relate to me on this, but as I said, if this is a flaw, I am happy to be flawed.

What life is, and how it should be lived with complete honesty and sincerity towards one’s own purpose and existence, is what I have learnt in the last 30 years or so. Yes, I have had my own share of challenges, some self-created and some presented to me wrapped like a gift, but that is the kind of life that I feel I am honoured and blessed to have lived till now. It is the experience of having been a part of a family which had it all, before it lost all of it, only to not lose on character and determination, and thus be focused on reconstructing, which makes me feel grateful for all that I have.

I am fortunate that people come to me for assistance in their own lives, and the life that I have experienced, made me understand my calling, and thus I chose to fulfil the purpose of my life by being a helping professional. And my experience, having been into this for quite some time, tells me that somewhere all lives have a natural instinct to make good for themselves. It is in some moments of grief and difficulties that people generally lost direction and thus take decisions which make their lives go in the order that was not desired.

No one is born with a strong character or a soul of substance, it is our very own priorities and actions that we take when faced with challenges, that decide what we eventually create out of our lives. I am a firm believer in the fact that every life has a purpose. All we need is to practice self-awareness of a level, which makes have a rendezvous with ourselves and helps us create pride in the life we live.

It is indeed a day of significance and emotions for me, and it was intentional of my part to not share any experiences that I gain through my interactions with my clients. I decided to speak a bit about my own life, and present to you the importance of determination and simplicity in life. Remember, it is never too late to recreate in life. Half done is still better than never try.

Love to all. Stay Safe!