Once there was a girl, named Samantha. Although she never played with dolls but was full of colours. Now colours here doesn’t mean she was a painter, but yes she did paint. She painted the house walls, school books, dad’s office papers (She wasn’t born to follow :P), and sometimes a beautiful flower on her dad’s handkerchief. She was a rebellious child, but at the same time always tried to be an ideal daughter; She was good at dance, music, extempore, sports, studies and a few more. Sounds like too much but Samantha enjoyed all of it. It was effortless. Indeed all of it was irksome at times, but then she used to cry it all out to herself. I believe sometimes it’s the best place to be in to sort and vent out things.
Samantha used to enjoy family gatherings a lot. She was a big fan of all her cousins and enjoyed playing with them; Hide & seek was her favourite. She used to get excited with that tickle of being caught (Most of us do feel that). She cherished listening to stories from her elders and cousins. All kinds of stories including love, hate, family, jealously, career etc. and was in a habit to pen down her learnings.
Now once she heard a struggle story. Although she enjoyed it and found it to be interesting, something offbeat happened. This time she had no learnings to pen down. Rather, she had a chart paper full of questions (yes, she enjoyed being loud at times. ha-ha :p). Days went but she didn’t get any answers. Even parents were not a great help this- “What is a struggle? Why don’t we do anything about it when we know that we are struggling? And even if we do something, again we end up struggling! (and those are just a few of them).
November 2020. It’s the time of Diwali and Samantha is busy cleaning her room. She is 24 years old now and pursuing her masters. Lately, her family shifted to a new flat, so they have a lot to clean and unpack. “Oh, God! Still left with six cartons to unpack. It’s a struggle”, Samantha said. She opened one of the cartons, and guess what she found- The chart paper full of questions (In a filthy state, but yes she was able to interpret her handwriting :p). She sat down for a moment and travelled back to that day when she wrote it. Her face was lit with a driblet of a smile and here comes the 10-year-old Samantha again; still curious, waiting for her answers, filled with inhibitions of not getting on to them.
Samantha was in a daze looking at the 10-year-old, who was almost oblivious to her now, still looking for the answers. She wondered if she got any answers in these 24 years. She didn’t know exactly. But one thing that she was very adamant about was not to holdback the10 year old with her inquisitive eyes anymore. She needs to deliver her with the learnings so that the 10-year-old can complete her story. But how? And then, Samantha started writing…
Struggle- the word still fascinates me, as I never really understood it’s meaning since childhood. Even today, I can’t say that I have understood it profoundly, but definitely, I know a little more than the 10-year-old. Looking at people, who were ahead in time as compared to me, I use to feel how can they be struggling. They have almost everything! But, who said that Their Everything equals mine (Guys & girls remember! Presumptions are always injurious to health, so beware)
Won’t you agree that sometimes what's on schedule is truly overwhelming, and we can't imagine whether we will be able to get through the day? We are laden with a mix of work and personal responsibilities & concerns to deal with. But then what happens? Relax! Nothing new. We get through; we get through those hectic, gloomy, tiring (and lot more adjectives :p) days, where we avenge with the unexpected crisis or the so-called Struggles.
But if we eventually get through all of it then why do we bother so much? We all are in the same ship in that regard (we have so many people to fit in; a boat won’t serve the purpose). The problem for many of us is that we grow up thinking that once we reached a certain point in life, all would become simple, stable, foreseeable and controllable. It quite obvious and human to have that expectation.
We work diligently to achieve and create a life that we always aspire to live and when we get there, we expect it to be that way. That’s not how simple life is. But that doesn’t mean it’s a daunting task. I would say it’s somewhere in between the extremes. It’s human nature that we pay a lot more attention to the daunting aspect of it. Like all other things of nature, life is also a phenomenon (not a scientific one here), having very few things remain steady and unchanged for very long.
What is this mess up all about? I perceive this whole circle of struggle is about Being vs Not Being. We are trying hard to be what we aren’t. But why? The answer is that as we grow it’s not easy to be who you are. It gets difficult and complicated. Isn’t it something uncredible? (even I am amazed how does that happen)
But do we need them? Wouldn’t the life be happier without these (Oh I so wish that it was like that :p)? Most of the excitements and happiness in our lives are because of our struggles. Give it a thought. We all misinterpret struggles as something where we are constantly battling or fighting or at war. It’s a less violent idea. Our struggle are like constant reminders, which keep us awake regarding the fact that lives involve a constant process of making choices in every moment. It’s on us if we take that decision making power as an act of despair, demotivation or helplessness, or an act of courage, hope and inspiration. Again you choose!
No matter how hard you try it’s difficult to dodge struggles. So stop; relax and breath for some time. Don’t make it so hard for yourself. Struggle enriches life. Acknowledge the fact and instead of being busy trying to make things happen, allowing things to happen.
Believe me, you will get through bud!
“Thank You. I got my learnings”, said the 10-year-old Samantha
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