The Strength Within
Where have we heard this? A wedding vow? Yes, maybe. But I suppose this should be an unsaid promise in every relationship, irrespective of its nature and between whom it blooms.
Not to sound dramatic, but when I fall sick, I become the troublesome baby that my mother dreaded putting me to sleep every night. Needy, cranky, noisy and any other word that would make you pity the poor parents.
But it was different this time. I was away from home. I did not have the mother who would cater to those tantrums and pay heed to this nineteen-year-old nuisance. All this talk about social media and mobile phones connecting us across borders, keeping us in touch… only moments like these make you realise how shallow and superficial this style of communication is. I sat there, crying to a mobile screen that showed my mother’s helpless face, complaining about my miserable state.
It was a different type of weakness, one I had never assumed to feel. Besides my body giving into the virus that had attacked it, I witnessed my mental state surrender too. For the first time in my life, I felt emotionally weak. It was not my unwell body that forced me to lay in bed, but the lack of will to get up. I witnessed a battle between my mind and body.
I felt as though I was falling into a pit of all my past problems. My mind decided to show me a slideshow of a ‘series of unfortunate events’ that I had been through in the past few weeks. Not to mention the dreams of random incidents that began to haunt me and prevented me from falling into slumber. It is indeed scary to feel your own mind attack you with your worst nightmares.
So, as I sat sniffling, sneezing and sounding like the croaky frog waiting to turn into a prince, I decided to do what I know best — display courage; not just to anyone who may need it, but also myself. I do not take complete credit for this courage. It was a friend who reminded me, “You’re stronger than this, Tvisha”. It was more than just a reminder of my strength. It was a reminder that I do not have to find it alone. My emotional independence accepted defeat and convinced me that a helping hand hurt nobody.
The mind, body and soul are the trinity of our existence. When one falls short, the other two compensate. While my mind and body deteriorated, my soul reminded me of the courage I possess. My will to keep going has got me through enough, and this shoddy flu did not stand a chance at beating me.
Tvisha Sethi is a student of BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, Gurugram/Dubai.