"Can you hear me????" He screamed. "Please help...I'm
stuck here!!" But there was no reply. He was badly tired and exhausted
hitting and kicking the glass doors to break them open. But every time he tried
he failed miserably. He kept screaming and crying, but for obvious reasons no
one could hear the screams. The walls he had built around his house were
unbreakable. Long ago, when some friends and neighbours had tried to break
those walls and rescue him, he had shouted at the top of his strong voice,
"What do you want from me?? Just leave me alone. This is my house and this
is the way I want to live my life. Just go away and don't even try to come any
closer to me or I'll kill you!"
This was not one person's story. And this was not a dialogue either!
This is the reality of the lives of many people we know! Or may be even our own
But its good that we continue with 'him' and indulge in his life..make him US..
wear his shoes..walk a mile..and feel like we are talking not about 'him', but
about ourselves :)
He was happy with himself, all alone. And there was nothing wrong in it.
There are a kind of people in this world who want a little loneliness at
regular intervals. And that, is their way of living. and for them, it is very
important to be left all by themselves every once in a while. This is an
inevitable part of their life! And it is totally okay, once in a while. But
what then? The biggest dilemma! When he's alone, he wants company, and
when he has company, he wants to be alone! Gradually he starts building a soft
boundary of comfort around himself and after that usually tries to run away
from things that are out of this comfort zone. Its somewhat like a baby that
stays in the mother's womb for 9 months and feels the most comfortable in
there, and even after he comes out of this protective shell he sometimes
prefers to sleep that way! Its okay to be like this for sometime, till he
adjusts with the change, and that, we do very easily at that very time. But
when we grow up, and build this kind of a wall ourselves,
intentionally, troubles knock.
Sometimes issues that need to be addressed right away are ignored just
because they cannot be confronted in the most convenient way. And that, is
the beginning of all the problems that follow. Always confused about what to do
and what not, even small things aren't going right any more. He would
always be unhappy about something going wrong, or at times, will be unhappy
about not being unhappy! Believe it or not, it is the tendency of human beings
to look for a change, even if this change makes them sad. And at times, they're
sad if they're totally happy and nothing is happening! And guess what! This is
totally normal! And this can be overcome.
Just be your comfortable self. But don't build walls around
yourself, Build Windows and doors, that can be opened, once in
a while, whenever you need, as much as you need and as often as you need. Let
fresh air come inside your room, let people move in and walk out of your
comfort zone, let things happen, experience the new, the unknown, press the
refresh key once in a while, get out of the doors, once in a while, spend some
time outside, experiment, come back and relax. And there you go! Sometimes
full, sometimes hungry, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes two people,
sometimes one, sometimes young, sometimes old, sometimes open, sometimes
closed, sometimes me, sometimes you, sometimes alone, sometimes
accompanied!
It’s
anyway not that exciting living life the same way for a long time. And what's
life, if there are no Ups and Downs? What's a movie until you get to laugh, cry
and get scared, all within three hours of sitting! The same goes with living
alone, at times, and having fun with people around, at the some other times. If
one doesn't have people around, his feelings gradually disappear. You just
need to try and forget things that bother you. Of course, remember what makes
you happy. Do keep some alone time for yourself, but also take out time to be
with people, share what you feel, for if you have nothing good to think about,
no memories to ponder over, nobody to miss, what excitement will be there to be
alone. I say If you want to be with
yourself, first become one with those who are around you, for there is no YOU,
if US is absent.
And you
will soon feel that you have close friends, you have memories, you have wisdom
and still have your own space! Just keep reminding yourself this and there you
go! For who says you always have to lose them to keep yourself? It would be
wonderful if you’ve got everything, company as well as space, emotional bonds
as well as freedom, them as well as you, everything!
They can hear you!! Once again, you're having your space, and you still
have people to share this lovely wonderful life with!! And what can be better
and more relieving than this! I know there is no word called ‘awesomest’, as a close one said to me
once, still, you’ll slowly come to know what
is the awesomest feeling ever! It’s being in the company of your own self, your
soul, and not even having to part with other essential parts of you!
Suddenly he saw a door opening, a door that reappeared, from out of the
blue! He slowly put his feet out and everything out there was full of lights,
flowery fragrance and happy people. "I'm Free", he said!! Crying with
happiness. The happiness of getting his life again, of breathing in fresh air
again, of seeing and talking to and being heard by everyone again, of getting an
opportunity to see and understand life closer than ever!! And 'HE'
lived happily ever after..