Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Unbreakable or Breakable?

It feels so good to be back. I have missed this space. Last two weeks were a smack in the face by Mother Nature asking me to mellow down. Ironically, Mother's day weekend was when it all started, the migraines, the nausea, the body ache, the fever and the complete melt down that sent me on a roller coaster ride wondering what was wrong me me and why? "Why was it happening to me?" is a question  I asked my self repeatedly. I ate healthy, I exercised daily, I was doing and feeling great, when suddenly the head starts splitting and all I wanted to do was crash on the bed and be left alone. Thankfully, my family stepped up and did leave me alone for a good one week. That's how long it took me to come out of the forced shut down. Some where in between, did manage to go to the doctor and get the battery of blood tests and CT scan done, only to be relieved and told, I am fit as a fiddle. Doctors and family alike told me to forget it as a fluke incident and continue the rest and gradually ease myself back to normal schedule.  

Forget it, is what I am now trying to do, but the episode was powerful enough to instill a partial fear of  unknown.  

It also made me realize how unbreakable and yet fragile the human body is.  Why? I ask again. We are the supreme animal form, centuries of evolution made us what we are today and yet we have so many unanswered questions.  I sort of felt sorry for the poor doctor when I went to visit. The guy genuinely wanted to help, but had no answers except telling me the couple of things that could be going on. With the process of elimination, they erased of all the big issues and were left with either a bad case of migraines or tension headaches. I accepted both as they were the least scariest options. I came back home, thanking god for giving me a warning and letting me go. 

Made in Sun Pharmaceuticals Ind. Ltd.
Their office is less than 20 mins
away from where I live
Baroda came to me.
In my valentines post Love, its logically illogical, I wrote "Love is beautiful feeling that starts with the conception of a living being." And today as I connect the dots, I realize a life that begins with such a delicately strong emotion has to be the same, isn't it?  

In time of distress to move on, I need signs. Signs that tell me it will all be okay. Last week, when I was at the doctors, I remember telling myself, How I wish I was in Baroda ( my hometown in India.) Few days later when I got my senses back, I looked at the meds I was taking and see what I found :) 

I couldn't go to Baroda, but Baroda came to me. I knew then, I was going to be okay. 

Humans, especially the breed we call MOMS, have a tendency to think of themselves as super humans.  In the process, we forget that we are humans first. The human body is by far the most intelligent machine. It takes abuse and yet is resilient like no other.   How many of us actually think that the food we eat needs to feed the mighty mitochondria - the power house of every cell. I know I don't.   

The dichotomy between the mind and body is an interesting one. Logically one would think they dance the tango in perfect harmony, though that is very rarely the case. The mind is like an agile ballet dancer, jumping and twirling weightlessly at the slightest joy, while the body often lags behind cautiously watching every jump and twirl making sure it doesn't twist a muscle in its effort to try and follow the moves. 

It is this dichotomy that is surprising me today. My mind is bored as I respectfully follow my families wishes to take it slow and ease myself into it. My body though is a different thing, it is quite content living this slow paced life and not lifting a finger. 

I guess that's where meditation comes in, it somehow bridges this gap between the soulful mind and the mechanical body and makes the two dance in harmony.  The human body agree or not is nothing but a machine. It is the mind that puts the soul in it. And this machine like any other one is breakable and needs its regular maintenance. 

Many of you have seen the slide show Life is a cup of coffee on the social media. Its been circulating for a while. And while we all know its true we continue to eye the cup and forget about the coffee.  

We think good food, exercise and good hydration is the key to good health. And it is but there is a fourth component, shutting the eye.  In our zest to get the prettiest cup, we forget we have only 24 hours in a day. And the best part is, no matter who you are of where you are, that is a constant for all us, a day has only 24 hours and there is only so much one can achieve. We often take on more than we can handle, and sacrifice our sleep to make it happen. We punish ourselves if we don't achieve our targets, feel guilty about it, try even harder and before we know it we are trapped in this cycle that does not want to end. 

I learned my  lesson last week; enjoy the coffee, even if it is served in a paper cup. Its the coffee I want, not the cup. 

I now schedule my 8 hours of sleep before I pen anything else down in my calendar. I now follow the age old adage "early to bed, early to rise" and don't make compromises for anyone, for I now understand the mechanical part of me. 

I am wiser and smarter, and I now know that in addition to the spiritual and soulful me, there is a mechanical me too and yes that's breakable.  

And now I want a cuppa coffee and see Unbreakable, by M. Night Shyamalan starring Bruce Willis. Anyone joining me ? 




4 comments:

  1. Sleep deprivation is a greater killer than heart attack... how many of us actually shrug off this info because it doesn't sound real?! Only a breakdown of our faculties makes us realize we aren't unbreakable. Fortunately or unfortunately, this realization did not dawn upon me following a breakdown but something far far worse and life threatening. I was driving back home from Delhi with Mehek at the back seat and I dozed off. Must have been just a few seconds but when I woke up I saw that my car had mounted the footpath speeding menacingly towards a pile of watermelons and its flabbergasted seller who was wondering where to duck. I slammed on the breaks and came to a standstill for several minutes. Then I slapped myself hard for a mishap that could have happened and ruined many lives. That incident was a turning point in my life and I promised to myself never too compromise on my sleep ever again.

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    1. OMG Ruma, just reading it send chills down my spine. Can only imagine how u must have felt at the realization.

      I am so thankful you stopped in time.

      Yes, sleep cannot be taken for granted.

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  2. Life always gives u warning signals, its up to u whether u understand that or not...so one should not ignore nature's warning .....this was just a signal for u ....have a healthy life ahead..

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    1. True Bhakti. It was a sign and I learnt my lesson.

      Thanks for being there.

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