Makhhi, Me & We – And the Glass Wall

Today morning I found a Makhhi (house-fly) stranded on my window pane. And for a sudden and strange reason, I felt a strong sense of empathy for her. Stranded on my window, she had the complete view of the bright beautiful world outside. Yet something unseen (in this case the window glass), yet powerful was preventing its flight. And in that split of a second I realized why I felt the way I did. Haven’t we all felt the same at some point?

There is a famous saying – ‘Luck favors the Brave’. Robert Greene, in his book ‘Fear Nothing’ also talks of knowing our fears, and fighting them out. History is full of stories of the likes of ‘David & Goliath’, where the simple shepherd boy David defeats the giant Goliath, riding on his intelligence and bravery. Nearer home, generations have passed the legend of Dhruva, who because of his determination, dedication and faith, could meet his Lord. This and many such tales inspire us to give our best in whatever we do, with no fear or constraint stopping us.

However, my visitor today morning, was facing the challenge of a different kind. In all of the above examples, the protagonist had his goal defined, and the enemy known. But my poor friend, the housefly, was fighting a different battle. It didn’t know what it was up against. It couldn’t see the glass-pane stopping it.

Haven’t we all felt so helpless at some point in life? There are times we feel as if we are the modern day reincarnation of Greek King Sisyphus, condemned to push the stone boulder. On some days we talk of invisible iron chains locking our feet, preventing our movement. My husband often talks of ‘cobwebs of mind’ that entangle our thought process & prevent us from taking an objective view of things. And then the most often used term ‘stroke of bad luck’, used so often that it requires neither an introduction, nor an explanation. We use these and many other examples to explain the unseen hurdles and challenges that prevent our flight.

So what is the way forward? Can we rely only on our determination and hard work to overcome these challenges? Is the ‘smart way’ the better way out? Or the best solution is the use of your intelligence, patience, smartness, perseverance, dedication, determination, hard work………….and on and on and on.

The other day a friend was talking to me about his woes, and he repeatedly said, “it’s as if I am banging my head against the wall”. And at one point I couldn’t prevent myself from telling him, that this will only injure your head. But will not make a way forward for you. So what could he do in such a situation? Some of the possible solutions are:

1.       Magic Wand – wait for the invisible hand or stroke of good luck, like it happened for the housefly. I saw its struggle and opened the window. Similarly, we can also hope that God will send some Knight in Shining Armor, who will come to your rescue. Or better still, with a magic wand the wall will disappear.

2.       Dynamite Box – procure a box of dynamite and with a big bang tear the wall into pieces. Or more realistically, with a mighty blow of confidence, face your challenge, fight it out, and win your way forward.

3.       Slow & Steady – figure out a weak spot in the wall. Keep making small blows at it, till it gives way.

4.       Pigeon Approach – as a kid you must have heard of the pigeon, who on seeing the cat, closed its eyes, and pretended the cat is not there. Similarly you can also choose to ignore your problems, and continue with your life as if they don’t exist.

5.       Conquer It – use your intelligence, smartness, patience, hard work…..and all other adjectives used previously or the ones you can think of…..and conquer the wall. Climb on it and take a good view of the world below.

6.       Turn on the Light – as so many times we are told to illuminate our inner light, and it does happen that what we previously perceived as the glass wall, was a mere reflection.

 

And the list continues. In life there is no correct answer. Most of the questions we struggle with are multiple choice kinds. And the rules of the game also keep changing. Sometimes you are allowed to make multiple choices. Sometimes you can keep guessing till you figure out the right answer. Sometimes, you have only one chance, and then no looking back. Worse still, one chance with negative points for every wrong answer.

 

I am sitting right next to same window where my morning visitor was entrapped, finishing penning down my thoughts. There is a sense of solace. I am not alone. The makhhi, me & we (the reader), are all struggling with the unseen, unexplained. And yet we are hoping to take our flight.