Trauma, Karma or Varman
Yesterday I received a call at work saying that my son has slipped on the staircase in the college and suffered an injury and that we need to pick him up from college. My wife was the first to reach him since she was staying close to the college and I was more than an hour away from them. I reached the clinic to see him coming out hobbling on a walker with a pink cast on his right ankle.
I don't know why, but I burst out into a big smile when I saw him come out with obvious trepidation and some pain. On hindsight, I wondered why the smile came out rather than concern, anguish, pain, empathy, sadness or the other obvious reactions to the sight of my son in this predicament.
I realised the reason just this morning. Three years ago, I took part in a running race relay in my housing complex and I suffered a fall where I broke my wrist and had to undergo an operation, metal implant and a cast for several weeks. The first thought after the fall and return of consciousness was is this a fracture? Would I need an operation? The next thought was what an age to sustain the first breakage of bones. I have lived over 5 decades and have never had broken any bones. never had to wear a cast and get everyone to sign it, never had to sport any injury that I could show off, and at this age, I had to break my bones to experience this.
So the happiness was knowing that he will not have any such regrets when he is older. He can wear the badge of honour showing off, yes, "I've had a fall. I could take it, bear it, grin away the pain and move on". He could live every day knowing that he's been there, he's taken it, and he's stronger for it.
We need to experience all aspects of life. Our falls, failures and pain teach us far more and enrich us far greater than a life with only pleasures can. We can introspect, empathise, discover more shades than just the black and white that we see most times, understand ourselves, understand our Creator, as well as converse with self, Creator and loved ones.
A life without misfortune is a life without colour. The occasional misfortune makes us human. It connects us with our soul. It lets us know that we are not invincible. It lets us learn humility, compassion and experience the love of our caregivers.
So the smile... the smile knowing that he had a fall but he got up, he is fine and he will be better because of it.
Why the title?
Trauma is what we go through when we face a situation that we do not expect or undergo an experience that we would not choose voluntarily. It is accompanied by pain, a requirement for care, and a period of repair, rejuvenate and restore so we can go ahead with our life again.
Karma is what we earn when we think of an experience. We think positively about it and learn from it, then we have earned good karma.
Varman is a shield of protection. It gets stronger the more number of times it is broken and we allow ourselves to experience, learn and grow stronger from our experiences. An unbroken shield is brittle and will give way when we need it most.
This is my take on the title.
What is yours?
I don't know why, but I burst out into a big smile when I saw him come out with obvious trepidation and some pain. On hindsight, I wondered why the smile came out rather than concern, anguish, pain, empathy, sadness or the other obvious reactions to the sight of my son in this predicament.
I realised the reason just this morning. Three years ago, I took part in a running race relay in my housing complex and I suffered a fall where I broke my wrist and had to undergo an operation, metal implant and a cast for several weeks. The first thought after the fall and return of consciousness was is this a fracture? Would I need an operation? The next thought was what an age to sustain the first breakage of bones. I have lived over 5 decades and have never had broken any bones. never had to wear a cast and get everyone to sign it, never had to sport any injury that I could show off, and at this age, I had to break my bones to experience this.
So the happiness was knowing that he will not have any such regrets when he is older. He can wear the badge of honour showing off, yes, "I've had a fall. I could take it, bear it, grin away the pain and move on". He could live every day knowing that he's been there, he's taken it, and he's stronger for it.
We need to experience all aspects of life. Our falls, failures and pain teach us far more and enrich us far greater than a life with only pleasures can. We can introspect, empathise, discover more shades than just the black and white that we see most times, understand ourselves, understand our Creator, as well as converse with self, Creator and loved ones.
A life without misfortune is a life without colour. The occasional misfortune makes us human. It connects us with our soul. It lets us know that we are not invincible. It lets us learn humility, compassion and experience the love of our caregivers.
So the smile... the smile knowing that he had a fall but he got up, he is fine and he will be better because of it.
Why the title?
Trauma is what we go through when we face a situation that we do not expect or undergo an experience that we would not choose voluntarily. It is accompanied by pain, a requirement for care, and a period of repair, rejuvenate and restore so we can go ahead with our life again.
Karma is what we earn when we think of an experience. We think positively about it and learn from it, then we have earned good karma.
Varman is a shield of protection. It gets stronger the more number of times it is broken and we allow ourselves to experience, learn and grow stronger from our experiences. An unbroken shield is brittle and will give way when we need it most.
This is my take on the title.
What is yours?
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