Alaa dropped her IPhone from her hand. It broke into pieces. It was a gift from her husband on her birthday not long ago. Alaa was sad because she had lost her phone last month and now she broke her new phone. Why me? Alla thought: I am just an unlucky person! Her husband screamed at her like she was nobody. She screamed at him too. The kids did not know what to do and started to cry. It was just a bad evening. They had gotten new tires for both cars and had changed the air conditioner recently. Credit card bills are due this week and she will not get paid until next week. Even their savings account is almost empty. Alaa decided to handle a few weeks without a phone but her husband kept adding fire to her pain. She was feeling guilty herself but her husband’s comments made it worse. He said things like “you are careless”, “your mind is not in the right place”, “you can’t even take care of your stuff”. It was affecting her self-esteem. She had a car accident few months back and she has made some silly mistakes several times now. She knew she was a mess with two young children. Nothing was easy for her with so much on her plate. Something was always wrong and on top of that no one was there to say “it is ok, accidents happen” or “you will be fine” etc. to make her feel better. Alaa was about to give up everything. The kids were also becoming unusually active and violent. One day, Alaa met a lady named Sital at the gym. She was also mother of two little kids, but had a very strong personality. They started to share about life problems and experience. Both found a connection within each other. Alla wished that she could put together her life...just like Sital. So that one could not rip her apart. Sital started to give Alaa a big hug everyday and told her “this is life”. Sital also told Alaa to stay confident as long as she knew what she was doing. Always look forward to good days. That was Alaa’s turning point. Alaa could feet it. This is what she had been missing. All she needed was someone who could look into her eyes and tell her that life is not perfect, you will be fine. Accidents happen. It was not her fault all the time. Just be careful. It’s ok to make mistakes as long as you are not repeating the same mistakes. Alaa started to feel empowered. She found herself standing strong even in the worst of situations. She stopped blaming herself for all the bad thing that happen in life. She finally understood...these mistakes were not because she was careless, not because she was being irresponsible. This is just life. Everyone has ups and downs, it is never “picture perfect” for anyone.
Jyoti Adhikary
Sometimes we find support in places we least expect, and that support can play such a powerful role in our life.
So true, sometimes we just need someone to tell us, it's ok. Thank you for sharing jyoti di.
Great article! We all need a strong friend like Sital in our lives who constantly remind us that we are perfect the way we are, someone who helps us raise our self esteem and supports us in all possible ways.