THE DESIRE TO BE VISIBLE, HEARD AND RECOGNIZED

 




“When you are crazy, you learn to keep quiet.”

Philip K. Dick

 

We cannot survive without breathing.

But, you see, breathing happens without our interference. God has been so kind, so generous and, I would say, so forgiving, that He has extended this mercy to each soul, in each corner of this world… A homeless man and a man who lives in a mansion, both, are equally privileged when it comes to this mercy from God.

Breathing is just there… It’s happening. So, if you, I and everyone has taken it for granted, it shouldn’t surprise us at all.  Everything that God has given us ‘free’ in life… are we not taking it for granted?

That’s why, whenever we pause to observe our breath… or whenever  we battle for each breath, yes, that’s when we realize what a precious gift each breath has been!

A conscious pause, therefore, is crucial to make us connect to our breath, and, thereby, to the benevolent Creator Who makes the breathing happen...

“I need to write everyday just as I breathe.” I have been telling this, dramatizing it every time. The gift of writing, too, has come into me from God just as the gift of breathing has. And, just as I have to pause, time-to-time, to realize the beauty and value of my breath, I need to, also, pause, time-to-time, to realize the beauty and value of my gift of writing…

So, in the midst of this frantic desire to be visible, heard and recognized, I heeded to a strong inner voice: “Take a conscious break from whatever you think is very important for your survival… If you have convinced yourself, that writing is extremely important for you to feel good about yourself, then, now and then, simply stay away from it… See what happens inside you… Can you still feel good about yourself? Can you still survive?”

There is a tremendous strength in abstinence… There is a great beauty in being quiet and anonymous… There is a simple truth waiting to surprise us when the smoggy layers of our egoes start dropping…

So, is it true, that we cannot survive without breathing?

It becomes more visible to me, as the smog gets cleared, that ‘living’ and ‘surviving’ are two different ideas. Being aware of the beauty and value of our breath – and staying deeply grateful for this  unconditional gift from God -  is what differentiates ‘living’ from ‘surviving’…






And, today, I feel the same about the gift of writing!

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.: Pixaby

 

Video: Mark Knopfler

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