BIRTHDAY IN W2T CYCLE (28-Aug-2020) – Part II (29-Aug-2021)

 

A million-dollar question – does the year always pass at breakneck speed?  This sequel article is about an event-filled year – tragic or celebratory marked by specific events on a particular day.  Events had unfolded on their own.  A new dawn as the dazzling sun shone as I experienced the experiences.  I realized that peace and happiness is within!

Mark Twain unabashedly took note when I used his quote "Age is an issue of mind over matter; if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter” in my first article and unleashed a tsunami of events to test my mind endurance.  Did I pass with flying colours?  Honestly this year that went by was more black-and-white than colours.

I started with gusto right after my 2020 birthday celebrations with a regimen that put my younger years at shame.  An early wake-up to accommodate an hour of Yogasana, followed by 30 minutes of meditation to keep the mind both tranquil and singular-focus, punctuated by icing-on-the-cake an evening 10 kilometers walk for a physical well-being to complement the mental well-being of the morning.  A picture-perfect rhythm with high discipline and unwavering commitment went berserk after a month towards the end of September.  His Grace kept it going till such time He had other plans.

October started with the euphoria of my mother-in-law and brother-in-law who travelled from Mysore post a series of lockdowns with a 6–7-month hiatus, to enjoy a family lunch with us in Bangalore; it was indeed short-lived.  Upon their return, as we reconciled to my mother-in-law’s hospitalization followed by brother-in-law’s hospitalization both confirmed as Covid, I tested positive followed by a 5-day hospitalization here.  I returned home to the news of my wife who tested positive and a self-imposed home quarantine.  Our older daughter who was doing her Covid duty as part of her medical internship had her own challenges, while the younger one was tending to us.  This prohibited our visit to my parents for the fear of transmission.  After a series of worsening events, mother-in-law succumbed to the dreaded virus.  Strangely the next day my paternal uncle died of a cardiac arrest.  Family was left hapless as we grappled these challenges.

November kicked-in with another tragic event.  We completed our mandated quarantine via video prayers to the departed mother-in-law on the thirteenth day.  Right after as we consoled ourselves, came the news that my dear father had a cardiac arrest and had left us to the heavenly abode to author his next chapter.  A phase of gloom had set in on the family.  Right behind this to make matters worse a backpain struck me, mostly analysed as a side-effect of my Covid infection and associated dose of medicines.  Neither could I walk nor could I sit, a sleep posture was the only breather.

In December I had taken an assignment to advance my professional career.  It was a large-scale training where I designed the course for a large corporate house and prepared an entire slide-deck from scratch and delivered the same successfully over a period of one-and-a-half-weeks.  A period of time where I could hardly sit for a meal, leave alone for the entire initiative that I delivered single-handedly.

A new calendar year started with a new hope that the worst had passed.  But January had different plans; my mother needed to go through a battery of tests to rule out a recurrence of her past dreaded disease.  Time was spent at the cancer hospital with mother who endured a plethora of tests, few invasive procedures, anxious moments between test results which sometimes led to the next set of tests.  At the end, with His Grace we did put up the victory sign, wherein all tests proved negative.

Late-January and February months my back-pain took a turn for the worse that mandated numerous visits to the orthopaedic and ensuing physio-therapy treatment.  Dark clouds are never stationary.  It was heartening news when our older daughter successfully passed her medical school with flying colours and many achievements.

March month needed my attention on the family front.  It was homecoming for our older daughter after a five-and-a-half-year stay away for her medical education.  It was lift-and-shift of her belongings to facilitate her exit from her college town and entry to home-sweet-home.  Daughters rescued a street dog in Davanagere and tended to her with loving care that little one Lola became our newest addition.  My daughter’s friend brought her to his home in Bangalore as an adapted pet, while the young puppy exercised visitation rights to our home at frequent intervals.

April and May months were torturous with wave-2 that took a heavy toll.  The calamity it unleashed left many a family to fend from the invisible enemy.  While there were many gut-wrenching instances in the nearest circle of friends and family, the silver line around the dark clouds were some tiny rescue and relief efforts we could extend to help people in distress to help them ease out of the dire situation.  A real concoction of tragic and heart-warming moments kept the game on for us.

June was a significant month in the quietest manner feasible as we found a good buyer to our parents house.  My father’s humongous collection of books of various genres found a place of warmth in a nearby town’s rural school that set-up a new library for students.  Some items were disposed while some were held for posterity that brought back fond memories of past glory days in that house.  Per my mother’s wish, we purchased her a new house that fitted her specifications.  As we gave up our old dwelling, the new-found place brought us joy with a fair share of sweet-and-bitterness.

July brought us more good news.  Our younger daughter passed with distinction her bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, and economics.  She also secured her post-graduation seat in Clinical-Psycho-Oncology at Christ University, the first batch for a much-needed medical cause – mental health and well-being in Oncology patients.

My involvement in the transfer of goods at a hectic pace took its toll on my right shoulder.  A pain that refused to go away, through MRI revealed a Rotator-Cuff tear that needed an immediate surgery.  Now on recovery path through multiple physio-therapy sessions, it felt an unreal experience that it was time to celebrate another birthday, though single-handedly!

A year had passed; Mark Twain tested my endurance of my mind over matter.  The narration are goings-on of the past year that mattered, but as a ‘watcher’ disassociated from the body-mind paradigm it helped to manage with equanimity.

Spiritual studies of a few texts stands tall as a testament over this same period of time that rescued me from being a victim of circumstances.  The world around us and the happenings are nothing more than what the human eye in conjunction with the mind has visualized; but I am separate as a witness to the events that unfold. 

Births and deaths are clothes that are enrobed and disrobed in a journey of the soul – this understanding showered a peaceful effect that brought inner happiness.  Womb-to-Tomb are mid stations in a longer journey of what is called life!