Follow Your Instincts…..
When I look back at myself I feel more confident. Wisdom comes with time. I like myself the way I am today than I was in yester years. I thank the existence for being so kind to me by blessing me with experiences and incidences which completely transformed my life.
As a kid my childhood was amazing. Born in a middle class Punjabi family. I owe myself to my maternal grandmother who deeply influenced my thinking. A woman always find another woman more inspiring than anyone else. I celebrate the grandeur and strength every moment. Life for me is a celebration. My grandmother was an epitome of simple living and extra ordinary values.
Being the first child in the family i was extremely pampered. The only girl in the family gave me all the rights and liberties, leading to my very nature keeping me extremely sensitive towards others and their emotions. An average student at school and college. Not very adventurous and sporty but actively participating in literally every event. My childhood has a lot of bearing on my life. I have always been very bold and expressive in nature. Married life has been smooth with a supportive spouse and our two children. Life has been kind helping me conquering the hurdles with our grit and determination. Learning from my failures and fighting against the odds to achieve what I dreamed and deserved. I am blessed with wonderful people and friends in this journey called life. But always remember a fact beyond denial that we are all alone. Friends definitely are for emotional stability but we all need to pave our own path. Jamshedpur the steel city is absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing.
Year 2011 when the number of students suicide was at a high was formed Jamshedpur woman’s club on September 2011. With the initiative and support of 21 members , some were professionals and some home makers. All we had in common were the deep scars of those children who died at a tender age where life had just begun to blossom. It was a pathetic situation.
Woman have always been the leaders in various aspects of life. Be it at home or conventional man’s world we have performed tasks and taken up challenges equal to her counter parts. We started to approach schools and they did acknowledge our sensitivity towards this issue and let us conduct sessions for students, teachers, parents. These sessions were done in a certain manner with the help of some professionals who were psychiatrists, into psychology, spirituality, yoga and meditation. Love for life and compassion from people around was the requirement. The schools and students were very receptive and hence it all worked.
Women are blessed with the quality to create and nurture the creation with tolerance, love and patience. This is what helped us. Students became an integral part of our organisation and so did we. It was not about imparting information but transformation. Blaming children for their behaviour, decisions and addictions can never help improve the situation or find solutions. The need is to make them aware of their existence, themselves, the elements around us,making conscious and responsible decisions.
Often when one fails in relationships we feel low depressed and end up taking erratic decisions. The need is to examine our own assumptions and expectations. We need to ensure that every relationship adds some value to our life, if not… just discontinue for better.
In this journey more members kept getting added and here we are over a hundred members in 2019. Hectic schedules from one school to another, taming life in this multitasking, trying to strike a balance with work self and surroundings. Some will acknowledge and appreciate some will ignore or criticize. Be determined. I am blessed to have come across people who taught me the best lessons of my life, who introduced me to myself, who made me so neutral towards situations and circumstances. Not getting affected by happiness or sadness , depression or excitement. It’s about ‘just be’ factor. If there is a need to stop, don’t hesitate, take a hault, pause for a while, contemplate and move on but just ensure do not change directions if you are on a journey.
Where there’s a will there’s a way! Jamshedpur woman’s club kept nurturing the passion, encouraging to stretch faith and grow. Time teaches us well to adjust priorities and know what’s truly important. We are not only with schools but also cancer society, thalassemia, hemophilia society, tree plantation, association with faith in India hidden hunger and many such projects. Being in Steel city is an amazing experience. Experiences and people taught me to appear tougher than I actually am. I take this opportunity to thank every spec of the universe to be the person I am.
My message to all the readers is ” do not be afraid of troubled times or having being left alone. Because you will find yourself- your true self only when you are left absolutely alone. Feel and experience the silence and just get completely dissolved in it. To be alone is a state of being, we are forced to realise all about ourselves that we couldn’t when we spent our days memorising someone else. To be alone can be an empowering experience of our life. Don’t miss the sound of someone else’s voice, be your own symphony… Life is beautiful!!
Let’s accept and experience every aspect of life. Let us not strive to be one of those so called intelligent or spiritually enlightened people who appear to be great at the surface but are messed up within themselves. Take charge of your life, body, mind and emotions.
Follow your instincts…..
Reena Anil Vedagiri
