Illness is Nature’s
jail cell- our body is a prisoner to her slow but sure healing. It is our minds
that forlornly counts the bars and chafes against the handcuffs of our weak and
ravaged body. If we could just accept lying still and calm that buzzing brain
into believing that all will be well
again. And, we will step back into
that motorized monstrosity of modern life and never stop until God pulls the
plug.
If illness is
Nature’s jail cell then old age is the siding where the old locomotive got
shunted into. He sits there unmoving watching the busy engines chug away to
their destination leaving him to stare at the rusty rails in dismay.
There are two lessons
to be learned from Nature and she teaches us this time and time again. Illness
and old age are as inevitable as Death. The key lies in gracefully submitting
to those handcuffs and happily sit on that siding watching the bustle yet glad
not to be part of that frenzy.
Why do we despair
when illness forces us to lie in bed too weak to move? And, why does old age
make us feel that life is passing by while we remain spectators to the show?
The sun still shines, birds sing, new life stirs and the earth rotates. Be
content that you are a living part of it and not ashes scattered in the breeze
or a clod of earth marked by a stone...
Rue not a single day
that you draw a breath and though none of us will cheat death at least you will
not cheat life- a bigger crime! Where there is life there is hope- the mantra
that has brought people back from the brink, instilled hope in the hearts of
the desperate and despairing and opened the closed senses to a more vivid and
meaningful life. Embrace life but yes, throw a friendly arm over illness and
old age- Nature’s rest stop to catch a breath!
Nimmou Nilakantan
