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Last night, I've been surfing through the online version of
Psychology Today and I came across this heartwarming article about finding
happiness in the darkest of times. I remember a lot of things through this
article so I decided to share my thoughts with you. Just a little warning -
this post contains a lot of hugot.
So the article was from a blog in
Psychology Today called “The Gift of Maybe” which is specialized on offering
hope and possibility in the face of uncertainty. It started out with a short story about a man
on the verge of death– he was hanging on a vine and two mice were chipping it
off , cutting his lifeline and sending him rock bottom where a tiger was
waiting for him – and he found a lonely strawberry hanging near him. He plucked
it, ate it and thought to himself “How sweet it tasted!” The author clearly
stated that as a child, she didn’t understand about what it meant back then.
Not until she discovered that her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a few
years later. She was walking her way home one day where her mom was waiting for
her with dinner when she felt this sort of breeze that blew on her direction
and she instantly felt happiness. She was confused for a moment and thought that
why is she smiling when her mom is sick, like she should be down the whole time
because their family is suffering from a big crisis. Thinking so hard, she
finally understood the metaphor brought by the lonely strawberry. The breeze
was her happiness, the sweetness in her life which lit her up for a brief
moment when the whole world was so down. Because of that breeze she felt that
night, she was able to become strong for her mom and be her mom’s anchor by
just enjoying each other’s presence.
The story brought me to tears, actually. I myself admit
that I am easily put down by uncertain events and I just can’t help but fall
into an episode of depression. Reading the article brought me back to my first
year in college when I was still a struggling Computer Science student. Back
then I already knew that mathematics and computer science was not in my field
of expertise but since I don’t want to disappoint my mom, I continued to fight what
I knew was a losing battle hoping I could pass the core subjects. But the
hardship was taking toll on my element. I was failing my exams and I already
lost hope to the point that I wanted to quit.
People would tell me “You’re almost there,” but honestly, I could hardly see
the finish line.
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What kept me going back then are these small things that
made my day. I have my friends whom I enjoy spending time with. Every Friday or
after a dreadful exam, we would go out, eat dinner and have some beer
afterwards. On random nights we would go out to the field and just stare at the
night sky while talking about our future plans, problems, world domination, or anything
under the sun (or the sky, for that matter). Sometimes, my bandmates would
randomly call for a jamming session and I’d drop my pen, keep my notes, go out
of my room and say “Screw the exams. I’m absorbing nothing anyway. I need to
breathe. I need to go out. I need a break.” And when my friends are not around,
I sleep until I’ve rested enough to take on the challenge again.
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| Just some of the people that made me happy in my first year in college. |
And so these little things made me feel better even
though I know that the dreadful exams and nerve-racking homework will still be
there when I get home, welcoming me in their oh-so-loving arms. I know I could
never escape my own problems not until I fix them myself so these little things
are what makes me breathe, reminds me that I’m still alive, that there’s more
to life than this. These little things are my strawberry that made me cherish
the sweet things in life that is always there to make me happy.
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In
the end, we should all realize that we’re not the first to take that cross
which we carry as we go on through life. You are not the first nor you would be
the last to cling on a vine hanging on a cliff and amid your panic on the brink
of death, you’d find a strawberry on the vine’s sinewy texture. In this
lifetime, we face different, you could say unique challenges and crosses that
we need to deal with. But no matter how hard or challenging your tests may be,
always remember that life’s too short to not stop and smell the flowers.
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