There are a number of gifts I have received in my life. I am experienced in receiving lot of advices, food of thought and gestures of concern in the form of words. I have received, some, from acquaintances, friends, family and my immediate kins, some from my father, from my mother and some from life. Life is never easy for any individual I believe. Hence, I absorbed learnings by observing individuals, reading famous personalities and conversing with intellectuals of life.
Here I would like to list down few gifts of life:
1. Gift of time:
This is an important gift I have received from my father since I was small. Valuing time is an important aspect of life. Being a disciplined lecturer, I found it useful to apply to my everyday life and get the maximum benefit. It helped me realize and work towards achieving my goal of writing a novel. Gift of time helped me to realize my dream of writing a novel.
It was not at all easy though. This was the time when I saw my dream turn into reality. It is a gradual process. Writing a book and marketing it, is altogether different ball game. Me, being amateur did not bother to form a reader base that I could test before releasing my novel.
Well, that helped me a lot. It made me learn the market and understand the reader base which is tough to form, develop and retain. To understand how else I could utilize my storytelling skills. This gift of time helped me to break the process of novel writing into Planning, writing and reframing.
2. Gift of hunger:
The second gift I received was a gift of hunger. Hunger to try doing something new. To rise from the weaknesses and ride the vehicle leading the path of difficulties, heading towards triumph/ victory. One should let the burning fire inside him alive. The fire to do something different from the race of human kind.
This gift of hunger kept me alive. It kept me thinking that if I am able to write one book and publish it, my longtime dream will be fulfilled. What triggered me was, the people who tried to demean me, put me down, blame me for things or no things at all. I had decided I will rise above them. I will show them my worth. Of course, I never thought the monetary benefits would be meagre.
But of course, it gained me respect. Respect of being a woman, who is an intellectual person. I can frame stories. Flesh out characters. Twist the plot and bring it to a saucy and creamy climax. At this point of life is a new hunger developed within me. A hunger of learning and applying.
3. Gift of perseverance:
Never say die attitude. Even number of failed attempts did not deter me. Many a times I felt the novel will not be complete, but again I started as a new. I was deserted in the process of writing the draft, I felt lost as a child who knows nothing of writing. There were times when I felt nauseated after reading the draft innumerable times.
I knew by heart the introduction of characters, the number of paragraphs in total, from where the climax started and began to hold the grip. I learnt to fail and then get up again. Again, dust off my hands and push myself harder towards my goal. In this process I learnt to ignore the small things and focus on the bigger ones.
4. Gift of relearning:
It was a gradual but beautiful transformation from developing from an educator to a novelist. The market is huge. Though experienced in teaching management subjects, this turn in life has left me with fame parceled in a jigsaw puzzle. Shifting from a full-time job to a freelancing career is not easy. Finances are not steady always. You do a lot of work and get paid little. Also, little recognition. I gradually realized how alone knowledge would not help me. I will have to learn and relearn innumerable number of times in the process of publishing the novel.
I understood the benefits of networking and took necessary steps towards the same. Unless I have a reader base, how will I sell my ideas?
5. Gift of acceptance:
I have started accepting myself. The way I am, how I am.
Self-belief has crept in at this juncture of life, in my early forties. At the stage when I am fearless and ready to take any type of risk. Be it financial or career wise. I was disillusioned by the outside world sometime in life. Of course, I wouldn’t have written and published the novel and reframed it and published it the way it should have been.
If I am pretty, I accept. Earlier I used to ignore the compliments showered, maintaining a low profile. Not really believing in self-worth which was way before shattered. I smile when I want to. I have slowly and steadily gained confidence in me and I understand I can achieve whatever I want.
6. Gift of love:
The most precious: As a mother, gift of love is very special to me. Parenthood has never been easy. For me, it had been difficult too. Gift of love is giving it when your teenager needs it the most. Gift of love is ignoring the unnecessary pin points on your teenager son or daughter. Giving them enough space to analyze and evaluate their surroundings and extracting their reactions that are to be adjusted when required.
Basically, loving your children and receiving the same. It means what you give, you receive. It is how nature works. Give it selflessly without expectations. You will receive it when you least expect it. The whole universe is watching over you. Gift of love is wishing a bird, or smiling at a flower, gazing at stars or cooking what you want. It involves pure and selfless love. The love without expectations for the same.
Comments