As I read today about the whereabouts of a woman accurately portrayed by the author Jhumpa Lahiri, I couldn’t help but go back to the very times the woman in those pages once stood. Why was it so relatable? I thought to myself. This one story speaks as if it’s the journey of the multitude, and that’s why a lot of people seem to identify with it. It’s about the perks of everyday life, grounded experiences of just another day from a woman next door, supposedly. Stories of simple days, usual moments, and ordinary people. It made me ruminate even more than I usually do, reflecting on my own journey and my whereabouts. Isn’t this book a mirror to the author’s stories of ruminating and dwelling in the past and the future? Maybe even daydreaming? I surely don’t know that, but I met myself in that woman, in that fleeting moment I seized some comfort in familiar pages of her life.
Days like today fill me with life. I blend with myself even more, watching myself grow, and hearing myself speak the softness into this world that has been harsh on numerous occasions. Every day, I make a conscious effort to resist the world’s attempts to impose its ways on me, determined not to succumb to its numbing influence and maintain my vitality. Though even now, I have days where I live and days when a part of me seems to fade, moments where I’m vocal and moments when my voice shakes, I have people who make life a little better and some that bury my soul alive. In all my bits and pieces, I’m still trying to be whole or maybe just enough for my own self.
“Each day that propels me towards my new life transforms me into a renewed individual—brimming with fresh ideas, a profound self-belief, and the unwavering faith that what I desire is within reach. During moments like these, I gently recall a simple message to myself, and it echoes…”
This time, I didn’t need your validation.
This time, I was not waiting for approval.
This time, I didn’t consider how many people shared my thoughts and feelings.
I expressed it raw, real, honestly, and as it was in my mind.
It didn’t need to be questioned and rechecked.
It didn’t need overthinking and rethinking.
It was pure and clear.
As I thought, I wrote.
As I felt, I said.
As I believed, I propagated.
And as I stood, I persisted.
This time, I didn’t need your validation.
This time, I was not waiting for approval.
This time, I didn’t consider how many people shared my thoughts and feelings.
I expressed it raw, real, honestly, and as it was in my mind.
It didn’t need to be questioned and rechecked.
It didn’t need overthinking and rethinking.
It was pure and clear.
As I thought, I wrote.
As I felt, I said.
As I believed, I propagated.
And as I stood, I persisted.
I say it didn’t need validation because I was approving of it—of me and my emotions—taking responsibility and accountability for the same. There comes a day when enough is enough, a day when keeping quiet will set you back in your journey, compromise you, tame you all over again. Speaking out feels like the only choice in front of you. On days when you stay silent about what matters to you, you are your own culprit, surrounded by the injustice that you are doing to yourself. The burden of guilt and regret this time is far worse because this time you were presented with an opportunity to practice what you have been preaching, which is:
‘We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.’ (Quoted form the book – Lean in by Sheryl Sandberg)
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