Confidence that comes with Good Health

I live a protected life because of the myopathy. If it is not my parents, it is my husband and then my friends. They all try to keep me strong and able by giving out a helping hand at all times. So when I go out there to do something independently, I feel very strange and liberating at the same time.

These independent moments come only while I am travelling to my hometown. The Boy usually doesn’t accompany me there because I need my me-time with my fam. Last year, I was travelling from Lucknow to Bahrain via Delhi. My Lucknow-Delhi plane got delayed and we were all panic stricken. If I were to catch my flight from Delhi, I needed to leave Lucknow at the earliest.

So I checked for flights online. The only suitable deal was to fly to the domestic terminal in Delhi and then take the cab to International terminal.

My family was horrified at the aspect of me going from the domestic terminal to the international terminal alone! It takes just about 10 minutes by a taxi, but they were not convinced. I had to use terms like ‘I am an adult, please let me go!’.

This year I had to change my plane again – walk with the luggage from the arrival section of the domestic terminal to the departure area of New Delhi domestic terminal. Now these are like 5 minute apart on foot – you just have to get out of the airport, cross a non-traffic road and you are there.

I informed my parents about this only at the last minute. I had actually called the customer care of the Delhi airport and asked all my questions. And since there was no cab involved, they were fairly ok. Also, I am guessing, this was my second time and they were a tad calm.

Both these times I felt so incredibly fulfilled. It might sound very petty that a 33-year old feels this way – but if you have lead the kind of life I have, you would know.

My cab driver here in Bahrain has become like a friend – so it is not an issue. I go out with him all the time and he also seems sensitive to my needs. I wonder if we had a metro system here how would that be for me…

What I am trying to say is that it is these small things in life that we don’t feel grateful for. You should thank God for your strong limbs every time you can. You should thank him for the confidence that this strength gives you. The fact that you can walk out on the road alone is a blessing in itself.

Not only this, what if we couldn’t see well. How would we cross the road? Our ears give us ability to react to traffic if there is a sudden need. We don’t value what we already have and feel helpless when we wear our bodies out. Slouching, smoking, over-eating, lazying – all these things exhaust our system and we become victim of various diseases.

You would know only if and when you lose your confidence. I pray you never do. But for that, you’ll have to work, and work hard at it. Be grateful, pray for courage and stay strong - there is no bigger blessing than a healthy body – take care of it.