Diksha Gupta
Miranda House, University of Delhi
I was on a long voyage to search for love. I was sad when I couldn’t find the person
of my dreams, that life-saving oasis in the desert of life. That special person who
would take care of me and talk to me whenever I needed. I needed a person to fall
back upon. I searched for that special person in every acquaintance and every
friend. But the harder I searched, the wearier I grew. But then, like a beam of hope,
I found the best person in my life. My one friend was always there for me. We did
everything together. We cared, shared, and fought, but we never left the other’s
side.
However, life always throws curve balls. Distance came between us due to the shift
in colleges. I was again left alone. This time it was more difficult, as I had already
met my true friend who wasn’t there with me anymore physically. I questioned
myself, “Why isn’t there anyone with me?” I ruminated a lot and cried in agony
whenever I was sad about my life. I tried to remember that one other person who
was with me throughout the journey. To my lo and behold, I found that “I” was
with myself throughout the journey of my life.
Then, while revisiting the small snippets of ups and downs in the memory lane of
life, I found that in all the infamous failures and famous glories, I was the only
person who stood up for my own sake. Whenever I remember that horrific failover
of my life when the world seemed to end, I was my only consolation. When
everyone had given up on me besides some genuine well-wishers, I was the person to
paint that stroke with my determination and grit that recreated the Phoenix 2.0
from the crumbling ashes.
When the world was saluting the rising sun, I reminded myself that I have more
miles to go before I sleep, instead of getting blown away by all the flattery that this
world had to offer. Not indulging more in this realm of thought, I would like to
bring to your attention the most important part of my life.
Suddenly, a huge realization dawned upon me. While finding happiness in the
external world, I didn’t notice that my soul was drying up. It was wilting due to no
love and care.
That day, I apologized to myself. I was my biggest friend in disguise, whose deeds
were never acknowledged. Since that day, I thank myself every day for sailing
smoothly through the rough waters. This small change of thanking myself and
treating my soul with love and sunshine had brought a major change.
Like small drops make a huge sea, little things that I do for myself have made my
wilting soul into a blissful being. In this hustle of life, when others are mere
passersby on the road of life, I am my greatest confidant and lover. Self-love is the
greatest sword against all the challenges of life. If you don’t love yourself, then how
can you truly love others? We need to become the most honest and genuine souls
for ourselves.
Hence, before making others happy and their day brighter, it’s important to smile
for yourself every day. The process of thanking oneself is easy to practice. I, for
instance, look into my reflection in the mirror and have an honest talk with myself
where I admire the things that I did and congratulate myself. This reflection even
makes me better as I not only reflect on the good things in life but make a memory
map of things that could be better the next day. This two-minute practice of self
reflection also enhances my self-awareness. I think that for our success, the
quintessential thing of life is to know ourselves better than others.
