The records of the times we have crossed, the footprints of the paths we have walked when we gently touch the scars left in the heart by wandering into directions we should not have taken, and getting stuck in places we should never have stepped into, an indescribable feeling quietly rises within us.
Even the passage of time sings songs in our minds.
Sometimes they flow like joyful ragas,
and sometimes they groan like mournful ragas.
The experiences life gives us never come in a single colour.
Some experiences lift us up,
some break us down.
But when we begin to realise that it is through the cracks that light enters,
we even learn to be grateful for those very breakages.
That is where the journey of understanding ourselves truly begins.
When we laugh at someone for doing something,
and later because of our own experiences end up doing the very same thing with utmost sincerity,
if we spend even two seconds thinking about the person we once mocked,
it means we have begun to examine ourselves.
Thought is a strange thing.
Once it spreads its wings and begins to fly,
we have no idea which direction it will take.
Giving direction to thought is an art.
It is not a skill learned in a single day.
Watching the path our mind runs along,
realising where it is drifting,
and gently bringing it back
this is a practice.
When this practice becomes natural,
many confusions in life begin to clear on their own.
If we learn to hold the reins and guide our thoughts,
we can consider ourselves to have travelled a significant distance
on the journey of self‑understanding.
“Why is this happening only to me?”
This question has arisen in all our minds at some point.
If it hasn’t yet, it may arise in the future.
There is nothing wrong in asking this question.
It is human nature.
But remaining stuck in that question is the real mistake.
Because that question does not move us forward it stops us.
The moment we shift from “Why?” to “How do I handle this?”
is the true beginning of our growth.
The answer begins with understanding that what happens to us can happen to anyone.
We are not alone in our struggles.
What matters is how we respond to what happens to us.
At this point, I wish to share a small story I once read.
A king had two wives.
The first wife grew irritated seeing the king discuss all important matters only with the second wife, and she scolded him.
Smiling, the king asked his servant to bring a bundle of sugarcane.
He handed it to his first wife and said,
“Use this as firewood and prepare a meal.
I will come for lunch.”
When the king went to her house,
she stood with a worried face and said,
“The sugarcane was too moist; it wouldn’t burn.
I couldn’t cook anything.”
Taking her along, the king went to the second wife’s house.
There he saw children running around happily
and the second wife had prepared a wonderful feast.
He asked her,
“I sent you the same bundle of sugarcane.
How did you manage to cook?”
She replied,
“I called the children nearby and gave them the sugarcane to taste.
They drank the juice and returned the fibrous stalks.
I used those dry stalks as fuel and cooked the meal.”
The king smiled at the first wife,
and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Life often gives us challenges like moist sugarcane.
But someone else may turn the same challenge into fuel.
The difference is not in the challenge
it is in the attitude with which we face it.
Once we learn to shift our attitude,
life cannot use anything against us.
My dear young generation!
When a difficult situation arises,
instead of holding your head and asking,
“Why did this happen to me?”,
think about how you are going to face it.
That is the path that leads to success.
Every obstacle places a choice before us
to stop or to move forward.
Those who choose to move forward
are the true warriors of life.
They do not fear mistakes;
they use mistakes.
When that maturity blossoms,
the future is no longer frightening
it becomes an invitation.
If our young generation begins to place each step with care,
I am certain we have already begun our journey
towards a peaceful future.
You can do it.
With love,
Sakthi Sakthithasan
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