There's just one way from here: Up

We aren't all perfect. There are sides of ourselves that we are proud of, and some we hide behind the shadows. There are parts of our lives we do not wish to ever recall, and some moments that we cherish for a lifetime.

There was a dark moment in my life that I would never want to recall. But it was when the light at the end of the tunnel came nearer, that I found a moment to cherish for a lifetime. That light was a friend, a friend I've known so long, yet ignored forever; Me.

It was soon after a heart break and a series of misfortunes that I experienced the lowest I’d ever felt in life this far. My grades were falling, my attention span in class dwindling and my interest in the people around me- scarce. I was losing all drive in life and till date I don’t know who or what to blame. I have always blamed myself. A saving grace however, could not see me this way.

One day, I decided to give myself the time to listen. Not to a counsellor, not to a priest, not to an elder person but to a friend, the friend I knew in me. The friend, I thought, had left with my enthusiasm. But she was there, sitting in silence. “You don’t need to do this to yourself”, she said. I listened.  “You are greater than the things that bring you down and you are worth so much more than you think you are.

The world doesn't need you; they will get by without you. But you cannot go a day without having yourself, without having yourself happy, content and satisfied, and no one can bring you this contentment but the friend you find in yourself. Stop blaming her for the things you've been through, at every step in your life you chose to do what was right at that moment, no one saw what was to become of your decisions. Do not condemn yourself for the things you did not see coming. Forgive yourself.”

I opened my eyes and felt a calm I hadn't felt in a very long time. A rush of serenity ran through me as I felt lighter and more importantly, content.

Never had I felt so optimistic about life. I guess you have to reach your lowest point to appreciate the highest points you've been to.  There’s only one way to go when you’re down in the dumps and that is up. I am forever indebted to the friend I found that day who showed me that this was not the end of the road.

New beginnings are always a scare, but they are a pool of optimism if you learn to see it that way.

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