That We Can Hold On to

            I remembered when I was eight years old I had experienced being drowned in the sea water. It was a family beach picnic, and I was with the kids splashing in the water, laughing. When my playmates got out from the water to build sandcastle, I stayed in and trying to enjoy the water alone. Suddenly, a wave splashed and there I was out of my balance. At eight, I did not know how to swim and with my weak defected leg I was easily knocked out helplessly, submerged into the water.

       I was struggling to get up but the next wave knocked me out again. Underwater, the salty water suffocated me. Before I lost my consciousness, my struggling left hand touched something that I immediately grasped firmly. I tried to hold on to it but I was too weak to. The next time I knew, my family and my playmates surrounded around me. Later on, I learned that it was my sister's leg that I grabbed before everything went dark.

     Holding on to something literally between life-and-death struggle has amazingly saved many lives. Many personal testimonies have proved it from those who have actually met the accident; like being swept by strong current of water, falling off from a cliff and other kinds of accidents where life depends on something that someone is holding on to before rescuers arrived for help.

      Handling our disabilities with the feeling of discomfort is a kind of inner struggle that we normally have. The discomfort might be in the form of being helpless to manage physically or in the form of craving to be understood and accepted by the society and be treated as normal. And there is also a struggle of accepting our situation as it is and be confident in spite of disability.

      The struggle is not easy to handle especially when there is a deeper craving and desire for understanding, care, acceptance and love from others. Because the more we craved about meeting our desire the more struggle there is. This eventually creates an inner pain as we see difficulties around struggling.

      Situation like this is a kind of wonderful opportunity for us to hold on to. With whom?

     When we struggle, it is clear to find ourselves feeling alone and helpless like a lonely warrior even if we are surrounded with our loved ones. That is when their comfort and love are not sufficient to give inspirations to our lives after judging their best is not enough. Seems like we have a hole deep within that could not contain contentment. In this way, it is possible to become vulnerable that may weaken our compassion for life. Our daily living become a daily struggle instead of cherishing life each moment. Hence, we surely missed the everyday gifts of life that rise above struggling and pain.

    Life is not all about struggle and pain if we look beyond. It is all about welcoming, experiencing and enjoying the joy and peace each moment of the day. It is like inhaling the cool breeze of the air and let its fragrance wash away the tension and pressure that is blocking the flow of smooth life. However, our constant struggle has taken us away from living the simple but its powerful flow, disconnecting us from the very Source of life.  No wonder why such life becomes weak and a burden.
    

       We have a greater Source to hold on to in times of our undesirable struggle along the way. God or whatever words you may like to use is the only source of our power. Disconnecting life from the very source of life is the beginning of unending struggles. But when our lives are connected to the greater Source we are taking the unusual path that lead us home, a place within where love, joy and peace dwell.

       No one can prided himself as able even the able bodied person without connecting himself to the very source of life. Because we are all connected to the Greater Source as one. This is the beauty of life because we are never left alone struggling.  In fact, there is no presence of struggle when life is peacefully holding on to God.  There is only harmony within as what life is designed to be.