Meaning in Life

Our journey from birth till death is full of surprises. Some experiences are sweet, some are shocking but life never stops. Many times we feel lost and directionless. That's when we need to take charge of our lives and keep going. However, we want our lives to be exciting to keep us going. Isn't it so? How to achieve this? How to make our life meaningful when nothing is making sense? How to overcome our fears and rise up? To understand the answer, let's see how our teenage Kanika made her life worthwhile.

Kanika is a sweet girl who lives next door. She loves to dance on the tunes of Bollywood music. She is a victim of child abuse and molestation. She did not tell what happened with her till she was 15. In these years, she went through cycles of shame, depression and self-harm. Somehow she survived and was alive. At the age of 15, she met Asha, a social worker, who was spreading awareness about sexual harassment. Kanika opened up for the first time. Her tears were not stopping. Shame and disgust was not letting her speak. Asha had to push a lot so that she pours her heart and speaks what she has been hiding for so many years. Asha explained the situation to her parents who were not able to understand her sorrow all these years. Her father was fuming with anger after listening to the entire story. But it was too late to do anything.

Kanika was taken to a counselor. Kanika’s smile returned. She started appreciating things around her. However, she became dependent on the counselor. Once the counselor had gone on vacation for 2months, Kanika's mental health deteriorated. She used to get lost in her thoughts and sleep all the time. Till now Kanika's education had affected a lot. She was not good in her academics except Mathematics. It was her favorite subject. Teachers said she lacked confidence. 

Her mother took charge and decided to fix things. She wanted Kanika to be able to help herself and rise above all the negativity. Kanika's mother knew that Kanika loves to dance. She took her to a good teacher and requested to train her daughter rigorously. Kanika's mother sat beside her and explained - "Kanika, whatever has happened, has happened. We cannot change it. But you need to rise up and make your life meaningful. Dance is like breathing for you. You radiate when you dance. Live your life." That night Kanika could not sleep. She knew she doesn't want to be in this state forever. Now that her parents were also with her, she told herself she wants to be happy and do something in life. She decided to become a professional dancer and earn money so that she can help underprivileged girls, rape or molestation victims, get higher education.

Next morning, Kanika danced like never before. Her mother and dance teacher were very happy and surprised with her progress. Then there was no looking back. Kanika practiced every day and performed exceptionally well in the annual function. As she was focused in life and was doing well in dance, her confidence increased. She was able to do well in academics also. Now Kanika was on her own, strong, self-motivated and passionate towards her goal.

Kanika turned the ugliness of her past into inspiration for others. Her goal of helping other victims gave her an objective. Having a purpose in life can make your life worthwhile. Mark Twain has rightly said “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why”. Live your life before it passes away. You have only one life.