(NOW I KNOW) WHY A CAGE BIRD SINGS (Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can– Arthur Ashe)
Birds are the flight of freedom
Liberated from the ‘clutches of sadness’
Measuring the ‘depth of the tribal sky‘
Listening to the Lord’s soft whispers
Flirting fearlessly with the sun and the moon
They ‘fly and fly’
Rewinding my life, I replicate an un-caged bird
Acknowledging the ‘magic of life’, ‘my quotient of health’
And at once came the ‘cage of fear’
Medically diagnosed with a frustrating ‘lobby of predators‘
Initially, acting quite modestly peeping into my life
Soon, their ‘fragrance of innocence’ turns fowl
Mummifying my wings and caging me in
But was I not born to be free?
Now, as the ‘harsh winters cautiously gets tanned’
The sunshine gets ready to melt the frozen ice
It’s time to ‘break-free from the thick barred-cage’
I long for freedom, as my life awaits a rebirth
My wings learn to ‘flutter again’
Waiting to fly and fly
Again, experiencing the mountains and the rain
Painting the open clouds with the footprint of my feathers
Flying high and far, being the new opium,
Hoping never to turn the black pages of the caged-history
Yet the lessons never ought to be forgotten.
Grateful to the Divine-inspiration, for my return to the open skies
Here, I sing my responsibility towards the deep, nomad sky
An attempt to simplify the frozen rules for my fellow caged-birds
I hope freedom is utilized for the good and the uncivilized.
As I re-prepare to fly and fly
This write up is an expression of my last 5 year journey, evolving from a rare disease (WHO defines it as an often debilitating lifelong disease) called Isaac Syndrome(muscular hyperactivity resulting in muscle cramps, stiffness, walking difficulties, fasciculation, fatigue) accompanied by Membranous Glomerulonephritis, Lymes and Glaucoma in 2016. Though the damage done is irreversible as my life has transformed 180° from a cultural, social, economic, and health perspective with 38 pills being a part of my daily acid tasting platter, I’ve come a long way from being bed-ridden in 2016 and 17 to being almost independent today.
A bird’s ‘photograph of emotions’ expresses vulnerability, yet they prefer singing, in spite of being confined to the cage.
Similarly, it’s individualistic if one tries to accept tough situations OR makes life unhappy by the ‘comparison business’. Being caught in the cage taught me lessons that I would never forget. Being exposed to a world where tough rules are inked with an uncommon pen, agreeing to them needs an unusual emotional background.
It costs experience to sing authentic verses. Despite the fact that there were numerous lessons learned, I’d like to highlight a few:
1) Though a part of the clouds, I soon realized that disengaging using the right filters to avoid disturbed-longitudes was wise for recovery. Therefore, I paid less heed to people’s parameters of opinions as it’s difficult to make everyone happy.
2) A grandfather like figure always inspired me to un-friend this thought that ‘crisis in health‘ is an expert and cannot be tricked by our conviction in resolution, constantly encouraging me to fight back the disease.
3) I credit my family for keeping my emotional quotient in check. I was fortunate to have handled the situation with Acceptance. It’s unbelievable now, but initially I visited a local government hospital once a month to realize how blessed I was in every little aspect.
4) Re-connecting with the 5 tattavas or elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Ether) has been shown to have immense health benefits.
5) Spirituality added a flavour of wisdom, discarding emotions that I had unconsciously built over time.
Freedom, our human right, becomes a gibberish language when being in a cage prolongs, but if we want to return to where one belongs, let’s engage creative thoughts to fight until we achieve our glorified victory.
INTRO :- Hello, I am Rachit Shah, an ex-Investment Banker based out of Mumbai. My experience journey was a bag full of goodies, fond of long distance running and have leisure interests like playing table tennis & volunteering projects. Today, I thank God, for getting my life rolling from a two-year bedridden situation after diagnosis to now leading a life of independence while simultaneously searching for a permanent cure.
You can reach me at rachitshah421@gmail.com
Just recently, he launched a petition representing this community to raise public awareness, media interest, financial aid and to encourage researchers and policy-makers to address the needs of those who are struggling with rare health conditions.
We kindly request all of you to sign this petition to help him out, so that he can reach his goal. It will not take more than a minute to do so. Do share it with your friends and family if possible.
Petition Link —https://chng.it/68wc28zsgL
Let’s create hope 🙂
Kritash 