Some dreams are meant to happen. This particular one in March 2018 will stay with me till my last breath. In true essence, this became a pivot point in shaping my life meaningfully.
It was early in the morning, a twilight moment as I could make sense from the darkness outside my window. I was a spectator within my dream, just like watching a movie. I saw a child smiling at me and then I saw his parents. I knew this miraculous child. According to science, he can’t survive beyond 3-4 months from his birth, yet he managed to reach his first birthday. It was a surprise for doctors, caregivers and his parents. Everyone was happy for him to reach that milestone.
It was a joyous day for parents who were constantly living every moment under the fear of losing him any moment. They never knew when he would stop breathing or responding. I knew the mother and have seen her determination towards raising this child. It was hard to know between the two who was giving power to whom. She had dedicated her life to the sole purpose of transmitting her strength to him. While the child was teaching her patience, compassion and perseverance. As parents celebrated his first birthday, the child’s condition was deteriorating.
The night of my dream, the child was in the hospital fighting with an infection. In my dream he was smiling, his parents were happy. While I was feeling happy for them, I saw another friend couple, that made me wonder why the other two people appeared. It did not make any sense to me.
At this moment, I shook out of my sleep with a vivid memory of whatever I saw. I was trying to comprehend everything I experienced. I was not disturbed by that dream yet could not ignore it. The whole experience kept running in my mind. As a firm believer that everything happens to teach something, I began my search of knowing what was in for me. One has to have the willingness to learn.
This dream held a profound message for me which I understood later. Had I not paid any attention to it, I would have missed the whole opportunity to elevate. That was the same time I was discovering spirituality and questioning every experience of mine.
Spirituality is hard to explain. All those who have gained it can relate to the joy, love, lightness, and depth received out of it. People feel free physically, emotionally and mentally, as if some heavy burden got unloaded from the entire body.
Spirituality means knowing that life has significance in a context beyond a mundane everyday existence at the level of biological needs that drive selfishness and aggression. The concept of spirituality is hard to explain and equally hard to comprehend. It requires a willingness of an individual to rise above the situation and explore the meaning of life.
One thing commonly found in people seeking spirituality is their discovery of sincere and pure bliss without any dependency on circumstances and people. An encounter with spirituality helps to identify that there isn’t any need to chase happiness. The realization and the ability to delink joy and materialistic possessions allows to take the first step onto this journey.
Spirituality takes you onto the path of self-actualization. On this path, some need a guide or a coach. A few others find solace in books. Some go into the womb of nature while others get curious about life. I never had any guide or guru. I decided to seek it on my own. I wanted it to be my journey wrapped within my experiences. I wanted to feel it on my own and be the complete witness of whatever was coming ahead. It wasn’t the ego leading to any such decision. This is the second common trait I found in people who have got an essence of spirituality. They recognize that ego and esteem don’t have any place in this whole process. On the other hand spirituality seekers drop ego to have an unadulterated encounter with soul.
Since I had decided to walk on this path and gain knowledge about life on my own, being with nature and questioning almost every experience of mine were the choices I made for myself.
I was questioning everything, so I wanted to know why that dream came to me.
What message did it bring for me?
Why was I chosen to be in this child’s life?
What does this child want to teach me?
The questions that finally helped me receive an answer to all the non-stop exploration of mine on the path of finding the meaning of life were:
What is the purpose of this child in this world?
What good he has to do that he had to bear such a painful life?
None of us around that child could ever know if the child was aware of his pain.
The moment I received an answer to these questions, I was in a plethora of emotions, same time sinking and rising. I was free yet frozen, happy yet crying, scared yet numb, shaking yet immovable, confused yet crystal clear.
The answer I received was, ‘he has come to life to teach that each one of us is born with a purpose.’
Most important for me was to know why this child came into my life. What does he have to teach me?
‘To tell me that I too have a purpose in life;’ was the spectacular answer I received through that dream. It was a process of purification for me that changed the whole meaning of being.
Swamped into unstoppable, ecstatic tears the only thing I could do was shower my blessings and thank that child for being a messenger and teaching me the benevolent lesson in my life.
Another significant learning people receive on this path is that anyone can be your source of enlightenment. So, the best everyone of us can do is respect each other.
For me, a 14-month-old child, who himself hadn’t consciously experienced life, taught the most treasured upon lesson of my existence.
I still can’t define spirituality but I do understand from the core of my life.
A beautiful article on spirituality. Love all your articles Vandana!