
It was a usual day at office as I received a calendar reminder to attend a Knowledge Cafe session by Soniyaa Jain. I instantly jumped from my chair to head to the conference room where it was being conducted; I didn’t know why. I have missed many of these sessions on investing, developing sales skills, influencing others etc. due to work but this was different. My belief in the ‘Law of Attraction’ grew. It was long that I had written something inspirational for my blog. Probably, this is the talk that I was supposed to attend and write about so that readers who read this could be affected positively. It did influence me massively which reading several self-help books couldn’t.

This is the month of December, probably the scariest for me. This is when I usually start having migraine attacks. For the uninformed, migraine causes severe throbbing pain or pulsing sensation on one side of the head. It started when I was 6 years old. In my childhood and during my teens, in the months of December and January, I used to sleep every night with the fear of having to face 3-4 hours of nerve-racking pain the next day. I would be exhausted by the end of the attack, left to undergo precautionary measures with a little hope that the ordeal would be little less tomorrow. I would cry for hours in front of my family members trying to do whatever they could to make me feel better but my mind would think of solutions such as hammering my head or striking it against the wall or take high-dose injections to put me to sleep (I took those, by the way). The suffering was so severe that my mother still doesn’t use the word ‘migraine’ in any discussions with me. Her child’s pain can make the most reasonable mother on the planet go illogical, isn’t it? My pain is 0.000000000000000000001% (add many zeroes as you want because any number of zeroes will be less) of what Soniyaa faced.
Soniyaa was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 33. Then started the arduous battle against this ailment, the mention of which itself can send chills down our spine. Believe me or not, cancer resurfaced twice in her life, only to face defeat. Definitely, it had chosen the wrong person. The battle was long and full of excruciating pain – multiple dreadful surgeries, needles inserted into the stitches, and horrendous radiation sessions. Tears rolled down my cheeks when she explained the intensity of the pain comparing it to the aggressive scratching of an open, deep wound. The radiation sessions had left her body burnt and any piece of cloth on the body other than a thin and wet Malmal would cause havoc. She lost her breasts to which she reacted, “I got 500 grams lighter”!!!.

All this was coupled with the itch of losing out on the time which she could have spent with her family, seeing her children grow, doing things which she is passionate about and youthful years with her husband. A live apostle of positivity and never give up attitude!. While she was narrating her story to the faces which had now become gloomy listening to the torture she underwent, she was there excited at her first stint of public speaking and the plans she holds for her beautiful future. She made this disaster which had dawned upon her so easy and the battle so smooth that I felt silly to shed tears but be encouraged by this undaunted spirit. And she is thankful to the God for the life she has been granted!
In this story of courage, grit and determinations, there are various hidden pearls of wisdom which we should try to inculcate in our lives.
- Acknowledging the problem is the first step towards solution
In her narration, she prominently spoke about accepting the fact that there is a problem which needs solution. Normally, human tendency is to either ignore the problem or brood over it. This will only aggravate the monster. Once we are prepared to be aware of the problem, our mind and body shall work towards providing a solution to it.
- No problem is bigger than you and graver that you cannot solve
I wrote about migraine to not gain sympathy but to highlight the fact that all of us face difficulties in some form or the other. Lack of determination to overcome it leads us sometimes to suicidal thoughts. The problem gradually becomes bigger and stronger and we face a lack of control in all spheres of life. We tend to under perform at our jobs, our family suffer, mental peace is lost and resultantly we start equating life to hell. Compare it to the horrific difficulty that Soniyaa faced and tell me is your problem big enough? I know you have the answer with you, all you need is the resolve to overcome the evil.

- Happiness is a state of mind
Internationally acclaimed spiritual leader, His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa in his book ‘Happiness is a state of mind’ advocates the idea that happiness need not be created, it is there with us. It only needs to be discovered from within. There can be no better example than Soniyaa herself. Even going through one of the gravest diseases, she finds happiness in music. She cultivates her thoughts to create positivity in heart and mind which possibly makes her overcome the ailment when most of the humanity tends to give up.
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning how to dance in the rain. – Vivian Greene
- Accept that life in unfair and will be for the foreseen future
We have already discussed the importance of accepting a fact or a situation in life. It helps you to work towards the solution. We crib about being born in a certain economic situation or with physical attributes that we don’t like. We find it extremely difficult to come to terms with accepting ‘Who am I’. This leads to more pain and inaction. Assenting to what we are and what we have and use these to make a bright future is all what is required. Hence, next time if you feel unsatisfied, compare right – compare with people who have no food, shelter, family or good health, you will feel million times richer.

- Too much of expectation kills happiness
Having goals or aspirations are absolute necessary for a growth-oriented life. What use is of a life without purpose. Work towards your goals. These should be the guiding star for the activities that you do daily. But don’t expect much from your work. This means that you should be devoid of the reliance on outcome.
“Let your concern (or focus) be on your action, let it not be on the outcome of the action. Do not act only out of expectation of a result, but then do not slip into inactivity.” – Shrimad Bhagavad Gita
- Live your life on earth as if you are going to die tomorrow
This life and the time on earth is the greatest gift that has been given to us. Live it to pursue your dreams, make an impact and live a purposeful life. Understand who you are, frame your own definition of success and put in all your courage and commitment to this journey.
“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. – Paulo Coelho
Read the inspirational story of Soniyaa Jain on the link https://www.pinkinnings.com/post/humans-of-pink-innings-soniyaa-jain