Focus!

The hindi word “Chetna” is more on the lines of consciousness, but here I’m using it in the context of single minded focus; a concentration so deep that it involves the centralisation of the complete consciousness at one single point.

It can disclose itself in a myriad of ways, for n number of things and in a variety of contexts or situations.

But one thing remains common. The consciousness flowing in different directions in the human mind is centralised at one point, so that there is a blast of energy, which makes the almost impossible seeming tasks possible.

This is what Arjun did when he pierced the eye of the revolving fish figure overhead, by concentrating his “Chetna” on its reflection in the water below.

Dashrath Manjhi, a name synonymous with inhuman mental strength, focused his inner energies, when he began forging a road through a huge mountain, all alone, with just a tiny hammer and a chisel. So acute was his focus and will that he was at it for 22 years and he managed to do the impossible….all alone!!!  

Yes, 22 years of single minded perseverance was what it took for him to forge a road through a mountain, single handedly, unheeding to the jibes, discouraging words and taunts of his friends and family.

They say that love makes a person develop godly strength. This must be the reason behind a poor tribal from a rural area in the remote state of Madhyapradesh in India, to carry his heavily pregnant wife, who was in labour, on his shoulders and practically run for 40 kilometres, through dense jungle, on a dark rainy night; to reach the nearest hospital in the city… Isn’t it unimaginable?? 

Then there is Jasmin Parris, who broke the world record for Britain’s toughest race just months after giving birth. She finished the 268 mile race in 83 hours, 12 minutes, while stopping time and again to feed her infant daughter!!

Finally there is the example of Ernestine Shephard, who started training at the age of 50 and became the oldest female competitive body builder at the age of 80!!!

Also James kearsley, the 19 year old boy from Australia, who faught and defeated cancer, TWICE,all with a huge smile on his face…

What can we call a woman, who drove 200 kilometres on a scooty, just to bring back her son stranded during the 2020 lockdown.

Brave?? Or simply, A mother??

 What can we call this??

Will power?

The extreme desire to win??

The never say die attitude??

The ultimate belief in oneself??

The aversion to the word impossible??

What drives these people? What keeps them going? What type of genetic composition do they possess which lacks in millions of others, who resort to suicide, depression, drinking, and wasting away their lives, the moment something inconvenient happens, which is averse to their wish!!!

Smile goes a long way in quelling fears.

The same can be said about the brain too. Thoughts make us. If we believe that we can do it, then we will do it.. No doubt about it.

But if we allow the trickle of doubts to seep into our brains, then the focus is divided… Half is fighting the thoughts and the other half is juggling with the effort.

They say that there was a frog who wanted to reach the highest branch of a tree. All other frogs started screaming that its impossible… Still, he made it. How??

He was deaf…

So he could just see his counterparts and assume that they were cheering him to go on. This strengthened his will and focus and he could do the unimaginable.

Be the frog!!!