“The Tight Strap”

(The original concept is by my best friend Priya Batra, final editing was done by me)

A week before, the strap of my brand-new flip-flops wore off just like that. As it was recently purchased, and of my favorite color, I decided to replace only the tape instead of buying whole new slippers. While substituting the same, I discovered that there were two holes in the base of the flip-flops, whereas the strap I bought had just one side. So, I punched it in the second hole without realizing that it was slightly shorter. Eventually, I was proud to be a miser and contented about not wasting any money buying fresh sandals. The strap was exactly matching, looking beautiful which made my day. I wore it with great pleasure, but it felt too tight. Consoling myself that it was a new one and would loosen up with time I kept wearing it, sadly even after many days of usage, it did not soften up. Therefore, now wearing the same up-to-date slippers had become kind of headache, moreover, the pain and bruises it caused on my feet were becoming increasingly unbearable. I silently cursed myself on the decision taken earlier. The mere thought of wearing that footwear brought a sharp sense of agony and fear to my mind. I was upset and kind of depressed about why one minor wrong judgment dumped me with so much unwanted suffering in life.

One fine day, an idea occurred to me that instead of putting the strap in the second hole I must put it in the first hole itself. Perhaps this might help. Hence, I put in a lot of effort shifting the strap from the first hole to the second one. It really took a lot of endeavor! But yes, it worked finally. The same frightening footwear once more became super comfortable. I started feeling impeccable about taking that right direction.

This is how exactly our lives and relationships are woven together. If you hold them excessively tight it will harm you mentally and physically, giving utter discomfort, and a strong impression that the choice of the relation was not good enough. In fact, you start doubting yourself and become miserable. So, in every association, there must be some space, some loosening, though the grip should be firm, still not suffocating to the point where it brings anxiety of wearing it at all and hence you start avoiding it. By slackening the leash of alliance in our existence, one can walk a remarkably long distance together without struggle. Do not hold the hands so tight that it starts hurting you. Instead, grip gently and walk leisurely through eternity.

This was a short life story, with a crucial lesson to remember!