The Universal Formula Of Nature

(Uncertainties, struggles and transitions in life)


“Do babies feel the pain of birth?” This was the title of a blog by a very senior doctor on another forum. He has explained the intricacies of childbirth and he says that babies do experience pain at the time of birth. The following article was motivated by his blog.

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All of us start our life’s journey as a single cell and then we become a multi-cellular embryo, and finally, we end up as the sophisticated human beings! There are no quick fixes or shortcuts in this process of development. Everything follows the assembly line precision. If any cell or a process tries to deviate from its fixed path, we know that it leads to anomalies or abnormalities putting the life of the foetus (baby) in danger! During the process of foetal development, the foetus is well protected and nourished inside the mother’s womb. But by the end of the gestation period comes the critical stage, when the mother’s womb cannot or will not protect the baby anymore. That is the way nature works: beyond a specific time period our very own heaven turns hostile! Then the birthing process or labour sets in. The first stage of labour is divided into three phases: latent, active, and transition. At the time of birth, babies go through tremendous shock and stress. Their safe heaven is no longer safe for them! Unless and until they submit themselves to the law of nature and go along, their survival chances are almost non-existent in the natural world!

First of all, the baby has to ‘position’ itself in preparation to take natural birth.

In our life also, we have to educate and/or learn some skill and be ready to face the life’s challenges.

Next, as the uterine contractions begin and the amniotic sac breaks, the baby should be prepared to lose its protective environment and take the risk of entering an unknown territory.

In life too, we have to be prepared to leave the safety of our familiar surroundings or comfort zones and be willing to adapt to the newer situations and circumstances in order to succeed.

The next stage, transition, is again a very difficult phase. After passing through the narrow birth canal, the baby is born! The baby’s environment changes immediately from a well protected warm womb to the cold delivery room! Now the child struggles for oxygen and takes the first breath which escapes as a cry!

Similarly, our first foray into the outer world is often stressful and it has to be so to harden us for the struggles in life. Our initial struggles strengthen and arm us with methods to cope better; we struggle, face the newer challenges and emerge victoriously!

Now can you see the similarity in the birthing process and our struggles in life? I find this similarity between the birthing process and our struggles against the odds in life, very motivating. Without any conscious effort, if we could survive the birthing process, it would not be wrong to call ourselves as ‘the certified survivors’ and believe that we have what it takes to fight against the odds in life and succeed!

There is a very interesting story about the struggle of a young butterfly. A man looking out of his window spots a young butterfly emerge from the chrysalis/pupa. He stands there watching the young butterfly struggle. Taking pity on the butterfly, he releases the butterfly from the imprisoning pupal case. When he does that he feels a sense of pride for having helped the butterfly but instead of flying away gleefully the butterfly struggles for a while and then starts preparing for its imminent death. Feeling sorry for the butterfly and being unable to understand what went wrong, he questions the butterfly and it says, ‘my struggle was my way of strengthening my wings, pumping blood and getting ready to fly. By releasing me prematurely from my case, you weakened my strengthening process and now my death is imminent. (When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, both of the wings will be soft and folded against its body. This is because the butterfly had to fit all its parts inside the pupal case. As the butterfly comes out of the chrysalis, it pumps blood into the wings in order to get them working and flapping – then they get the strength to fly. Usually, within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying.)

Similarly, we are aware that a diamond cannot be polished without friction, gold cannot be purified without melting it on fire and without chiselling a rock an intricate statue cannot be made. A phase of some knocks and stress is inevitable before an ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan! All these make me believe that nature is a tough taskmaster; she seems to have one single formula for almost all the natural processes in this world.

When we are young we are attuned to nature and we are a part of it. But as we grow, we grow apart from nature. We would like to have a different set of rules for ourselves and nature. That is when the trouble begins and we are plagued by undue uncertainties and stress. When we become aware that struggles, disappointments and some stress are essential parts of our passage on this earth and it is according to the universal formula of nature, acceptance becomes easier and we can easily embrace the changes that come along. Our stress is directly related to our resistance to embrace the new or changed reality. The regular and ongoing practice of the philosophy of equanimity helps us to accept changes and challenges more easily. Everything falls into its place the moment we accept that ‘Change is the only constant in life’ and also, ‘Nothing is permanent in life’. The important key here is to keep the patience and minimal expectations. This is the profound reality of nature!

Instead of fearing our bad phases and challenges, we have to believe in the universal formula of nature and face our challenges bravely. My favourite motivational line that keeps me going is, “Darr ke aage jeet hai i.e., "Beyond fear lies victory!"





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Thanks a lot for this wonderful feedback, dear @Gauri03. As you rightly pointed out fear is the first stumbling block on our path which makes us lose the race even before beginning. Then is the irrational expectation to have a trouble free path. Acceptance of some rough patches and having minimal expectations definitely makes us more resilient and focus better.

 

Lovely fb, dear kkrish. Thank you. The example of Wright brothers proves "Darr ke aage zindagi hai" perfectly. Recently in one of the World Cup Football matches, a member of the team with low scores was crying even before finishing the game. I pointed to my son that this player has lost much before the finish and he will definitely throw away any chance that may come his way! Many times we too do the same due to preconceived fears or negative thought patterns.

This statement is so so true.

 

Thanks, Tamrakshar for the enthusiastic fb. It is all in the genes! Usually the larger (Elephant, Whale) and also the slower (Tortoise) animals have longer life spans. Then how did humans get comparatively longer life spans? I love that story which says when God was assigning age limits to various animals, they chose shorter life spans and the man wanted longer life span. So the God gave the refused live spans of the dog, monkey and donkey to the man. That is why man behaves/lives like these animals at various stages of life!

You are right. Life is a journey with multiple goals and responsibilities. It can never have instant or tailor-made solutions. As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita, we must do our duty and be not affected by the results, in short, reduce expectations.

 

Thank you for the likes- @SinghManisha, @shravs3, @messedup, @coffeecups and @goldenhoney87.

Special thanks to @messedup, for nominating this post.