STRUGGLE – WHAT IT TEACHES US

_{My daughter with her coach after her canter lesson! Learning to ride is her newest venture. Never stop learning; never stop struggling!}

Struggle is such a wide term and it has different meanings for different people. For someone dealing with an ailment, be it physical or mental, simple tasks as getting out of bed in the morning, is a real struggle. With the inflation at its peak, making both ends meet is a struggle for a person living on minimum wages. A woman who juggles between work and home on daily basis is struggling every minute to not lose the balance, sanity and steadiness in her life. A student, trying hard to fit in so that he doesn’t has to face the rejection from his peers, is wrestling with his own fears day in and day out to keep up with standards of the society. Even the baby who is learning to walk has to pull itself against gravity with all the courage and strength it can muster to stand up and take its very first step. These are just a few examples out of hundreds and hundreds which give this word, STRUGGLE a face, to have a better perception and understanding of this term.

_{My recent trip to this glacier in Noori Top during summers. It's a question of survival for the locals with minimum of resources in these far flung areas. You can not imagine their struggles in winter. They are confined in their homes for months.}

So, yes struggle is another name for living and surviving in this very competitive world. It is to not give up even when you feel like giving up each second. Struggle, if we could personify it, is a teacher, a mentor which teaches us to try doing anything for the first time and trying to complete it against all odds. It forces us to keep attempting after constant failure. It encourages us learning something new every day. It helps us aiming for perfection. It tames our emotions so that we can navigate your way by swimming against the tides. it teaches us to smile about anything and everything. It is all about bringing a change, tiny however it may be, and never turning our back to the problems. It guides us to look right in the eyes of our problems and to not run away from them, no matter what!

If we are not struggling, we are simply not learning. Rather we are not even living- we are just breathing. Without struggle, life is just like a stagnant pond lacking any current in it. Craig Charles describes this so eloquently; "It's evolve or die, really, you have to evolve, you have to move on otherwise it just becomes stagnant." There is no joy in living a sedentary life. The mistakes we make and the hardships we overcome in this process of struggling, help us in revealing our limitations and make us more aware of our skills which we didn’t see or appreciate before. Our struggles dictate who we are. It shapes our personalities and define how we see ourselves. We do not only learn something new but we also get to know a little more about our own selves every time we make an effort for a task or a job given to us. Motherhood is by far the most challenging yet fulfulling task ever given to mankind by Almighty. It is a perfect example of continuous struggle. Being a mother is learning about strengths and capabilities she didn't know she had.

_{On a lighter note, it is a struggle to capture the four of these people in a single frame, hence this shadowy photograph}

Struggle may not be fun all the time, but it’s important for growth and the development of very important skills like problem-solving, persistence and self-confidence. It helps us overcoming a sense of dread that our skills maybe un-matched with those around us. In short it is a part and parcel of life. It gives a meaning to life. This couldn’t be more beautifully or precisely described in any other way than this verse of Syed Sadiq Hussain Shah:

تندیء باد مخالف سے نہ گھبرا اے عقاب
یہ تو چلتی ہے تجھے اونچا اڑانے کے لیے

Translation:
" Do not fear the intensity of opposing wind O' Eagle
It only blows to help you fly even higher"

I have written this post for this contest organised by @adeljose under the Title: Weekly Contest, "Playing photographer #47"