Skip to main content

Ask and you shall receive!

 ASK and YOU SHALL RECEIVE!

  This phrase was a recurring theme during my upbringing. I grew up in a closed catholic community in a tiny rural community outside of Mumbai. As a 3–4-year-old little girl, I was merely repeating what the adults were saying, asking for some sort of forgiveness for our sins, not knowing its implications. Little did I know that this phrase would be my lifeline, the biggest tool in my tool belt later in my life.

  The then little girl in me had taken this phrase for its literal meaning. I had started asking, mostly for a bigger share of food, a bigger portion of a single candy bar which my grandmother had to divide into four. 

But when I started going to school at the age of 4, my father, the smartest and the wisest person I knew at that time, an enormous source of wisdom, guidance not only for me  or my family but for my entire village, emphasized on this belief, “ask and you shall receive.” He then went on explaining what it meant and what I was supposed to do with it.

 I grew up in the seventy’s, eighty’s, in rural India. Back then, forget the internet or Google; we were lucky to get even the basic education we got. And hence, he explained, unless you ask, you are not going to get anything and here he meant, asking to acquire information, to gain knowledge, the best education. And then he emphasized, when you approach someone (then it was only meeting someone face to face), they might say “no” but at least you would have made an effort on your part, you would have overcome your shyness, you would have expressed your opinion or you would have objected to things you didn’t like. 

Wow! How profound was that!! I grew up with this notion of being fearless ever since I was five years old. I became an avid reader just like my father, I kept on asking and I kept on receiving and of course; I do not mean material things; I mean an education, more books to read, opportunities, physical help, financial help when needed. 

Later in my life when I was raising my children almost as a single parent, it was this belief that came to my rescue. I unashamedly asked for help from neighbors, friends, colleagues. I had to or else I wouldn't have survived motherhood. 

 However, I assumed that everyone grew up with this belief. In my world, asking for help was not a sign of weakness. in fact, it was an act to open doors, make new connections. I did not know that there were some who were hesitant, shy, afraid to ask for the help when needed. Sometimes, it was the patriarchy, sometimes it was the culture, personal shyness, which was holding them down. They did not have this "TOOL" at their disposal. 

  This blog post is about my personal journey. I am not a celebrity, I am just a mom of 3, my only accomplishment. I had to sit back and write it all down today because someone I love and deeply care about is shy, they have a personal barrier. I am sharing my story in the hope that it helps some of you as well, that you too will be empowered by this tool, the one that will open many doors. This is the story of how I made it here this far with the help of my personal mantra, “ask and you shall receive” which shaped my identity, which empowered me to seek knowledge, overcome societal inhibitions and helped me make lifelong connections.

My ramblings for this Thursday. What about you? Do you have any such personal stories, beliefs that have helped you, either empowered you or held you back? Please do let me know in comments. 


                                          

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My self care journey - Oxygen mask.

  “ In the event of a sudden drop in pressure, an oxygen mask will drop from above. Secure your own mask first before assisting others. ” The first time I heard this, I was flying for the first time in my life on an international flight from Mumbai to Atlanta via London. I was so excited to go to America on my own that I did not really pay that much attention to this routine preflight announcement. Since I had flown to America, it also meant flying back, again, several times to go home. I heard the same announcement during all those trips but at that point, they were still some words, their true meaning still had not registered.  Then came another first time of my life, this time it was flying with my first born, for the first time.  By this time, I was not as excited about flying, the novelty had completely worn off. Now I am only concerned about the safety of my baby, he is sitting in my lap, one year old. Then they make the above preflight announcement, in sever...
8 comments
Read more

Journey as a mom driver.

Several years ago, when my parents were visiting, I took them to church for Easter Sunday mass. It was the first time I had driven since becoming a mother… for the second time around. This time, I had “twins.” They were less than two months old. I hadn’t driven in several months. I thought I could use the break from taking care of them. The church was not too far, I would be gone for at the most an hour and a half. Little did I know that it would be a defining moment in my journey as a mother. While at church, I just could not focus, they were at home with their father, they were safe, but that was the first time I had left them at home and gone somewhere. We ended up leaving before the final hymn. I was in a hurry to get home, only a few minutes from home. Sleep-deprived and anxious, I ran a red light. That split-second decision cost me more than I can explain. By the time a police officer got there  and approached the car, I had had a complete meltdown, bawling at the s...
13 comments
Read more

Legacy of Journaling!

  Writing has always had a special place in my heart and its roots go way back to my childhood, to my father, my inspiration.  My father has kept a journal, a daily diary since he was, I believe 20 years old, sort of chronicles, at first of his life and then our lives. He would write down all he did every day and along with that, he would also write down community happenings, a little note of news, local, nationwide and or global events which occurred on that day.  He has a record of everything and anything that happened in our tiny community where I grew up and where record keeping was almost nonexistent. A tiny catholic rural community in India. He meticulously noted birthdays, anniversaries, and even deaths, along with details of dignitaries, clergy coming and going. He was a walking encyclopedia of our community's history.  He is well known in the community partly for that reason, as a historian, their source of information. They come looking for him when they ne...
12 comments
Read more