Would You Rather Live With A Broken Bone Or A Broken Soul?
How will life be like having either of these disabilities? One is in the form of physical while the other is mental.
3 years ago, I remembered being ushered into the emergency room on a stretcher barely feeling my back, hyperventilating, and groaning like an old man.
I thought that I will never be able to walk again.
It happened while I was at the gym, training my back muscles as always.
But, the only thing that was not normal was the sudden rush of adrenaline I felt after watching someone with a smaller body frame doing deadlifts with weights almost 40kg heavier than I could ever lift.
I thought, if he could, I could too, which was a bad mistake.
Two repetitions in, and I felt my back snapped followed by intense pain. I couldn’t straighten my back at all. So, I crouched down on the floor on all fours, hoping for the pain to subside, but it didn’t.
Lucky for me, there were people around to call the ambulance straight away.
Four hours (and an X-ray check) later, I received news that it was a serious muscle sprain but I have nothing to worry about.
That was the only time I felt so close to having a broken bone, probably.
After that incident, it took me about a month to fully heal. I took painkillers, did stretching, light exercises, and ensured I rested well.
Even though I was injured and barely able to do anything without experiencing so much pain that radiates from my lower back to my legs, I was still able to go to work and was excited to go back to the gym.
I Was In Physical Pain, But I Still Had Hope
I was afraid to go back to the gym, really. My back would ache at the sight of it as if reminding me of the pain I went through.
But, I knew deep down that I missed the feeling of soreness and “muscle pump”.
I missed the satisfaction of knowing that my strength has improved as the weights I lift get lighter every week.
I missed feeling good and looking good wearing slim-fit clothes and pants and receiving compliments from people who acknowledged my results.
So, I did go back to the gym. Even though I had to start from the beginning or maybe a few levels lower, I still enjoyed every single moment I spent in the gym.
Because it was that damn addictive and satisfying.
For Some Others, They Couldn’t Even Lift Themselves Off The Bed
“What’s the use of waking up when it’ll just be another dreadful day, and no one gives a **** about me?”
I know people who are tired of feeling tired — People who wish that God would take their life away before their alarm clock sounded.
And, it is quite sad to know that.
It totally gives me a different perspective of life.
In this world, there will be people like me who are striving to level up their life while there are others who wished they can skip to “Game Over” and not insert any more coins in the arcade machine — They just want to go home and stop playing the game of life.
Would You Rather Live With A Broken Bone Or A Broken Soul?
If I have to choose, I rather live with a broken bone than live a life that is soul-less and grim. Of course, it is easier said than done.
We all know, or at least have seen someone in the media, who lives halfway around the world with a permanent physical disability, yet they have lived a successful life or at least have some means of sustaining their life.
The point is they managed to adapt to a new way of living, and they are able to smile again after losing the capability to function as how other healthy humans would.
But, on the other hand, if our mental health is broken, everything changes.
Everything goes dark.
Basically, you’re like zombies from the Walking Dead series — your body is alive but you're dead inside.
And, I don’t want that to happen to me, my family members, or friends. I hope that it doesn’t happen to anyone who reads this as well.
Because, we can still have the willpower to live even with no limbs, but we won’t really live if we don’t have any willpower left.
Let’s not give up hope and continue to find more reasons to continue living. Especially, to live happily and meaningfully too, ok?
