The Story Behind

No, no, nooooh..…awww C’mmmon…you gotta be kidding me…

I did everything I was supposed to - have my green veggies every day, have my chia seeds and oats for breakfast, multigrain added to my rice, exercised daily and interchangeably focusing on strength, balance and cardio.

I have been regular you know. Like, my number two is daily-regular. Like clockwork.

But no…just that faithful day, without getting too graphic, I had a more "difficult" day, and low and behold, suddenly this tiny pink flesh peeked out from the derriere.

So, for those of you still confused but at least still reading this: I later on discovered I had what you would call a rectal prolapse. 

A rectal prolapse is a situation where the end of your large intestine, namely the rectum, slips out through the anus. Causes could be aging, constipation, straining, etc.

When it is not too severe, you can actually gently push the mass back in - that is, after you actually find out what in the world is happening. 

All you need to do is lie on your side in a foetus position and with a towel gently push it back. Voila!

So there, in life, not everything goes your way, no matter how hard you try.

But the bigger lesson here I believe is that you don’t stop trying and doing what you should be doing. In this case, continue to adopt a healthy living lifestyle.

That no matter what life throws at you, and the future remaining a mystery, we don’t choose to sit still. We continue to do what we must.

A Man Called Suresh

I am reminded of my 7th grade math teacher, a medium-size built man with Hercule Poirot’s strong curly mustache, named Mr Suresh.

On one particular school day, he disciplined the whole class not allowing anyone to sit throughout the 45 minute class.

All, except myself and 2 other students that is.

“Do you have the answer for question no. 9?”, he asked. “I have. But the answer is not the right one”, I replied. “How do you know it is not right?”, he continued.

“I checked the Answers page at the end of the book”, I responded.

“How do you know the book has the right answers?”, he asked. 

I stared blankly at him, as my brain engraved that moment in time in my mind, forever.

That day, Mr Suresh taught me some invaluable lessons in life that I have not forgotten to this day:

• Challenge facts and assumptions. He taught me that we need to find out our own truth. That it was okay to boldly challenge facts. To sharpen my skills and knowledge so that I could enable myself to sensibly challenge assumptions.

• It is not so much the outcome but process. If there is effort, intention and perseverance, people will show appreciation. 

Mr Suresh proved right. We don’t sit on our laurels and give up because the supposed outcome tells us otherwise. We pursue it and do our part.

Many a time, the difference in outcomes lies within that slim space occupied by intention and effort.