Gratitude | Life Lesson | Spirituality

Never Forget Your Left Foot

Because it has helped you in your most difficult times

A few months back I fractured my right foot.

I was speedily walking out of a shop, got distracted by something, missed the stairs, fell on the street, and rolled my ankle.

After a painful 4-hour night in Accident & Emergency, I was released with some painkillers, a support shoe, and a walking stick, and with the hope that between 5 to 8 weeks my foot would heal.

That considerably added to our stress as our holidays to the Far East were already booked. They were due in 4 weeks and I was not sure whether I would be able to cross the red healing line in time.

I diligently followed all the advice from the doctor in taking care of my foot and called upon orthopedic surgeon friends to ensure I was doing everything right to make my foot heal enough to allow me to travel.

Thankfully, when D-day came, my foot scarcely crossed the red line and I took the flight with much caution and care coupled with the support shoe and my walking stick.

We had a boutique hotel booked on the island of Koh Lanta. The hotel manager was a very friendly chap who loved to personally interact with the guests. The hotel’s small size gave him that freedom and opportunity.

He saw me limping with my walking stick and advised me to see a local healer who supposedly was quite good and used hot compresses to heal bone and muscle pains.

I made an appointment and went to see the old woman.

She massaged my injured right foot and applied a hot compress. Then she checked my left foot and started treating it as well.

I asked her if it was necessary to spend any time on the left foot. I thought that for all the money I paid, the injured foot should take full advantage of her time.

She replied, “Your left foot has been taking pressure for weeks while your right foot has been healing. It’s been taking most of the body’s weight so that the right one can heal. In the process, your left foot has become very stiff. It needs care too”.

My mind wandered. I silently smiled at the simple yet overlooked wisdom hidden in those words.

Think about all those occasions when someone took all the pressure so that you could take care of yourself or your affairs.

For many of us, it would be our parents.

My parents sacrificed countless desires so that me and my sisters could build ourselves up to be decent people in this world.

Parents, in most cases, are our eternal left foot.

Please do not take them for granted. Their silent support is eternal only till they are with us in this world. Thank them. Take good care of them within whatever limited means you may have.

There are other things, people, and beings who play the role of the left foot in our lives.

Many years back in France, when I was facing a personal problem, my manager, Laurent, allowed me to take leave beyond the maximum days. He never told me but I came to know from another colleague that Laurent faced a lot of heat from HR but he stood his ground and took on all the pressure so that I could sort out my issues and come back to the office in a better state. He proved to be a very strong left foot during my difficult time in a foreign land.

When I came out of India for my higher studies, amongst many challenges, I faced financial hurdles. My brother-in-law, Mitam da, came to my rescue.

Mitam da not only provided me with monetary help but also spent hours guiding me in my career despite being an extremely busy doctor.

(These above sentences can’t do justice to how this man helped me. Only a book can. He is a big reason behind the life that I am living today).

In 2018, I got the biggest scar of my life.

Mitam da had a heart attack and died at the young age of 50.

When I was helping my sister to take care of all the affairs after his death I came across papers which showed me that when he was monetarily supporting me, he himself was going through a difficult financial condition. His father got cancer and he had taken out a loan to treat him.

I was his wife’s brother. No one would have fallen off a chair had he told me he could not help me. But he did. Under pressure, against odds and invariably with words of encouragement. So that I could build myself up.

If anything I want you to take away from this piece, then it would be this.

Never forget those who have taken or are taking a good deal of pressure on themselves so that you can focus on your stuff. It’s easy to forget them once our struggle subsides. It’s easy to take them for granted. Almost unknowingly, we do that all the time.

It’s also not very easy to express our feelings to people.

I do not remember if I ever expressed to Mitam da how much thankful I was to him and that I would have stood by him at any point in his life if required.

Take good care of all the “left feet” of your life. Show them how precious they are to you. You need not move mountains to do that. It could be as simple as just checking on them sometimes or genuinely expressing that you are there for them.

And when seriously needed, let us be there for them.