36: Power of the Mind

It was 1st Dec 2019 and as always, the Christmas season glided into our hearts and minds. Following my ritual every December, I decided to take stock on the progress of my current year’s resolutions. While taking stock, my mind shifted into the new resolutions I had to make. Ironically, the majority of the resolutions remained the same, except for a few. 

Christmas week soon followed. This Christmas was different from the previous ones. There was a certain emptiness about this one. I thought for a while and realized the emptiness was created by the absence of our children, amplified more by the festive week.

Fortunately, we had a family get together planned for the following week, that was the first week of Jan 2020. Like every new year, this new year too brought in a lot of energy and prospects of a better tomorrow.  We had planned for a British vacation along with our children, that included a short road trip across the Scottish Highlands. The road trip was truly memorable, filled with its own excitements and anxious moments.

Returning to our base station in Dubai, the buzz around the pandemic grew stronger and stronger with each week. The pandemic was spreading at an unprecedented rate across different geographies. This included people being physically displaced, losing their jobs and livelihoods, with no prior warnings. Due to the uncertainties around all international travel, my planned visit to meet my aged parents in India got differed.

The fast-growing pandemic pushed the globe into a lockdown and along with it a gigantic shift in our lifestyles. Each day was a test of an individual’s perseverance and sanity. Including a test to make sure we stayed covid negative and dreading the day if it was the other way. 

Few months into the pandemic a close friend in Dubai was tested positive. He was vulnerable as he was a Doctor. Unfortunately for him he came into direct contact with an international traveler, who later tested positive for covid-19. From showing early symptoms, to his rapidly deteriorating health conditions, they seemed little hope of his recovery, given the inadequate knowledge of treating this pandemic. His mind played games with him, bringing back childhood memories and his unaccomplished dreams. His mind soon concluded that one thing was certain, he was placed on this earth to complete his unfulfilled dreams. His intense inner desire to achieve this made him consciously fight back. This fight back subconsciously developed the necessary antibodies to fight the virus and his body soon began to respond positively.

The three weeks of hospitalization ended being a life changer for him. During this time, he discovered not only himself but also his life purpose. Incredibly enough he carried on his fight to regain full fitness and go well beyond his previous fitness levels. Early in 2021, he completed both the 5K and 10K marathon, and is now well and truly on his path towards achieving higher fulfillment.

Following my friend’s experience and another two months into the pandemic, the most dreadful news came in. My father had shown symptoms of COVID-19 and within days his oxygen levels began to drop below 90. With the help of a family friend and God’s blessings, we managed to secure a hospital bed to commence his treatment. I garnered the strength to leave my family behind in Dubai and travelled down to India, to support my parents and give them the much-needed comfort that I was around them.

I witnessed a new level of true love. All through my father’s hospital stay, my mother slept in the same room along with my father, inside the covid ward for seventeen days. She did this to give him hope and get him to believe that he would fully recover, only if he stayed positive and focused on the outcome. My first visit to the covid ward was filled with mixed emotions. For 6 months since the pandemic started, I had religiously isolated myself, stayed away from crowded areas and followed all hygiene rules. And here I was walking into a covid ward not knowing what to expect next. I experienced feelings of fear, hopelessness, despair, love, sadness, anger, and frustration; yet my mind was programed to focus on doing what was required to help my father recover and get him discharged from the hospital

The month-long hospital experience was nerve-wracking yet miraculous. Miraculous because my father survived the COVID despite being over 80 years old, my mother tested negative despite living in the covid ward while being a stage four C-Patient survivor and I tested negative despite visiting the covid ward daily for over a week. To top it up the taxi driver who regularly chauffeured my mother, when others would not dare, also tested negative. He came in as a “God sent angel” doing more than what was asked of him. I always believed in miracles but this one was unique as it involved not one but many lives!

These experiences taught me a few lessons that I believe are worthwhile in sharing:

1. The mind is far greater than we think it is. No matter what your situation, if your mind is determined and focused, you will eventually win.
2. The power of love has no limitations. Love gets redefined every day and in many ways. Love can cure almost anything. Be generous to love and remain humble to be loved.
3. Have faith in the Almighty. Believe in yourself for the Almighty to believe in you.

Stay Safe! Stay Healthy!

Stephen Fernandes

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