"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. ~Viktor Frankl. For a long time, my first response to difficulty was a single, aching question: 'Why me?' It surfaced whenever life took an unexpected turn—when plans collapsed, when effort didn't materialize, when circumstances felt unfair and overwhelming."
"I believed that if I could understand why something was happening, I would somehow fix the situation and regain control. That the answer would soften the blow. But it never did. One experience, in particular, changed my relationship with that question."
"After several tests, I was diagnosed with a condition called BIH—a neurological disorder characterized by high pressure in the brain, which pressed the optic nerve. If left untreated, it could lead to permanent blindness. I needed immediate hospitalization and complete rest. At a time when my career had just begun, I was being told to stop."
When facing life's difficulties, the instinct to ask 'why' often stems from a desire to understand and regain control. However, this question rarely provides comfort or solutions. A personal health crisis—a neurological disorder diagnosed in 2004 that threatened blindness—prompted a fundamental shift in perspective. Rather than seeking answers through karma, therapy, or spiritual explanations, the realization emerged that between any stimulus and response exists a space where personal power resides. This power lies not in understanding why something happened, but in consciously choosing how to respond to it. This distinction transforms suffering from an unanswerable puzzle into an opportunity for agency and growth.
Read at Tiny Buddha
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