Life is Beautiful | Flash Post 355

Button, when we first got Messi home no bigger than a rat, his favourite hide-out used to be behind the backrest of our king-sized bed where he would huddle up in a foetal position and fall asleep instantly. There was no way we could reach him and he knew that and would emerge as suddenly as he had slipped in.

I distinctly remember this because you had, out of ignorance, left him there and gone out and, when you got back after a couple of hours, found him lying on your bed on his back, the underside of his belly exposed and purring away, total blissful and dead to the world.

Now that he is much bigger, it’s become difficult for him to slip in and out with as much ease. I found him squeezing his body out from behind our bed only yesterday with great difficulty. He toppled several tiny items on Dost’s side table, startling him in the process and waking him up from his slumber.

I find he’s captured the hearts and minds of each and every family member. Even chotididi who doesn’t fawn over our pets, loves ragging him and feels protective towards him.

Seeing Messi straining to rise from behind the bed reminded me of the phrase “rise like a phoenix”.

What does that mean?

To “rise like a phoenix” from the ashes means to emerge from a catastrophe stronger, smarter and more powerful. This can be likened to someone who builds a new house after his previous house has been destroyed in a tornado. Or, closer home, to someone who has been through the throes of depression to rise stronger, more confident and eager to live the rest of her life with positivity and hope. There’s a mythological angle to this as well which I will now tell you.

Please.

The phoenix bird is a mythical bird from Greek mythology. It was a feathered creature of great size with talons and wings, it’s plumage radiant and beautiful. The phoenix lived for 500 years before it built its own funeral pyre, burst into flames and died. Soon after, it rose out of the ashes, in a transformation from death to life. This mythical story of being born again predates the story of the phoenix rising from the ashes.

Is phoenix spelt with a lowercase?

That’s an interesting observation because when it’s spelt with a capital “P”, it relates to the name of a city in Arizona in the US of A.

10 Comments

Zarina Mistry March 30, 2019 at 12:24 pm

Which means ma’am that even you have risen like a phoenix given how you have dealt with your depression..

Reply
- author April 1, 2019 at 12:10 pm
  
  My dear Zarine,
  
  Of course I have and with the help of all my readers who stood like a rock beside me through my difficult days.
  
  How can I thank you enough?
  
  Reply
wrushali March 30, 2019 at 12:27 pm

Lovely image author…and I have a cat too…they are low maintainance creatures and therefore very easy to manage. We don’t have a full time staff so even when we go out, we are very comfortable leaving him by himself. Most times we come home and see him lying exactly where he was when we left him..

Reply
- author April 1, 2019 at 12:21 pm
  
  My dear Wrushali,
  
  Cats are no hassle at all and very low on maintenance. They eat when hungry, clean themselves when necessary, play when they need some exercise. In fact, they keep us entertained with their antics. Our cat, Messi, is fascinated by the sound of wrapping paper being removed from a sweet or chocolate. You just have to drop the wrapper on the floor and he plays with it for hours, hitting it from one end of the hall to the other. That’s why we called him Messi.
  
  Reply
farhad walia March 30, 2019 at 12:44 pm

My brother is a phoenix in every sense…he lost his wife to cancer last year and ever since then, he has had to take care of the house, the kids all on his own..he has his own import business which also he has to look after…I try and help him any which way I can but he insists on doing it all by himself. he hasn’t even grieved yet..i worry for him.

Reply
- author April 1, 2019 at 12:24 pm
  
  My dear Farhad,
  
  That’s great. He is obviously a strong guy but he must also vent. Venting will give him a sense of relief and allow him to get a hold of things which he is blindly carrying out at this stage.
  
  Please tell him about us and tell him that our community is with him all the way.
  
  Reply
Meet Shah April 2, 2019 at 2:29 pm

The story of your brother is very inspiring Farhad…my grandmother lost my grandfather very early into their marriage…she single handedly raised by father and his 3 brothers…and I’m talking almost 70-80 years ago. She just past away last month. Her story of making money through running a tiny shop which sold snacks on the street in Lucknow to raising and educating her sons and getting them married…is as inspiring as the story of the phonenix…she is my phoenix.

Reply
- author May 5, 2019 at 2:42 am
  
  My dear Meet,
  
  These are the real super women. Women who go out there and face the toughest of challenges and emerge winners.
  
  Reply
Bianca Gomes April 2, 2019 at 2:33 pm

Jesus has given all of us the strength to be beaten down by life but to be born again. All of us can do it with the support and love of one’s family and friends and with one’s own determination. I believe in this Greek mythology one hundred percent. Never give up people!

Reply
- author May 5, 2019 at 2:50 am
  
  My dear Bianca,
  
  Never give up: That’s the motto.
  
  Remember the story of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland who lost battle after battle and went into battle again after seeing a tiny spider slipping after a million attempts to climb up a wall and finally making it? The king too won the battle finally.
  
  Reply