Pain and Sculpture

Pain and Sculpture

Hello everyone. It has been a long time since I posted something on my blog. I  was seeking for motivation to write something. I have been through more than 50 documentaries during the past 2 months trying to find any kind of inspiration that I usually tend to.  I was watching a famous event for the automotive world called GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED. It is an annual event where different kinds of cars are showcased and run over a hill climb course. The cars date back as long as 1903 to the future autonomous race cars.

While I was watching these cars go up the hill, there was this small Formula 3 car by Billy Monger. Looking at the car you wouldn't know what the story of this kid is unless you are into motorsports. Formula 1 had its fair bit of safety record after the death of the famous Ayrton Senna on the 1st of May 1994. Until 2014, there were no fatalities because of accidents on the track. In 2014 Jules Bianchi crashed into a crane that was clearing out another crashed car. He fought for his life for another year before he perished. 3 years ago on this day, he was announced dead. R.I.P Jules. 

Billy Monger racing up the Goodwood Hill Climb

Coming back to Billy Monger, he is a 19-year-old who was thriving in the lower divisions of motorsports until the day which changed his life. He met with a dangerous accident on track during his Formula 4 race at Donnington Park on the 16th of April 2017. He had crashed into a stationary car at speeds over 120kmph. He suffered severe injuries and they had to amputate both of his legs. The key senses for a race car driver are said to be in the right foot that controls the throttle and brakes. Having lost both his legs did not stop him from achieving his dreams. By February 2018, he was into testing a formula 3 car that was tailored to his needs with the throttle and brake now mounted on the steering wheel. 

Another instance that I personally get inspired from in motorsport is that of world champion Niki Lauda. People who have watched the movie RUSH might already know his story. This was during the mid-1970s. On the 1st of August 1976, Niki Lauda met with a crash on the infamous Nurburgring track. He had severe burns on his body because of the fire that started due to the crash. I would encourage you to watch the movie which shows his struggles in a very heart-wrenching way. He returned back to racing just 6 weeks after his crash only because he wanted to win the world championship that season. His zeal to win drove him but the fears in his mind led him to retire in his last race of that season. Though he lost the championship with just 1 point that season he went on to win 2 more world championships later. 

Former F1 World Champion Niki Lauda

So why am I talking about such incidents in this post? 

The common thing was, though they were hurt physically and mentally, they still got back up to fight for what they loved, what they dreamed of, and what they aspire for. Many of us are put through harsh times, yet we need to strive to fulfill our goals. Another reference of a great speech by one of my favorite monks Gaur Gopal Das talks about being hurt. The video gives an example of a museum that has marble tiles and the attraction was a marble sculpture. People all over the world come to see and appreciate the sculpture but no one would give thought to the tiles. When asked for a reason as to why this was the case, the sculpture says " I was bold enough to take the pain of the power tools on me, and I did not give up and it turned me out into a beautiful sculpture. Whereas you started giving up at the starting and the sculptor couldn't work on you anymore and hence you were made to be a tile". 

The story of the two motorsport drivers is similar to this. They endured the pain they were put through and it shaped them to become great sculptures. Inspiring others with their story. The more pain we feel, bear in mind that the more beautiful of a sculpture we are going to be. Giving up is just the starting to be put into the herd of sheep. We need to learn to endure pain to be different, stand out, inspire others, and get back up and fight that pain, cause once we win the fight, the trophy of it would be something we would never regret about. 

There are many more inspiring stories like these around the world. But we need to acknowledge the fact that not all human beings are the same. It is okay to not take the pain, at times we might even feel that we have been bearing this pain for too long, and some people may overcome the pain in just a matter of seconds. For every individual it is different. Get motivated to fight, the longer you are in this fight, the stronger a person you would turn out to be.

-Sushant Thotakura