The meaning of duty is not sacrifice

It was a bright sunny day and as usual i was ready at my  table waiting for my client who had taken an appointment the previous day. At 11 a.m a tall and fair women with a little plump figure,came sporting a little smile that the tender leaves would feel when the first drop of rain falls on it, her eyes with a little dark circles held secrets as deep as the sea and as she sat before me placing a small peice of paper with her date and time of birth. i watched her with not much curiosity and fixed my glance to her horoscope details.

                             

                                After studying her chart, I lifted my eyes and saw a face swelled like a rising sun and waiting to burst into flames.....There was anger,fear,frustration and emotion all put in together in a young women called merlyn. I looked into her moist eyes and asked her just one question "How many times did you think of a divorce"? she looked at me unbelievably and trying hard to not break down said ,"many times",  then making her feel comfortable  i lend my ears and gave  her the space to open up from the bottom of her heart. Merlyn had two beautiful sons and her life had to be a happy one with her little family of four. Being a graduate and possessing a job. she as a wife was lending a helping hand to her husband financially. life could have been a bed of rose had she a partner who had a little love or condsideration for her. but In her 10 years of marriage she had been subject to so much of this mans uncontrollable anger and unbearable abusive words that many times she thought of putting a full-stop to her married life, but her decision of a divorcee or giving a more tragic end to her marital life was diverted when the innocent faces of her kids overtook her mind.She was in these ten years trying to figure out what a happy married life meant, she was lost in a world fighting all odds and still balancing her mind, heart, soul and physic with an imbalanced life- just for the sake of her two sons whom she wanted to raise giving them the love and care of both parents under one roof  and  wanting them to grow with a strong family foundation..

                                       I was greatly inspired by merlyn`s bold decision, which inspite of all the trauma she was undergoing kept her undettered for the single goal. ,But i didnt want her to reduce herself to an unvaluable commodity who was never given the justice of a wife or the respect of her motherhood. I wanted to awaken her from that  vacant depth and fill in her the urge to live for herself, her desires,her rights and joy. I thought the need of the hour was some motivatonal words rather than anything soothing and heart-warming.because that would make her more emotional. I told her we are just instruments of a pre-destined life, and our lives though are duty bound should never be compromised at the cost of our happiness. secondly when you do your duty never  think of the fruit, and dont let your destiny gaze at you and laugh instead  cut all those emotions with the sword of your desires,passions and rights. At the end of my counselling session,as  she rose i felt like her face was lighted with a glow that she had lost long before, she stood before me in the present  and rose from her past and a great  hope of the future sparkled in her eyes. shedding all her negative thoughts, feelings,sorrows and  emotions just as a snake sheds it old and dull skin for a new and shinny one merlyn walked towards the door..I was so moved that unkowingly a proud drop of tear fell  from my overwhelmed eyes on the peice of paper merlyn had left along with the  guru-dakshina she placed with immense gratitude.