The Forest of Enchantments

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

even the strongest intellect may be weakened by love. This struck me as paradoxical. Shouldn’t love make us more courageous? More determined to live according to our principles?

‘You’ve allowed me to learn to heal both plants and humans. You’ve inspired me to be kind and courageous. To not tolerate wrongdoing. I’d rather live my life by these strategies than any other.’

Draw on your inner strength. Remember, you can be your own worst enemy—or your best friend. It’s up to you. And also this: what you can’t change, you must endure.’ Urmila continued weeping, but I stopped and stared at my mother. She stood tall and regal, suddenly unfamiliar, like a queen out of a tale, and looked at me gravely. I knew it was mostly to me that she’d spoken. Endure. A word solid as a tree trunk. A good word upon which to build a life, I thought. I would learn it, and it would help me through dark times.

This incident taught me that the more love we distribute, the more it grows, coming back to us from unexpected sources. And its corollary: when we demand love, believing it to be our right, it shrivels, leaving only resentment behind.

Even if we love them with our entire being, even if we’re willing to commit the most heinous sin for their well-being. We must understand and respect the values that drive them. We must want what they want, not what we want for them.