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Chiquitita’s Sorrows



It is not always the villains out there that bring us our sorrows. Quite many of our sorrows are our own creations.

Back in the 1970s the illustrious pop group, ABBA, sang about Chiquitita’s sorrows. “You’re enchained by your own sorrow,” the song went. Chiquitita was always sure of herself. But now she is a broken person. The song counsels Chiquitita to accept life’s inevitable heartaches and the scars left by them. She should dance again as she used to do and the pain will end.

Chiquitita dear,

It aches my heart to see you depressed especially because you are a buoyant personality by nature. You liked to fly like the butterfly savouring the honey in each flower on the way. And you thought that you were entitled to all the honey in flowers. You seemed to assume that the flowers secreted honey just for you.

You were the centre of the universe in your own weltanschauung. Ah, that’s a big word I have used. I don’t like big words. But you do. You did, at least. You loved all the big things in life. Big words and big theories. They made you feel great. Live life queen-size was your motto. You were a queen, no doubt. People showed deference to you. Do you know why they did that, however? You deluded yourself into thinking that you were as great as you pretended to be and others granted you to be. It was just pretence both ways. Self-delusion on your part and condescension on theirs.

You were intelligent enough to know all that. Yet you chose to be blind to the reality. Rather, it was not your choice. You were rendered helpless by your self-loathing. You hated yourself for I know not what. You are intelligent, more so than most people I know. You are pretty and any man would turn his gaze once more to look at you. You sing like an impassioned rebel and dance like a whirling dervish. Yet you loathed yourself for I know not what.

You were discontented. With yourself and the world around you. You thought the other people as silly creatures who did nothing more than eat, mate, and sleep. You hated life for its inevitable filth. You couldn’t accept even the sweat and shit of human beings, let alone their greed and envy and lust and all that stuff which make up the creatures called homo sapiens. You held yourself and others in a divine contempt.

You thought you deserved to be a goddess.

Now you are a broken person. The bubble of greatness that you had blown up around you has crumbled. You see how commonplace a person you are. Just another Mary, Rita, or Samantha. You will learn to accept yourself, Chiquitita, dear, as you are. You will then see your real beauty. And you will love it too.

You will turn your attention from yourself to the world outside. You will admire the beauty of the flowers as they offer their honey to you in celestial chalices. You will add a new music to the caressing breeze and the rippling stream. You will sing once more like you never did before. Your new dance will mesmerise the best among the dervishes.

You have learnt to own your feelings. You have learnt not to blame others for whatever has happened though they all have their own roles in the catastrophe that befell you. It’s no use blaming others or even yourself. Blaming never achieves anything. You need to own up and take charge of yourself. Take responsibility for what has happened. And move on. Act and not regret. Sing and dance.

Your song doesn’t have to be perfect. Nor your dance. Let the song jar at times as it will. Let the dance wobble. Sing you must and dance you must. You are your song, Chiquitita. Your are your dance. How can you be not yourself?

 

PS. You can listen to ABBA’s Chiquitita song here.

 

PPS. This is powered by Blogchatter’s #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge.

Read the previous chapters of this endeavour:

A for Absurdity

B for Bandwagon Effect

Coming up on Monday: D for Delusions

 

Comments

  1. I have mixed feelings about this song - trust me, I love the number itself. I sadly also have horrifying memories of making a fool of myself singing this in school totally off-key for our group song... oh, the embarrassment.

    It remains such a melodious tune though. And the lyrics do have a strong impact on your heart, especially when you're down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has continued to be one of my fav songs. Last whole year it was the ringtone of my phone. I would have continued to keep it unless other people were not getting tired of it!

      Chiquitita is me to some extent.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful and endearing post. I especially loved the last paragraph.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're chained by your own sorrow. Sigh. Such words of wisdom. And since I have read Hamlet, I have constantly thought about how we are never taught to handle our grief.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed handling our grief is an art which some never learn. Hamlet is an apt example.

      Delete
  4. Let the song jar for once and let the dance wobble... Nothing needs to be perfect... Neither she nor the world outside... Nor the pretence nor the acceptance. And once she reaches there... She will find life easy to live without loathing any bit of it. Beautiful post Sir.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an absolutely mesmerizing post sir. This has been a favourite song and I still listen to it often. Your post did absolute justice to the spirit of the song.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a ton. The song remains one of my favs too.

      Delete
  6. This post was such a such a powerful message, to own up oneself with all flaws and hinderances. " You are chained by your own sorrow" surely resonated very personally. Loved the song as well. Thank you for sharing this with us Sir.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a song that has stayed with me for decades. Though I have come to terms with my personal catastrophes, Chiquitita still consoles me.

      Delete

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