"use the force, Luke"

My husband must be one of the biggest fans of The Star Wars movies.  It seems like he has memorized quite a few dialogues from the movies.  One of my most favorite lines that he uses with me is "use the force".

 When it comes to my husband, I think that I sometimes misuse the line "I cannot move because I am hurting too much".  We had just gotten married and we both were lying down.  And the remote was beyond our reach.  For a very good  reason, like pain or simple laziness, I asked him to get the remote.  It just so happened that he was having one of those lazy moments also.  So, he just kept staring at the remote. After watching this for few minutes, I asked him what he was doing.  And he simply said that can't you see I am trying to use the force!  Initially I was surprised then I started to appreciate the humor in it.

One day, I was in a lot of pain and having really hard time moving.  Normally I do not keep any phone in my bedroom, but that day one of the cordless phones was left in the room.  As I was trying really hard to fall asleep so I could get a little break from my pain, the phone started to ring.  It just so happened that it was my very persistent mother who was calling me.  So when I did not pick up the phone the first time, she proceeded to call me few more times.  As I was lying down and looking at that phone ring over and over again, "use the force" concept popped in my head.  I was so desperate that I even gave it a try.  To my surprise, I found out that like my husband, I did not have Luke's powers either.

The phone was irritating me so much that I forced myself to get up and answer the phone.  Latter that day a thought came to me, I was not able to use the force Luke used in the Star Wars movies but I did use some other force.  I started to wonder what it was that made it possible for me to get the phone even though my mind was telling me that I can not move.

It was sheer will power!  It was so liberating to know that no matter how bad the pain got, with my will power, I could still be the boss of me and not my pain.  Since that day my will power has been a good and bad friend for me.  Like any other kind of power, if misused, it lets you know it in a not so kind language.  When I used my will power a little too much to get my things done, I was bedridden with pain for the next few days.  But for the most part, it has helped me keep my sanity.  It helped me in keeping my independence to some extent at least.  No matter what kind of day I was having, it allowed me to present myself to the world in a pleasant manor.  Most importantly it did not allow my pain to take away my smile.