Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune
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0:19 - 0:22My story is different from most
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0:23 - 0:26because I had to undergo
a bone marrow transplant -
0:26 - 0:29when I was just six months old.
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0:30 - 0:34And now, I have pulmonary fibrosis,
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0:34 - 0:36which is a serious lung disease,
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0:36 - 0:40and my lung capacity is only 20%.
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0:41 - 0:45My name is Aisha Chaudhary,
and I'm 17 years old. -
0:46 - 0:52And today, I'd like to talk about
what really matters most to me in life. -
0:53 - 0:55Now, life can be tough
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0:55 - 0:59when every single breath
you take is a struggle -
1:00 - 1:02and the slightest infection
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1:02 - 1:07can cause a serious,
life-threatening exacerbation. -
1:07 - 1:11And the last one for me
was in November last year, -
1:11 - 1:16when I went from being able
to walk around freely and go to school -
1:17 - 1:19to suddenly being bedridden,
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1:19 - 1:24unable to turn over in bed
without getting out of breath. -
1:25 - 1:30And I must confess that I did wonder
if I was going to die. -
1:32 - 1:34And I would have sleepless nights,
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1:34 - 1:38just thinking, tossing, and turning
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1:38 - 1:42with this idea that soon I may be gone.
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1:44 - 1:51And if that's going to happen,
then what's the point of anything? -
1:52 - 1:57But then, it suddenly struck me
that I'm not really alone in all of this. -
1:58 - 2:04Is it not true that not just me
but all of us are going to die one day? -
2:05 - 2:09Yes, all of us are going to die.
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2:10 - 2:13I'd like you all to just
think about that for a moment. -
2:14 - 2:16In the next hundred years,
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2:16 - 2:19all of us sitting in this room today
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2:19 - 2:21will be gone,
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2:21 - 2:23just at different times -
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2:23 - 2:26some sooner than the others.
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2:27 - 2:30So then, if death is the ultimate truth,
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2:31 - 2:34what should really matter most in life?
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2:35 - 2:40I feel the only thing
that truly matters to me is being happy, -
2:41 - 2:44and happiness is a choice one makes.
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2:44 - 2:46It's simply an attitude.
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2:47 - 2:50I can either choose to be happy
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2:50 - 2:54and try to smile through
all of my difficult times, -
2:54 - 2:59or I can choose to be miserable
and get overwhelmed by it all. -
3:00 - 3:05Now it's not that by being miserable
I'm going to get any better. -
3:05 - 3:08So I may as well choose
to try and be happy. -
3:09 - 3:12And if I have to have pulmonary fibrosis,
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3:12 - 3:16I choose to have
a happy pulmonary fibrosis. -
3:18 - 3:20(Applause)
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3:23 - 3:29Now, I'd like to share with you
a few difficult moments in the recent past -
3:29 - 3:31where I've chosen to be happy.
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3:33 - 3:36This year, I was quite unwell,
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3:36 - 3:39and I had to undergo
several medical tests, -
3:40 - 3:43and one such test was a sleep study
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3:43 - 3:48done to check if my oxygen levels
were okay when I sleep. -
3:49 - 3:52And this picture was taken
just before the study. -
3:53 - 3:57And you can see that I'm almost trapped
in a bunch of wires, -
3:57 - 4:01some stuck to my face and some to my body,
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4:01 - 4:04to monitor my heart,
my brain and my breathing. -
4:06 - 4:09Despite all of this, I'm still smiling
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4:10 - 4:14because I refuse to let this illness
get the better of me. -
4:15 - 4:17I just won't let it.
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4:17 - 4:23And I chose to find humor in observing
the man who was doing my sleep study. -
4:24 - 4:25I couldn't help but laugh
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4:25 - 4:29at the way he would just put up
his own feet on my bed -
4:29 - 4:33and go off to sleep himself, snoring away.
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4:33 - 4:38And this, obviously,
made it difficult for me to sleep -
4:38 - 4:41and maybe that's why
my results were so bad. -
4:41 - 4:43(Laughter)
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4:43 - 4:46"How ridiculous," I thought to myself.
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4:47 - 4:52Later that month, my family and I
had to go to England -
4:52 - 4:54for a full medical check-up,
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4:55 - 4:59and the days were filled with long,
boring medical appointments, -
4:59 - 5:01talking about lung transplant
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5:01 - 5:05and what seemed
like endless amounts of tests. -
5:07 - 5:09This is a picture of my brother and I
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5:09 - 5:13just after I'd spent
one long day at the hospital. -
5:14 - 5:18But guess where we
were headed in this photo. -
5:18 - 5:21To see a Broadway show in London.
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5:22 - 5:23And it was fabulous.
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5:24 - 5:28I was able to put the trauma
of the day at the hospital behind me, -
5:29 - 5:34and I still managed
to find the will and the excitement -
5:34 - 5:35in going out for a play
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5:36 - 5:39and spending quality time with my brother.
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5:40 - 5:44I believe that it's important
to create many happy memories -
5:45 - 5:48so that we can try
to wipe out the sad ones. -
5:50 - 5:55After having quite an unpleasant summer
with all of these medical issues, -
5:56 - 6:00we decided to take
a family holiday to the Maldives, -
6:00 - 6:04and there was so much
to do in the Maldives, -
6:04 - 6:07but of course my health didn't permit me
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6:07 - 6:11to do a lot of the things
that I wanted to. -
6:12 - 6:15And one of the main activities
was snorkeling. -
6:16 - 6:18And I desperately wanted to try it,
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6:19 - 6:24but how could a person who has
difficulty breathing go snorkeling? -
6:25 - 6:29Well, in this picture,
you can see me in my snorkeling gear -
6:29 - 6:32right after I had popped
my head out of the water -
6:32 - 6:35after seeing the most beautiful,
vibrant colored fish. -
6:36 - 6:38Now, I'm not going to lie.
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6:38 - 6:44I did only dip my head in for a second,
but I did what I wanted to do. -
6:44 - 6:48And that moment for me
was worth everything, -
6:48 - 6:50and I felt extreme happiness
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6:50 - 6:53and was even surprised at myself
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6:53 - 6:58for doing something that everyone
wasn't sure was really possible. -
7:00 - 7:03So happiness is clearly
a choice one can make. -
7:03 - 7:09No matter what, no matter where,
you can find it if you look for it. -
7:10 - 7:12In fact, Tom Wilson once said,
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7:12 - 7:17"A smile is happiness you can find
right under your nose." -
7:19 - 7:24I feel that happiness
is also doing what you truly love, -
7:24 - 7:27and for me, my love is for art
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7:27 - 7:31simply because it allows me
to express myself -
7:31 - 7:34in such a beautiful and unique way.
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7:34 - 7:38As I dip my brush
in the vibrant colors of paint -
7:38 - 7:44and can almost feel the paint being
smeared on to the fabric of the canvas, -
7:45 - 7:47I tend to forget all of my worries
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7:47 - 7:51and the difficult situation
that I'm really in. -
7:53 - 7:55And art makes me happy
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7:55 - 7:58because it almost becomes
a whole other world -
7:58 - 8:02where I can escape,
at least for a little while. -
8:02 - 8:07And these days, my most favorite
subject to paint is dogs. -
8:08 - 8:11And now I'd like to introduce you
to my own two dogs. -
8:12 - 8:16Coby the labrador
and Rolo the black pug. -
8:16 - 8:20You can see who the dominant one is
in the relationship. -
8:21 - 8:26I find it so interesting
that even though they can't speak a word, -
8:26 - 8:30dogs can become
the closest thing to your heart, -
8:30 - 8:33your very best friend,
and your companion. -
8:34 - 8:37I love to observe them
and try to figure them out. -
8:38 - 8:40And I can't help but get inspired.
-
8:41 - 8:44Dogs are so similar to humans,
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8:44 - 8:50yet they carry qualities that we humans
struggle to achieve at times. -
8:50 - 8:54Dogs can find happiness
in the smallest of things. -
8:54 - 8:57Dogs are delighted with a walk,
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8:58 - 9:00ecstatic with a small treat
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9:00 - 9:04and in heaven when you tickle their belly.
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9:05 - 9:08Dogs truly mean the world to me.
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9:08 - 9:12And now I'd like to share with you
a few paintings that I've done recently, -
9:13 - 9:15which were inspired by these two guys.
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9:17 - 9:19The first one is of Coby,
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9:20 - 9:23and it's capturing a snapshot
of my everyday life. -
9:24 - 9:28Just lying on my bed, watching movies,
just as I love to do. -
9:31 - 9:34The next one
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9:34 - 9:39is inspired by my gorgeous pug, Rolo,
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9:39 - 9:43and the legendary rock band Guns N' Roses.
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9:45 - 9:52Now, all of this doesn't mean that life
is always one big song and dance. -
9:52 - 9:54It really isn't.
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9:54 - 9:59Of course, there are days
when I feel extremely down, -
9:59 - 10:05where I feel like simply curling up
into a ball and just giving up. -
10:06 - 10:12But the realization that things
could always be much, much worse -
10:12 - 10:18always pushes me to get back up on my feet
and put a smile on my face. -
10:19 - 10:21I could have easily been born
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10:21 - 10:26into a family that wasn't as loving
and caring as my own, -
10:26 - 10:29so I thank God for the family that I have.
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10:30 - 10:33And I know for a fact
that there are children out there -
10:34 - 10:37who are much less fortunate than I am.
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10:39 - 10:42And although I have this disease,
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10:42 - 10:46I'm still glad that I can walk around
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10:46 - 10:48and do what I love to do.
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10:49 - 10:52So happiness is an attitude.
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10:53 - 10:56Happiness is doing what you truly love,
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10:56 - 11:02and I feel that happiness
can only come from acceptance. -
11:02 - 11:07I accept who I am,
and I accept where I'm at, -
11:08 - 11:12and I accept the challenges
that I'm battling with today. -
11:12 - 11:15And I'm even more determined
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11:15 - 11:19to make the most
of this wonderful gift of life -
11:19 - 11:21that God has given me.
-
11:21 - 11:23Hans Anderson once said,
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11:24 - 11:25"Enjoy life.
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11:25 - 11:28There's plenty of time to be dead."
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11:29 - 11:33So I hope that all of you
enjoy your lives -
11:33 - 11:37with as much happiness
as you can possibly find. -
11:37 - 11:39Thank you for listening.
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11:39 - 11:41(Applause)
- Title:
- Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune
- Description:
-
Seventeen-year-old Aisha Chaudhary was born with an immune deficiency disorder and overcame a predicted life expectancy of only one year to have become an accomplished artist today. Despite a serious lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis, her persistent optimism, extraordinary maturity in the face of impossible odds, and calm perspective on life's challenges have been an inspiration to many.
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 11:52
Peter van de Ven approved English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Peter van de Ven edited English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Peter van de Ven edited English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Abdullah Sherif accepted English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Abdullah Sherif edited English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Abdullah Sherif edited English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Abdullah Sherif edited English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune | ||
Abdullah Sherif edited English subtitles for Being happy and living in the moment | Aisha Chaudhary | TEDxPune |