How many times would you have heard and scoffed at the phrase that everyone is unique? You might not have, or if you have, be assured that you weren’t the only one. Sometimes what we call clichés are the simplest and most basic truths of our existence, and yet so many of us treat them as just age-old clichés. Have you ever asked yourself – “Do I feel unique? Do I experience others around me as unique? Do I feel that my own body is unique?” What would it mean to live life in a way where everyone is genuinely regarded as unique? Would it not break so many of our notions and beliefs, and create a world that is filled with understanding and compassion?

We are born unique – inside and out. Our cells, our genetic makeup and the physical manifestation – the body, are all distinctly different from others’. For example, physiologically one might expect the blood pressure to go up when one feels angry, but it is not true for all. The physiological responses are different for each individual and cannot be easily categorised. Similarly, each individual might experience similar emotions, but the cause for those emotions, the intensity, and the way they experience them would be different. One might react towards a challenging situation with fear, while others might feel excited, curious, angry, defeated or hopeful, and in return the body would experience an increased heart rate, a headache, increased or decreased appetite, and so on.

Have you ever met anyone with the same body as yours? Just as our bodies are unique on the outside, they are so on the inside too. You have probably noticed this. For some, a mere act of sleeping seems the hardest thing to do, and for others, they can just sleep anywhere, be it in a crowded bus or in a loud aeroplane. The way our bodies respond internally to illnesses and diseases is unique as well. While generic mechanisms are similar for all human beings, there are a lot of variations from one individual to another. For instance – for one individual, the rise in sugar levels could lead to pain in the knees and shooting up of Gamma hormones, however, for another person, increased sugar levels could make him hyperactive and lose balance both physically and mentally. During the Pandemic, it was seen that people experienced entirely different symptoms of Covid-19 – a seemingly strong body collapsed whereas a meagre frame had no symptoms at all.