The God Of Small Things

 

What is your outlook towards the things that happen to you in life? Do you think you could have changed the outcomes if you had modified the circumstances? Or do you think everything happens for a reason and embrace it?

 I always wanted to be an engineer like my Dad. My Dad never forced me to be an engineer, it was entirely my decision. I never even gave it a second thought. But then, a few days before the college admission process started, I met this young lady in my music class who was an Ayurvedic physician . One day she had rescheduled her class right before my class for some reason, and my music teacher introduced me to her, and I talked to her for no more than three minutes. But there was something about her that intrigued me so much that I changed my mind after meeting her and decided I want to be an Ayurvedic physician. I don't remember her name, I never even met her after that, but she changed the entire course of my life. You would think it is stupid to make such major decision based on such trivial incident. I also thought about the same thing. What if I regret my decision later? But the intuition that she brought in me was so strong it was impossible for me to ignore it. That intuition kept telling me that is what I am meant to do and it is best for me. So I went for it. Did I ever regret it? No. Not even once. I am so grateful to her for igniting that intuition in me.To this day, I believe this is what I was meant to be.

Another example, I always wanted to go to N.M. High school for my science stream. During those days, there were only two science high schools in my neighborhood. Another one was H.H. Patel high school. My Dad filled out the application for admission, and on the list of schools of my choice, he randomly put H.H. Patel as the first choice and N.M. as a second choice. You know where this is going. I got admission in H.H. I was so upset with my Dad. I hated that school. All my friends went to N.M. And at this new school, I couldn't make any new friends. However, this is the place where I met my husband. He was my classmate and we eventually ended up getting married thirteen years after the day I got admission in H.H., just because my Dad wrote H.H. as the first choice, instead of N.M.

There is another major story that took place because of this small screw up but I will leave it for another day. Let's just say it's also responsible for the fact that I came to America.

It is amazing to see such trivial things play such big role in your life. I can recall many examples like this. All the big things that happened in my life started with something very trivial. This makes me realize that everything happens for a reason and if you are wise enough, you can convert it into a good reason. So now, I don't complain if things don't go according to my plan (for the most part). Even if I can't see anything positive about it right now, I know it holds something very important and positive for my future.

That's why when I heard Steve Jobs commencement speech a few years ago, I felt as if he was speaking my mind. When he said- "you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."- I knew exactly what he was talking about. 

Life is so much more mysterious than I can ever figure out. And that's the best part about being alive.