Life and its twists have the potential to boggle the mind of the observant human watcher. Who sits next to you on the train and who do you encounter at a ticket counter? Who decides which queue moves faster and which cab you get into? Which movie director could plan for one’s sudden urge to eat gol-gappas which necessitates an encounter with the expert craftsman who prepares and sells them.
The meanderings of life are quite astonishing and entertaining if one views them that way. Who sits next to you on the train and who do you encounter at a ticket counter? Who decides which queue moves faster and which cab you get into? Which movie director could plan for one’s sudden urge to eat gol-gappas which necessitates an encounter with the expert craftsman who prepares and sells them. It could well have been the gentleman at the next seat who was your neighbour on the train, the clerk at the next ticket window, another taxi driver altogether or a gol-gappa man with a stall situated a furlong away from the one whose wares you actually savoured.
Life and its twists have the potential to boggle the mind of the observant human watcher. A conversation on a bus or a plane might just turn into a life-long friendship or even a marital liaison. The handsome lad ensconced at the opposite seat might catch the fancy of a lissome young lady and vice-versa, but neither of them are likely to speak to each other unless they are on adjacent seats. Even if they are seated in proximity, they might hesitate to initiate a conversation and might forever keep ruing their hesitation in having taken the plunge.
I often wonder at the probability of bumping into someone we know in a crowded marketplace or at an airport. Who exactly decides the exact timing of arrival at a motivational speaker’s session with first come, first served seating arrangements. One might be seated next to person X or Y or Z. One’s conversation with that person might depend on whether the motivational speaker is fantastic or pathetic. It might also depend on the weather, the time of the day or the political climate. All thoughts or words that come to us or emanate from us are dynamic, usually free flowing and unstructured in nature, unless one has an agenda.
The sheer serendipity of having come across a classmate from yore or even a former boss, at a largish social gathering leaves one wondering if one thinks that way. Why did that chance meeting not happen the previous month or the next year? What are the cosmic forces that control the uncontrollable maze of human experiences?
A school chum was standing at a kerb in a far-off land years ago and I happened to be alighting from the same cab! We met after years but not in the city where we both still live. Instead we met thousands of miles away in a distant land. Often in the movies they show two friends who crossed each other in close proximity, in a public place, but did not actually meet. This must be a frequent occurrence in our lives. Years may pass before the two of them meet again.
Those who travel or socialise more and also those who are in the public space, are of course likely to attract some of their tribe quite frequently. If our vibe attracts our tribe and the law of attraction is to be relied upon, then the chances of bumping into those whose thoughts align with ours are more.
Our institute faculties too potentially decide our life’s curves. Intuition is a faculty less developed in most people but some can actually refine it to understand life’s nuances a little better.
The unpredictable charm of life also manifests in our choosing one restaurant over another, one menu option over another and one table over another. It might even play out in major life happenings like the choice of a life partner or a career. The cosmic director is the one who probably knows what he is doing even if we are usually befuddled by the unendingly intricate complexities of life.
Why was one born in a particular family which lives in a city by the coast or far away? Why is one a good writer but not a good singer? The scriptures will mention karmic theories and they are probably right. But what we can choose to do is to accept our roles and try to play them well. In other words, we can ride the tide and go with the flow!
