“When we give in to love, we take charge of our lives. When we give in to fear, we lose control of our lives. So do not fear but continue your journey and you will find your destiny.” At a very young age, when I feared venturing into the unexpected, a teacher had told me this. It helped me on a journey where I began to understand myself more and could spend the time when I had very few friends with great ease. But then as years went by, I began to understand the deeper meaning of this phrase.
The starkest
moment when this phrase became the tipping point in my life was in the early
2000s. I had been struggling to find a job. Many an interview had come and
gone. I was working hard, and I was persistent. Yet fear had started to get the
better of me; what if I had to return home…what if I had to lean on the family
to find a job…what if…My confidence had taken a beating and I was at the lowest
of the low points in my life. At that point in my life, I was the recipient of
the generosity of two friends who had kindly allowed me to share their living
space even though I could not contribute to the rent. Having grown up in an all
women house, this was a new situation for me and added to that was my job
situation. I was miserable and for the first time in my life I was not sure where
my dreams and heart had led me to. Maybe I was just being a romantic!
In a
tormented state of mind, I walked along the Thames, and stared across at the
lit Westminster. As dusk turned into night the reflections of the Parliament
suddenly made me remember what the teacher had told me long ago. It got me
thinking and I began to feel some pride. I had been brave to move to a
completely unknown country and work from scratch to find myself a job. Just as I
was starting to feel a bit worthy, L called. She was going to visit her mother
and I was free to stay at her apartment for the weekend. What a blessed
opportunity of privacy! I grabbed it with both hands!
I will
always be grateful to L for she was the third person to support me through that
tough period. Anyway, Friday evening I entered L’s cosy and warm apartment
intent on soaking in a hot bath. But as I started to run the bath I desperately
desired a book. That evening I just wanted to read and listen to music as I
pampered myself. Walking over to L’s bookshelf I came across The Alchemist, a
book that has been my go-to for almost ever now. I grabbed it and in the bath
opened it at random. As I read the words in front of me, I felt as if they were
meant only for me. The following is what I read, “before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World
tests everything that was learned along the way. It does not because it is evil,
but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve
learned as we’ve moved toward the dream. That’s the point at the which most people
give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one
dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon. Every
search begins with beginner’s luck. And evert search ends with the victor’s
being severely tested.”
Munching
my dinner of grilled halloumi and corn I remember feeling grateful for those
words to have appeared. I had given in to fears and had forgotten what it was
like to be open to love and opportunity. The following Monday I had the interview
which I converted into a job and as they say the rest is history.
But
why am I writing this today? Because I woke up with a feeling that the world is
becoming an unsafe, unhappy and intolerant place. What with the Copenhagen mall
shooting, the assassination of Padma Vibhushan Shinzo Abe, the Russia – Ukraine
war etc. The family health issues have been a nagging worry for some weeks now
and it seems that since Little Springsteen had his accident, health of family
members has needed attention. And then there are other issues that have been
simmering at the back. These past weeks, for all of the above reasons, have
been now I realise more focussed on my fears than the love and faith that has
always helped me navigate and find happiness.
The
most recent example is my strong belief that Little Springsteen would make it
back home. Yes there were many touch and go moments and there was all the agony
that my little angel went through. And yet he is home, now even writing with
his feet, already! His treatment is not over but this is the time for him to
gain strength and then we go to the prosthetics but what victory! He was in the
hospital for sixty days and of that forty in the ICU having undergone multiple
surgeries! But I was always confident he would make it and he did! So today I
am closing the doors on my fear and inviting my love and faith to guide me once
again. As said the Alchemist, “Everything is written in the Soul of the World and
there it will stay forever.”
