Life's Sudden Surprises!

Sometimes, life throws sudden surprises at us. Not all of them are pleasant and there is an instant sense of disbelief when you encounter such a surprise. It may be a breach of trust, unfolding of a new episode in your life, or just a plan that didn't work despite the best of intentions. While some people find it easy to stay emotionally detached, for some others - acceptance takes time. Ironically, these surprises are thrown at us when we least expect them and are perhaps in a happy frame of mind. To be fair, that's the way it should be! Otherwise how do we appreciate the good phase and the rewards that life bestows upon us?

Moving on by accepting things as they come is perhaps the easiest way to stay happy. More often than not, it is a trivial incident, a comment made in the passing, or a silly misunderstanding that disrupts your thought process and changes your perspective towards life! And as you grow older, you feel that certain things do not matter at all. You get that little jolt when unpleasant surprises catch you off guard, but it doesn't shock you anymore! You may get hurt temporarily, but there's nothing that makes you want to do something to change it. I don't know if we call that maturity or compromise. Whatever it is, it happens with everyone.

At the end of the day, we have learned. The experience has made us stronger to face the next sudden surprise of life!

A Sparkle of Hope

There is always a sparkle of hope that keeps us going. Life would be nothing if it was not for hope. 

I came across an interesting tidbit on Mughal Emperor Akbar and his sharp-witted court advisor, Birbal. Akbar once asked Birbal to write something on the wall that would make a happy person sad and a sad person happy. Birbal wrote, "This too shall pass". When I read it, for a moment I was still. A happy person would 'hope' that moment continues till eternity and a sad person would 'hope' that good times will follow. Hope has this amazing capability to help us move on with life, regardless of circumstances, incidents, emotions, and changes. 

Towards the end of 2013 and at the dawn of 2014, I received terrible news from multiple quarters. I lost two dear friends and an adored relative. They left for a better world, but this was definitely not the age to go there! 

Towards the end of the January, I was reminded of the day my father left us to raise a toast with God. It has been 7 years now but it still seems that I spoke to him just yesterday. I have never written about him before. But today I am surprised by my ability to pen this down. He is my guardian angel and there is solace in the knowledge that he is happy with God. I am sure he has got a hoard of followers there with his incompatible ability to make people laugh and feel happy. And my doggies are also there with him, eating all those icecreams and chocolates that were forbidden. Ah, what a party they must be having! I know I will meet my father, my friends, and my beautiful doggies up there one day. So yet again, it is 'hope' that helps us to take baby steps when life seems futile.

On the career front, some of my friends have either turned entrepreneurs or have had glorious moments to celebrate at work. I know how hard they have worked and how long they have waited to see this day! They truly deserve this moment of celebration and I wish them all success in the years to come. Cheers!

On the personal front, two friends got married to each other :)). We couldn't be happier. I wish them a life overflowing with happiness in abundance.   

As we get ready for the upcoming months of 2014, I hope and pray that this year brings good health to everyone I know. 

I hope we have the strength to help people in need, the courage to stay honest to ourselves, the empathy to love animals as one of us, and the passion to follow our dreams.

Stay healthy and stay happy! God bless.