The Purposefulness Behind Calamities - 2

In 2005, soon after Rafael Nadal had risen to world number two, he suffered an injury on a bone at the bridge of his foot. He was no longer able to play tennis. The injury was due a congenital defect in the tarsal scaphoid, and he (and his doctor) thought his tennis career was over. Nadal, who had hopes of winning the world's most prestigious tennis championship someday, was emotionally devastated. It took time and patience to figure out a solution (which is till today not a permanent solution), and to get back to professional tennis.

After this event in his life, Nadal had to change many things about the way he trained. And that, in turn, improved his game much more. “I am more measured; I economize more on my moments, and I have worked to improve my serve,” says the champion in his autobiography RAFA. Recovering from the setback, he went straight to the French Open in 2005, and beat Federer in the final.

The take-away from all this is that if you regard Nadal’s tarsal scaphoid injury as a mere setback of his life, you miss seeing how it actually matured his game further. The injury was actually a 'fortunate misfortune.' In 2008, he finally achieved the dream of his life - the Wimbledon championship title - after defeating Federer in five sets. The universe brings to you your wishes in ways you can not possibly imagine, provided you hold them in your head and heart long enough.

The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner


If there is a perfect live example of someone who lived every principle stated in Rhonda Byrne's book 'The Secret' without ever having read it, it is Christopher Gardner. The other perfect example is Shahrukh Khan, of course.

Accepted, I was motivated to read this book after having seen the movie by the same name. Like many other good movies made out of great books, reading this book created a movie in my mind that could not be compared to the original motion picture. This was surprising considering that Gardner is not a writer himself.

Now, how many people do you know who would give up a career they have invested in for more than a decade to take up something completely new? Takes guts to make this very unusual turn to pursue what seems like a wild dream. Gardner wasn't doing great in his earlier profession. He set his eyes on learning stock broking, and he started at zero salary just because he was getting to try his hand on it. Bit by bit, he mastered the subject over years, and did so well that he started his own firm Gardner Rich. His unflinching eye on the experience of affluence he wanted to have in the future - especially at a time when he was homeless and sleeping in lavatories at nights - is just so inspiring! When he was penniless, he could see the millions coming.

Poignant. Heart-rending!


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'Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Albom

'Tuesdays with Morrie' is an account of how Morrie lives his life after he discovers that he is going to die in a few years. It is a very "human" account of the insights he gains, how his philosophies take newer forms, and how he treats life from there onwards.

The book has the feel of a movie edited in a captivating manner. The sequence of events, the frequent flash-backs to school days with Morrie, the flow and the informal use of language - all of these give a dramatic feel. Once you start reading, the book takes over and you drift. It does not bore you even a wee bit as it connects instantly to the reader in a very human manner. Mitch does not try to talk from another world or from a different plane. He is very much as vulnerable as any other person – the difference being that he is at comfort with his personal vulnerabilities more than many others.

The most poignant moment is when Morrie is asked in an interview aired on TV: “Morrie, your mother passed away seventy years ago. You still feel the pain?” To this, Morrie replies, “You bet.” This brings out the fact that while most of us “block” our minds of past unpleasant experiences, Morrie was at ease with feeling grief. This is being human and accepting yourself as a human.

I had heard this somewhere: Earlier, people were loved and things were used. Now, things are loved and people are used. If that is true, then Morrie iss a relic of the past. He related to people in a very human fashion, and established a connection, an everlasting bond. In that, he was not a sociology professor just by the books; he lived it. He gave his fullest attention to whomever he was with, avoiding anything else that came his way - including calls from “important people”. He would listen to the person as if he or she is speaking to him for the last time.

Another stunning aspect of Morrie comes through in his answer to the question on how he would live his life if he were granted a wish to be perfectly healthy right now. He paints a very mundane, “average” type of a picture of how a perfect day in his life would be. He would take a walk in the park, watch nature, catch up with friends over meals, etc.

Simplicity.

Given a chance, I would like to make a movie on this book with perhaps Naseeruddin Shah or Anupam Kher as Morrie and Aamir Khan playing Mitch.

A Slow Awakening

kuchh kar guzar ne ko ...
khoon chala khoon chala ...

These are lines from a beautiful song from Rakeysh Mehra's amazingly inspirational movie 'Rang De Basanti'.

A time comes when your hunky-dory, relatively hassle-free life starts to go in a slow motion with you pondering. The things you had asked for at some level from the Existence do keep coming. Say, you had asked for a better job and you got it. You were peeved with a health problem and you found the solution. However,your comfort zones are now filled with more boredom. You want your work to fit in to a larger perspective that is building within you.

sawaalon ki ungli, jawaabon ki mutthi ...
sang lekar ...... khoon chala ...

You now aspire to create a new definition outside of the present limited sphere of your work. New thoughts, new attitude, and new values bring about a shift in your consciousness. You are in a space where you are not turbo-charged by any race, competition, or struggle to survive. Rather, you seek to create a newer “you” through the expression called work. Your work, your potential, your ‘burning flame’ are wasted if not utilized for a vision grander than that of the present.


galiyon se raston se ubharkar, umadkar
naye rang bhar ne ko khoon chala khoon chala

The book series Conversations With God asks you to evolve by challenging your own choices or versions of Who You Really Are.

Whatever one is doing, one should ask the question:
Does the work you do expand your consciousness? Does it fill you up with energy?

A Wednesday: A Thriller With A Message

A thriller with a message. That is what best describes the extremely fast-paced movie. No songs, no dances, no verbosity. Simply action. Even the dialogue sequences "appear as action" where there is no room for redundancy. This is the third off-beat thriller I have seen that had the ground slip from under my feet towards the end. The other two are the psycho-thriller 'Primal Fear' and the bank robbery drama 'Ankhen'. However, none of them carried a social message.

'A Wednesday' is a hard-hitter - on both terrorism and our own so-called counter-intelligence. A common man using his common intelligence (and uncommon wrath) has the city on his fingertips. And has the police held hostage to kill four die-hard terrorists. Why? Because he wants to prove a point. Because he is scared to go out on the street, or on the bus, or on the local train lest there be a bomb planted there. Because he lost a young gentleman who used to greet him in the train he would take everyday. Because he wanted to prove that foiling the terrorists' plans or nabbing them does not require some supernatural "intelligence".

The movie voices the suppressed anger, fear, and hurt of the "people on the streets" who fell victims to the Mumbai bomb blasts. Mind-blowingly enough.

The Purposefulness Behind Calamities

There exists no such thing as calamity. Flash back in to your life’s sequence of events. What looked like calamity to you at some point propelled you to reach a particular stage, or grasp some learning. Calamities or “strong events” that stir you up are “designed” to stir you up from stubborn resistance and slumber, and to make you acknowledge that you need a new take or turn in life. Be it loss of a loved one, drowning of your investments in the markets, or having to relocate to a different place - it is all purposely placed in the odyssey of your life. So when “calamity” falls on you, keenly observe what purpose it may possibly have had, where it is taking you, and what is happening inside you due to the event. Also note that it may not have come unannounced and all of a sudden. Telltale events signaling its arrival often occur but you may not be intuitively tuned to receive their message. However, trust that out of it you will emerge in to something you will appreciate. Every situation is carefully levied upon you. You are always taken care of.

First Fill Your Cuppa

Building a beautiful relationship may sometimes require a lot of effort. Here you are stepping in to another person’ shoes, resolving differences using a lot of communication, and making sure that any free, tattered ends are secured in tight, well-knit knots. While the effort may be really worth it because you immensely love the other person, the process may leave you drained. It is natural. Any activity with a significant amount of work takes up your energy.

When you are drained out, you can not be yourself. When you can not be yourself, how can you bring yourself to the relationship? This is the time that you fill your own cuppa. Meditate, read, play, work, or simply sit with her, holding hands and watching a movie. Just give enough time till the cuppa is filled up again. And that is the time to again go back to each other and fill each other’s cuppa. This will make you bring even more creativity to your most desirable relationship because you are a renewed self now.

The purpose of a relationship is spiritual guidance, to make you return to your Self; to make you see you in your original light. It is in the process of relating to the other that you return to the source - and that is you.