The Universe is unfolding exactly as it should...

“Whether or Not it is clear to you, the Universe is unfolding exactly as it should” – Max Ehrmann

While I was growing up, every time we faced any challenge or any difficulty, my mother would always say “Everything happens for the best”. As a child I took great comfort in that way of thinking, as always after some time, things would come back to normal and we all would be happy again. But as I grew up I started becoming more and more cynical and felt that this was a fatalistic point of view. Ofcourse, everything turns out well in the end ..do we have a choice?  I thought…we humans are highly adaptable and as a survival strategy we look for the best in everything and try and be happy…. But does it mean that, that was the best thing to happen? I wondered. Little did I know that, what my Mom had shared with me, was such a profound truth….something which I probably needed to discover on my own.  And so as I grew up, I kept struggling between the ideas of going with the flow and being proactive. I wondered where one ended and where the other started…..…..

Sometimes it helps to reflect on our own life and how we ended up where we are and how it all panned out for us……When I was young I actually wanted to be a chef. I used to come back from school and watch this one cookery show from some culinary school in Switzerland which showed how to make perfect white risen meringues and such amazing stuff….I was so fascinated….I wanted to do just that. But my Dad was completely against me becoming a “cook” and thought that I would be cutting sacks of potatoes and onions for the rest of my life. ;) And in all fairness, I loved him just too much to put up any fight against him.

But what if I had fought with my father and taken that path? I would not have met all the wonderful people that I did…because they all already were on this other path. But the way things have unfolded….I landed up exactly where I was supposed to be….I met exactly all the people that I had to…Even if I tried to break away…..I was plonked right back in the thick of it…. How much of it did I control? Or was I going down a path which was already decided for me….Now if you ask me to rewind my life and take me to the point where I could choose to becoming a chef.. Would I take it? No, certainly not!! I may still take up a culinary course in future for the joy of it.. But no rewinding…..

The lesson that I learnt here is again listening to your heart... (somehow everything seems to boil down to that)...and understand its signals even when it is reluctant about something. There are so many people who actually do put up a fight for their chosen path. But I guess, I did not feel so strongly about the culinary path to put up a fight for it. Not because I did not have enough courage to fight with my Dad but my own inner conviction was not strong enough about it. Till a few months back even if I was offered an opportunity or any suggestions to enter the food industry, I would find myself being absolutely reluctant and finding some reason or another to not enter it. That’s the difference between our talents and our purpose also, I guess. Our purpose, when we finally discover it.. is something which makes us push all the boundaries and we stop caring about who thinks what…  But honestly, all this can be a bit confusing, yet fascinating and somehow seems to make sense only as an afterthought.  If I hadn’t gone through everything that I did I would not have been able to identify my purpose or atleast parts of it and reach this place in time at all…So everything unfolded exactly as it should have….

We tend to believe that we know precisely what we want and know how to get it and everything is in our control. And if somehow if it does not happen then we tend to blame ourselves that we fell short somewhere. But when we look back at our own life and think how much of what happened was totally in our own control given the available variables at that point…you’ll get your answer. I mean, we believe that we can actually control everything so much that we blame ourselves for every single thing. I remember sitting and wondering what did “I” do that I lost my parents. Did I not value them enough? Did I misuse their love in any way? Did I take them for granted? I mean seriously!! On top of that we are told we completely manifest our own reality…So I’m thinking did I create this reality for myself in any way?  Gosh!! Seriously!!

The Universe is unfolding exactly as it needs to… the earth, the planets, the sun, the moon, the plants, the animals, the birds….all function effortlessly as per its laws. Only we humans keep resisting this. Each and every person in our life was meant to meet us at the perfect time that we needed each other…Each and every experience came our way to help us towards our soul evolution…..our soul growth…Our own soul chose it that way…not necessarily because it wanted to but because it needed to ....in its own highest good. Sometimes it deliberately plans obstacles in our way so that we learn all the required lessons at a much faster rate. So what’s the point in resisting our lessons and then go back again and the regret about it. That would be totally self-defeating. What a waste of precious time…

Having said this, in no way does this mean that we become fatalistic and get complacent about life. I believe that we are co-creators with the universe, we need to do our part to our best without attachment to the results and then let the universe work its magic. That’s the unfolding part.  The sooner we soak this in, our journey becomes effortless and meaningful… We really have it much easy in our current times.... only a little patience will glide us through…..

So, Is it the end of where I am supposed to be? Nope.  And the goal is to work towards that and learn all the lessons that come our way gracefully….and develop greater faith. And how can one develop greater faith? I believe life itself is a great teacher and we can develop greater faith by looking back at our own life and reflecting on how it has panned out for us till now. And if it has unfolded in a certain manner till now, there is no reason why it should not unfold in future also. And if soul evolution is the ultimate purpose of our being….then the universe has to unfold accordingly. Not us, but the universe has no choice in that matter...

p.s.  : Saw the movie "Highway" this week...Absolutely amazing.. Its like reading a heart warming novel. An absolute must watch. ..If you are reading this kind of a blog.... I am sure you will love this movie...don't miss it!