Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Letting Things Happen

I realize lately that all the best things in my life so far have been those which happened to me. And which turned out to be the best. For my good. When I trace back to every good thing in my life, family, friends, education, career, my pet Leo, all of them happened to me. I know friends and family are never our choices :-). But I also know of few people in my life whom I wanted to be my friends forever, are not there anymore in my life. Is that a good thing, I do not know, but am thankful for those friends who happened to me and who are still in my life.

Choosing computer science as my major in my graduation happened to me. There were many people who opted out of it, during the recession period thinking that there is no future for computers. But am glad I landed in this field. The companies I worked or working for. Places I lived [ Oh yeah Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad & HSR Layout, Bangalore are my favorite places on earth, I would like to blog about this sometime soon]. Career moves that I made. All of it. Just happened for the best.

Studying abroad was my passionate dream. I did not even apply for any jobs after my graduation thinking that I am meant to be a student. But I have no regret at all for not doing MS. Likewise I can pick up so many best things in my life all of which are something that happened to me. Somehow "making things happen" pushed me farther away from the reality, while on the other hand "letting things happen" gave me a dream come true feel.

I am not sure if this is the right attitude to be leading a life. But I have my own theory. Very few things that I tried to make it happen, left me only with a huge disappointment, pain or regret. Regret to have even tried them in the first place. Trying to make things happen always involves fear, insecurity, worry that it might not happen. Murphy's law says anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. When you can make it happen, you may be proud for a while that you could do it, but it is not magical. It would not last a lifetime. Life is not about great things that you had but the magical moments that took your breath away. Things that bring a smile on your face, a perfect satisfaction that the journey was worthwhile.

On the other hand letting things happen needs a strong belief system. An unrelenting positive attitude to look forward to things, and always hope for the best to happen. This attitude makes you get along with life. Accepting things. And this makes you less frustrated, and gives a better understanding or clarity to your life. And when things happen the way you want it, its the most magical thing on earth. If they do not happen, you are already prepared for it. As you did not put in any efforts in the first place. This is not a giving up on life attitude. This is just accepting life the way it is. Bemusing, magical, thrilling, hopeful.

Can you look back at your life and count those magical moments that happened to you?

PS: I am a strong believer in logic and reasoning. I am still struggling between choosing "Make It Happen" and "Letting Things Happen". But if I had to look back in my life, I have been the happiest person when I let things happen. And the most magical moments were a result of this.

Touch Wood! :-))