The wonder of it all....

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The Air Show on Sunday left me speechless for a while. It was worth standing in the blazing sun, trying to find a spot with some shade (Marine Drive has far too little trees!). Watched with goosebumps the dazzling display. It was worth every minute. The sight of those planes taking off vertically, doing somersaults, slowing down to a crawl mid-air when they are capable of breaking the sound barrier...... this is not a day I'm going to forget soon....

A Sukhoi now gracefully takes off from my desktop - a reminder of what we are capable of creating. And of what we can become if we take the risk of stepping beyond boundaries that other people set for us.

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I'm going to stop questioning the coincidences in my life, attribute it all to a Plan that's tailor made for me and get on with Life.

Just finished reading "Pour your heart into it : How Starbucks built a company one cup at a time" by Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks. I picked this book at random from the office library. And knew from the moment that I went through the Prologue, that it was a good choice. This book is an excellent read for those who have dreams of starting something on their own. It is an inspiration for idealists like me who dream big, but are often clueless about where to start. The story of Starbucks and how it went from one store to over 1600 stores selling not just specialty coffee but the "romance of coffee" makes one believe that it is possible to make your dream come true - no matter how wild or outlandish it may sound right now.

Life, I believe, gives us signs all the time. Once we open our eyes and notice a few, we realize that they (the signs) are there everywhere. Call them coincidence, fate, destiny, whatever. They're there for a reason. You 'bring' people into your life for a reason. You pick a book because there's something in it that you need to read. You make your 'mistakes' because there's a lesson to be learned along the way. It is You who determine how people react and respond to you. There's a reason why you are who you are. And if you can figure that out, you can determine the person you will be.

Ok, now I'm talking rubbish :)

(But the book is recommended reading for anybody with a dream, who wants to start off on their own.)
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Talking about coincidences, let me tell you about a Big one. About 3 years ago, in October, I was on my way back to Mumbai after finishing a rigorous 10 day Vipassana course. I was on my own at Igatpuri Station waiting for the next train to Mumbai. The 10 day course had taken it's toll on me, physically and mentally. I was exhausted, trying to deal with the mind and it's complexity. Ten days of complete silence, withdrawn from the world, a drastic change in food (last meal of the day is at 12 noon!) had left me quieter, thinner and perhaps tired. Strangely enough, I felt at the top of the world at that time. A burden had been lifted by day five and I felt a hundred kilos lighter. It's an experience that I was already looking forward to reliving very soon.

Anyway, there I was at the platform in an old pair of jeans, a short kurta and a wrap, long before the combination became fashionable. A mail train pulled up, and I climbed into the Ladies and got a seat at the window. Two women sat opposite me. As the train started, a third joined them and requested if I could exchange seats with her so she could sit with her friends. As I was alone, I agreed , picked up my stuff and moved to the next compartment where two women, definitely Catholics, sat across my new seat. I took my place, got out a book and started to read. After a while, my companions decided to eat and offered me some of their food. And we got talking. About where I was from and what I was doing in Igatpuri etc. They were surprised to find that I was Catholic, because I didn't "look like one" (whatever that means!). At that they were very happy, exchanging a hidden look among themselves that I didn't understand at first. Gradually, the questions became personal. Was I single? What did I do for a living? Who was there at home? etc etc etc. And then, when was my birthday. When I replied, the women were speechless. Probing a bit, it turned out that out that the two women were sisters. The older one had a son, N, who, ahem, was single and ahem, ahem, shared my birthday as well!

It turned out that the women had seen me at Igatpuri station while waiting for the train, and said to each other that "we should find a girl like that for N". That said and done, they climbed into the train and there I was a few minutes later, sitting across them, after exchanging my seat. And not only did I turn out to be Catholic, single, eligible, but I shared the son's birthday right down to the year! It was freaky. What are the odds of meeting someone like this? Anyway, by the time we got off at Dadar, telephone numbers and email addresses were exchanged. A few days later, N called me, we got talking about coincidences and how funny the whole thing was. We promised to meet someday and see what similarities there were in people born on the same day. Three years later, we still have not met in person. We keep in touch with an occasional email and yes, birthday greetings.

The coincidences are not over yet. This Jan, I found Mr.R, who is a doctor by profession. And N found a girl who is also a doctor. He, like me, has been looking for sometime and we've both found people, from the same profession, around the same time. Maybe people who share birthdays have lives moving in the same order. They're getting married on Nov 28 and I've been invited. It's likely that N will make it to my wedding too. Either way, we'll probably meet for the first time at one of our weddings, which will be comical.

Whew. That was one of the stranger things that has happened to me. I have come to accept that Life, as I know it, has too many coincidences to be called 'coincidences' any more. (But shall call it coincidence for lack of a better word!) I'm not looking for explanations. It's easier to just accept it with wonder. And Awe, at this cosmic intervention.