There are times when the forces of the universe conspire to teach you lessons that you might have otherwise ignored. Ignored or taken for granted. Complicit and a level of naivety that only becomes clear in hindsight. Over the past month I have seen both the best and worst of human behavior.
There’s something extraordinary about those that love us unconditionally. We often take them for granted, but they are the ones whose kindness and sagacity protect us from harm when we are in crises. No loops of enumeration are enough, no lexicon sufficient to describe the depth and bliss of having them in our lives. I’ve seen this first hand, and it has given me new and deep meaning in my life and has reinforced a timeless turn of phrase – gratitude and appreciation of our parents, our siblings and our friends are what makes us, for no one ever achieved anything but for them.
There are also occasions when kindness is returned with cruelty, and the hand that gave and gave and did nothing other than give lovingly is brazenly and willfully injured. I might feel envied by human beings who can live this way, but in the end, each to his own, and the law of karma is incontrovertible. What goes around does come around and we’re all forced to learn and acknowledge our transgressions.
I cannot recall a time in my life other than my grandmom passing away that left me wringing with such agonizing pain. But as J.K Rowling says, it is impossible to go through life with everything in your control. I’m so proud of my parents, sister and my grandparents. I’m so proud of my friends. Their kindness and generosity of spirit are worthy of emulation. I’m so proud of everything they have ever taught me, and I’ll continue living by their ideals.
The Bengalis revere an eternal symbol of life by carving three eyes of Shakti. A scared force of empowerment and gravitas that moves the entire universe. My parents, sister and my friends are my three eyes. They move my universe.
