Serendipity

Beyond the scope of reason, there exists a whole world of intuitive experiences. All we need to do is to recognize them when they happen. This can only happen when we expand our awareness and listen to the small thought that persistently pops up when reason says no, this cannot happen.
How else can we explain the instinctive reactions when we meet people and know that these people will be our friends for life? How do you know in that moment when you meet a person that a bond of trust and belief is has already formed even if you just met them? No two individuals can be the same. The traits that we have in us are unconsciously reflected in others, and it is to recognize these elements is when the seeds of a long lasting friendship are sown.

There are no accidents in life. Everything that happens has a reason as to why it happens. Take for instance in my own life, I trained in biology and then by some quirk of fate joined a Bank for sustenance, trusted my instincts and quit my job in a jiffy and went on to run a business in color graphics, and then at the age of forty-five, decided that that my calling was with the colors I loved so much. By all reasonable arguments, these decisions were suicidal with the career I had.
I call them acts of faith. Faith cannot arise out of reason. It is when we feel that change is imminent, inevitable and essential we take that leap.

This faith has guided me throughout. I ride my scooter from the city to Whitfield when there are dark clouds over in the sky threatening a downpour. It rains before I reach my destination and after I have reached there but I come out of it without a drop of rain on me. I find space to park my vehicle every time I reach somewhere when the parking lot is full. This is not just an act of wishful thinking but an act of faith. When faith guides us, there are no doubts, there is no saying maybe. It is not even an act of positive thinking. It is belief.

I love Lotus ponds. Even as a child I did want to have one in my house. I even wrote a short story once which was centered on a Lotus pond. A friend once suggested that she had a small place with a garden and I saw the space and agreed to rent it out. I started digging just outside the building, in the garden and covered it with a sheet of thick plastic, filled it with water and planted some ferns and tall varieties of grass around it. A friend who came to see me got some water cresses, the next one brought some more plants, and within a month of digging a hole in the ground, a small green space was taking shape. The next person to drop in got a lotus plant and I had my Lotus pond going. I did not even have to go searching for the plants; they came to me to make a dream happen. The strangest part was there was even a Plumaria tree on the edge of the pond as I had written in the story that I written a full twenty five years before. I wonder how could a place exist where I could realize a dream. The whole point is, it is not mere co incidence that made all of this possible. There is a larger force out there that makes things possible.

This is just one instance. I was trying to explain some principle in printing to a colleague. I was wondering how I could get a book on it and the next day a book dealer walks in with the very book I wanted on the subject. On another day, I find the pharmacy selling a heating belt closed and the very next morning a salesman lands at my door selling the same product.

Now I believe all that we do in life has a pattern of its own. Even the strokes built into my fingers while I paint have a pattern. All I need to do now is to be aware of these patterns and use them. I even did a series of pastels called “Following the stroke” when I became aware of how my fingers work and what comes out of it.

I now realize that life is a set of coincidences and everything is related and connected to everything else. We only need to watch for it and be aware of it when it happens.