Fourth time in a row!!

 

“I have struggled with the same issue for the last six years,” she said to me with much angst in her voice.

“Just when I think everything is going well and life’s looking up for me, I’m given the same set of challenges. Challenges that I thought I had managed to overcome once and for all. What do you think I’m doing wrong, Natz?”

Rita looked not just distressed and overwhelmed, but it seemed she was losing hope and wanted to give up.

Rita and I had been buddies since we were two. We had spent forty-one years of our lives together and we always had each other’s back. It tore my heart to see Rita looking so lost and dejected, and I had to do something about it.

Well here’s a thing, I have the answer but Shhhh…don’t tell anyone!”, I replied with a cheesy grin.

“What is it?”, Rita asked with that impatient urgency in her voice.

“Sweetheart, its time to reinvent the wheel”, I said “And that too with faith and hope in our hearts. After all we both know, it’s faith that keeps us going.”

“When we tend to make the same mistakes over and over again, or when the same challenges are thrown our way each time; it’s a sign. A sign from the universe telling us we are not aligned with the issue at hand. We are using the same solutions we have either imbibed during the course of life or from watching and hearing our parents or friends. Well, and guess what these solutions are not working or helping sort the problem at hand.”, I told her with a voice of conviction.

Rita nodded her head. “Yes, I get what you are saying Natz…”, she replied wistfully.

I held Rita’s hand tenderly, and then gave it the tightest squeeze. “What might work for me might not work for you. Also what might have worked for the both of us six years back, might not work now, Rita. After all, Bob Dylan rightly said, “Times they are a changin'” So it’s a good idea to look at the problem at hand with a new perspective, with a new pair of glasses as the old ones might have lost their sheen. That might help clear the fog and allow us to tackle the issue better.”

“Yes, but we tend to get stuck in life’s rut and start living life so mechanically, ” sighed Rita.

“Waking up at the same time, eating the same boring breakfast cereal, rushing through the papers and to work. Slogging ourselves likes robots at work for the fat salaries; though the corporate shit sucks. Getting back home and trying to rush through the kids homework. And then because we need down time, we either stay glued to our smart phone screens or Netflix, while our kids eat their dinner silently, hooked to their iPads. No time to for quality interaction with our kids or our better half for that matter.”

“Gosh! Natz, this life feels so lack lustre. How does one re-invent the wheel, when we continue to live each day without any spontaneity.”

I looked into Rita’s eyes reassuringly, “There is a way my friend, there always is. Life isn’t lack lustre. We make it that way. It’s about breaking these patterns. Of thinking out of the box. Of spending alone time in reflection or meditation and the answers will emerge. When I’m lost I turn to the Ghonzon and chant Nam Myoho Rengey Kyo. And the answers emerge on their own, as my inner strength wells forth. I also write, spend time zentangling/doing art. That is indeed very cathartic.”

 

 

“What do you think would work for you and help you Rita, when you feel lost?” I asked her.

” I guess meditation would. I used to meditate many years back. I even used to enjoy playing tennis, but now, where is the time?”

“Oh come on! You can always find time, for something that supports you in life’s journey. Even five minutes of meditation is good enough, to begin with and we know that, don’t we?”, I said to her in a comforting tone.

“True that!”, she replied pondering over my words.

“Also sweets remember, just as winter turns into spring, similarly our hard days or the challenges never last for ever. The spring in our life’s journey does eventually bloom forth into our being.”

“So break the patterns, think differently, act differently, watch a season transit, spend time in silence away from the technology, converse with a loved one, meditate in the company of nature, play with your pet; and you will be able to make breakthroughs. I promise you that.”, I said beaming my brightest smile out to her.

“And yes, please go right ahead and share this wisdom with everyone. These don’t need to be hushed away, but spoken about.” I said with an impish grin.

Rita’s eyes seemed to light up like a flaming lantern. She threw her arms around me in a warm, tight embrace.

“Time to create new patterns.” she squealed into my ears.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I am taking part in Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Blogging Challenge 

 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

 

 

Linking up with the Iron Lady Corinne