Life - A Mixture of the Bitter and the Sweet

" Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley.
But always, if we have faith, God will open a door for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us." - A. J. Cronin

Life is like a roller-coaster ride with an equal number of ups and downs. It is when we develop an attitude of treating both the ups and downs of life equally, that we master the art of living.

Disappointments, betrayals, failures, tragedies, deaths of loved ones can leave us shattered and completely heart-broken. Departure of a loved one from our lives can leave us directionless, betrayal in a cherished relationship can leave us never to trust again, failure in fulfilling a golden dream can leave us never to dream again.

Very often we tend to take them up as a course for unending sorrow and grief, waste our days mourning what we lost than think about what we still have or what we can have in future. To accept and move on in life is the key. Find it and open the door and you will be out of the darkness into the light.

If life had been a 'bed of roses', it would have been dull and monotonous. Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

When a tragedy of any form befalls you, do not despair. Know for sure that these tough times are not to be there always. A whole lot of happiness awaits you and God knows the right time for sending it to you. What to us is a sorrow, to God it is His test of our faith, courage and character. As they very truly say - "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"

Many of us including me, do not enjoy the periods of happiness to the fullest. We are scared of losing them, scared of the dreadful dark clouds reappearing again.
A verse for such of us-
" We worry about our tomorrows,
Of missing the joys of today,
Troubled about what may happen;
Yet tomorrow may not come our way.
The future is safe in God's keeping,
We can live but one day at a time."

It is human nature to get depressed by setbacks but it is a super-human task to rise above your circumstances and rewrite your destiny. The one that stands erect and unfazed in the face of adversity ultimately leaves the footprints to success.

Today I recall what my Maths teacher wrote for me before I left school -
"Remember Anindita, that you are once in a lifetime, unique creation of God - never to be repeated, never was and never will be. So get ready to make your unique contribution to the world! "

Let us all make our lives a beautiful and successful journey.