A couple of months back I had this idea to do something I thought I might enjoy, and do it for a living or, at least, as a means of earning a modest income. I mulled over the idea weighing the pros and cons; I even bounced it off a few of my friends.
Once I was sure of my plan, I started working on it and really worked hard at it. The last couple of weeks, especially, have been tough where I've had to put in long tiring hours of actual physical work and all by myself. The physical strain, the mental stress, the lack of sleep and finances all seemed to melt away last evening as I crossed the first milestone. I was tired but happy and proud of what I had achieved.
Today one of my friends calls me. She is one of the people I had spoken to about my plan. She even helped me in the initial stages. She's seen me working hard as I've kept her in the loop all along. This evening I was telling her about how much I've completed. And what does she say to me?
She says, "If you really want something badly you will get it." I let out a hmmm...
I thought it must be her way of saying congratulations. But she went on to shock me. She said, "The timing must be right because everything has magically fallen into place."
Magically fallen into place? Hello! Have you met me? What aspect of my life looks like it has magically fallen into place or happened by any supernatural means or luck or chance or fate?
I asked her what she meant, "This has all happened because I have worked towards it. I wanted to do something and I went on and did it. It's as simple as wanting a drink of water. I will get up and pour myself a glass of water, hold the glass to my lips and drink goddammit!"
"No, I mean why did it all work out now and why not last year?" she asked.
"Uhhh... because I did not want to do this last year! I just thought of it now and followed it through."
"But timing..." she argued.
I tried telling her that it would only apply if I had been trying to do this for years and it only just clicked. I told her how I decided just a couple of months back and took a financial loan to see it through.
"Ah!" she said, "What if the loan had not come through?"
"Why wouldn't it? And if it hadn't, I would use the money I already had."
"No, but so many people apply for loans and don't get it."
She was talking like I needed money to buy Shilpa Shetty an engagement ring! I had already told her the really tiny amount, and that too at an interest rate of 1.35% through my goddamn credit card! And please, how tough is it to get a loan these days? Banks are always bugging you with their telemarketing calls about low-interest rates.
She just kept arguing and I just could not understand what her problem was. Finally, my tone got sharper and my volume increased. Then she said, "Fine, that's your way of looking at it. But I think when you want something your spiritual gurus help you get it."
I could not believe my ears!
She went on, "Why are you getting so upset? Be happy for yourself."
I said, "I am extremely happy my dear, you seem to be the one with the problem on the happiness quotient. You are not happy for me, you are happy for the magical little elves that have turned my life into a path of roses overnight!"
WTF? You bloody slog your ass off and the results are attributed to Paulo Coelho type of crap philosophy like the universe gets you what you want?
So if I just had to sit on my ass, close my eyes and wish hard enough, some magical fairies would have hovered around getting things done for me? Hell, if that was the case I wouldn't be sitting here alone in my bedroom writing on my blog at 11.30 pm. I'd be in bed licking chocolate sauce off Jude Law while George Clooney was outside, banging on my door begging to be let in.
I mean, really!
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15 comments:
Sounds like - for whatever reason - you were both spoiling for a fight. This happens sometimes with friends and one has to decide does one care enough about the friend to put up with them occasionally behaving like an a-----e or not. I do sympathise.
have been a lay preacher once I know what you mean. Can't say that my life went down abnomrally after I stopped. And yet there's enough happening for me not to get complacent.
I think the male retort/ advice of 'sh%^& happens' is the most genuine
Interesting scenario...some love stories are written in chocolate sauce
@Pat - I am always spoiling for a fight, I don't need a reason. LOL!
But jokes apart, our friendship is still intact. We didn't really fight, just went at loggerheads for a bit. Then we agreed to disagree and carried on yakking for another half hour or so. So all is good! I just don't like mumbo jumbo of any sort and have a low tolerance level for stuff like this.
@Knife - From my own experience, all I can say is that I have to make things happen for myself. If I want something, I have to work hard and find a way. And when things go wrong, I have only myself to blame. Unless it's a natural calamity or terrorist attack or something equally uncontrollable.
And believe me, love has nothing to do with how I feel about Jude Law and George Clooney ;-) But you're right, interesting scenario! Now, why don't I dream of things like this instead of the crap I wrote about the other day!?!
Deepak yes you Mr. Chopra and you too Ms.Bryne , take your pal Paulo and take along and well deserved hike.
Though I have to say I enjoy most of Paulos books. Keep cutting, CC keep cutting.
You have fortunately or unfortunately hit on the hard truth of life CC. One needs to get off one's butt to do something
@Clem - I actually read Paulo Coelho! What to do men? I thought he was my grandfather's sister's husband's cousin, twice removed! So I said what men, "Paolu" wrote a book. Let me see if it's any good or what? But he went on and on about some shepherd boy in the fields... and I was thinking, what men? The only boys I see on the fields are the fellows playing 'hootball! So after 15 pages, I fell asleep. What to do? It was Uraac season!
@Knife - You rest a while now till that toe heals. Get off your butt later ;-)
Hey CC, sending you a mail -L
Okay ... it so happens that I have firm faith in both those things. I know I must work my butt off to achieve something but I also know that timing plays a good part in things working out.
Maybe the way it works is you have to have achievable dreams and work at them and the timing falls into place easily enough.
Else it'll be a case of Jude Law AND George Clooney standing at your door and you discovering you've run outta chocolate sauce just then. :P
@Dewdrop - I beg to differ. Timing is only important when I'm boiling an egg ;-)
Btw, I do want Clooney AND Law together. And if I run out of chocolate sauce, there's always whipped cream or marmalade or strawberry jam or peanut butter or a LOT of other things that I can do with them.
Hard work is what puts on you track and quick thinking and creativity is what gets you out of ruts. Everything else is an excuse.
I know I'm being obnoxious... they're trying to find a cure for it so just bear with me, if you feel like it :-)
Truly agree word by word... If you HAVE worked hard to get something, enjoy the fruit.
Well written CC (like always).
Best Wishes.
Dear CloudCutter,
As someone (his name totally escapes my mind) once said ……I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike? :-)
I don’t believe that God plays dice….you get what you work for.
Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.
Don’t get perturbed when other people try to discredit your merit by attributing it to luck… People always call it luck when you've acted more sensibly than they have or would have.
-Nida
hey I've been wondering about Pats comment.
Was it a nemon e. Like they have their feet firmly planted on the ground. Or was it a-ntelop-e. They jump lithely from one thing to another. Or was it a moeba e . They're too small to matter anyways. or a- syle -e. Seeking asylum in phlosophies that explain the unexplainable.Or a-dhesiv-e and they stick to a tightly held point of view closing their mind to all others.or are the just wholely behaving like an ass.
Haha no, nothing obnoxious about having an opinion and holding on to it.
Trust me... i know the feeling of toil..."they while their companions slept were toiling upwards throuhg teh night"
But i also have a place for grace.
My granny used to say that "God help those who help themselves"
A good *fight* eh? I've had some [I call them differences in opinion] and I've learnt to only have them with friends who enjoy them.
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