Life’s Unfeigned Purpose

Life is an untold story. It unveils its plot when least expected, and brings in the twists when we are most sorted.

The pandemic has brought people closer to one another, with social groups becoming more empathetic and acting as warriors to fight the calamity together. Speaking of social groups, the empathy is not limited to fighting the precis, but acknowledging the need to hear and be heard.

This statement resonates with a conversation that I had a with a stranger turned friend, and yes, my perspective on life is a bit different today.

One evening I was returning home from a small evening walk. As I put off the music to turn behind, I saw my neighbour Sarah saying, Hi!

Sarah and her family had moved into our adjacent bungalow a few weeks before. Sadly, we never got a chance to speak to one another.

I immediately reciprocated with a Hi, and she turned around to gesture that we should walk together. As we were walking, Sarah and I introduced ourselves to each another.

Sarah was a software engineer and had recently moved from Florida. She was about my age, fair skinned, lean built and seemed elated to be back here. I was curious about her decision, so decided to ask her more. In response, she told me a truly moving story.

Sarah was born and raised in Florida. Growing up, she aspired to be a software engineer, and do extravagant things in life. She was pursuing her bachelors’ program at her dream university. Everything seemed to be on track until one evening before her finals, when life changed plans for her.

That evening, Sarah left home to pick some stuff from a local store. On her way, she received a call from a friend. Sarah got so engrossed, that she didn’t notice the busy road, and moments later, a car came flying from the front and hit her in the knees. The impact was so high, that Sarah lost her conscious, and fell to the ground.

The next thing she told me was waking up at the hospital and knowing that both her knees and neck had been badly injured.

Days away from her finals, Sarah was in no condition to show up for the next six months. Disheartened and discouraged, she gave herself the time to fully recover.

Having lost her dream to graduate that year, she gave her best efforts to try again, and surprisingly, she got through a prestigious university and was gleeful to start over.

As time passed by, she got close to completing the program. Soon after, she was offered an opportunity in new Jersey. A dream she’d been seeing since a little child. But success, was still far away.

Her family in India owned a business which was expanding well. When Sarah’s father shared the news with her, she agreed to move back and live with her entire family.

Sometimes, things work in mysterious ways. What seems like the right plan may not be the appropriate choice. We spend countless hours contemplating the right course of plan, knowing that the future is a whirlpool of mysteries, who knows what lies ahead.

I was a bit shocked to hear Sarah’s sudden decision. But she told me, living in Florida was great. But she always wondered what a complete family is like. Especially when she has one.

The accident was instrumental in bringing her close to her deep-embedded wish. If she completed her degree earlier, she would’ve stayed back because of her job. But given her circumstances, she didn’t want to. She moved back to her extended family and opened doors to new happiness, to last forever.

God has inexplicable ways of bringing us close to our safely guarded wishes. Sometimes it demands time and pain, but at the end, it’s worth the wait.

This is the reason to always have a positive outlook in life. You never know what the future holds, until you experience the change and feel thankful for everything that led you to it.

Today, Sarah and I are great friends. She’s a software engineer at DuPont and lives an extremely meaningful life with great enthusiasm!