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Lookout for the Story in Your Life

Robert Frost said, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life; it goes on". Perhaps he was referring to the cycles of birth-death-rebirth a human soul goes through. Or he was just referring to the journey a human being goes through in his or her life. In either case, the words don't become less significant. Life goes on, no matter whether we feel we are up for the 'now' or not; the wheel of life keeps turning. 

Sometimes the wheel turns but ever so slight that the human eyes, although capable of perceiving scores of frames per second, are unable to even notice it. And, the life feels like a marsh where the aspirations are slowly sinking. Yet during these times the patience acts like a stick that keeps you afloat, without you ever noticing the divine intervention.

In the world of contradictions here is another food for thought; life goes on yet it is ephemeral. I think you already knew that, but did you realize that? So life is not an endless journey through the dimensions of space and time. It has an origin and a finale where everything we amassed is left behind while we make our journey into the unknown.

Anything with a beginning and an end can be described in words and stays documented in minds around us, including ours. So everything, including life, is a story. A thought so beautifully brought to life in the movie 'The Lookout'. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a crash victim who suffers from brain damage that affects his short-term memory. He works on his sequencing skills through a list of tasks he should follow to have a semblance of a normal everyday life. 

As the character struggles through his daily life, his friend proposes him to make his list a story. Lewis adds, “Everything is a story, kid, stories are what help us make sense of the world". A rather profound thought yet so naked in its simplicity. So if life is a story so are all the problems we face in our lives. Each problem too has a beginning and fortunately an end! 

So the only task remaining is to fill in the rest of the story! It is up to us to fill in with the colours we want. Whether to pick the blues or just paint the story pink with the magical gold spread across it. So next time I am stuck, wondering where this seemingly endless journey of life is taking me, I'll just remember my life is a story. It is so easy to reach 'there' when you know where that 'there' is. 

Until the day comes when I've to go to sleep I'll believe in my story. If the dark clouds threaten my wisdom and push me to an abysmal end I'll just remember the wisdom from the Bollywood movie 'Om Shanti Om':

'लेकिन अगर End में सब कुछ ठीक न हो तो वो 'The End' नहीं हैं दोस्तों , क्योंकि पिक्चर अभी बाकी है|'
(Because if in the end everything is not alright, then it's not the end. The story is still on, my friend)

PS:
The following are the references in the order the appear in they post:
  • Robert Frost
  • The Lookout 
  • Om Shanti Om

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