ANGLES AND LENSES — PICTURES, POETRY AND LIFE
Seize the Moment
The universe gives us more than one chance
Every morning, there is a magical time,
when the gleaming machete of dawn,
slices the night, and sets ablaze the earth.
Those glorious moments transfigure.
A dull, lifeless barn, is now an object
wondrous; radiant and riveting to behold.
Tarry longer, and the light gets too harsh;
glaringly garish, for inspiration or lure.
A few hours hence, the barn is dead again.
So it is, with life. As we go about our affairs,
we are all presented, prospects propitious
— full of promise, packed with potential.
Seize the wave, ride the surf! Sovereign of
seas. Revel in lightness. Rejoice in triumph.
Rapturous, rollicking moment — you shine!
Miss it, and you go under! Choking, spitting,
coughing, cursing, frantic. Gasping for air.
A mouth full of salt, and a heart in despair!
But…
Lose faith not, my friend, nor gaze askance.
Consider not the universe so parsimonious,
as to grant you only one niggardly chance.
The cycle repeats itself, forever and ever on;
it is never too late, for what you were born.
Dispel gloom. Discard fear. Open your mind.
Pay heed to your heart. Embrace the grind.
Await your turn. And when it appears, leap
— extend your arm, to seize the moment!
— Aparna
We are, most of us, familiar with the quote below. I grew up sincerely putting all my faith in the Bard’s words.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.” — William Shakespeare
But today, if I may be so bold, as to differ in opinion from the wisdom of one so knowing, I have a slightly different take on the subject. It is perhaps a testimony to the very disparate eras we belong to.
I no longer believe that life gives us only one chance…such a viewpoint only leads to fearful living. The universe gives us as many chances, as we are willing to take.
All we have to do is:
Give up gloom — negative, by definition, is an ‘absence of’. Pessimistic, defeatist attitudes cannot be fertile grounds for growth.
Cast away fear — fear paralyses thought, initiative, action. Fear limits and shrinks. If we wish to realise our destiny, we must forgo fear.
Trust, the universe and ourselves — humanity has survived for around two million years, and faith has played an important role in this. We as individuals, despite all our trials and self-doubt, have managed to pull through so far. The belief that we shall overcome, no matter what, is a powerful force.
Broaden our horizons — we often impose limitations on ourselves, by constricting our definition of who we are, or who we can be. This is invariably a result of social conditioning; the environment we grew up in, gave us an identity and boundaries. While this certainly served a purpose when we were new to the world, as one becomes her own person (aka an adult), it is imperative that she chisels her own Self. It is equally important that she does not let narrow limitations, restrict the size and shape of this new self. This is where our inner voice can help us.
Listen to our inner voice — we get so bogged down by the noise around us (of the world’s expectations, advice, admonitions) that we stop hearing, or trusting, the voice of our soul. But it is this voice that knows our authentic self, and what is in its best interest. Cultivating, respecting, paying attention to this mentor and guide, can help us identify our true destination, and chart a course.
Put in the hours needed to prepare — there is no success without elbow grease. To do well at anything, leave alone realise our destiny, we must doggedly put in the required effort. The key is ‘persistent, baby steps’, day after day.
Patiently wait for our opportunity — in our world of ‘instant gratification’, we want everything right now, in this very moment. But anything worth achieving, is certainly worth waiting for. We haven’t yet invented a remote, to fast-forward the universe’s cycle, to indulge our impatience. We must teach ourselves, to bide our time, and wait for the correct moment.
Seize the moment when it comes — we have done the ground work, we have waited for our chance and when it finally arrives, we cannot let doubt or others’ expectations, get in the way. This is our moment. We have earned it. And now we must leap, and grab it, with all it takes.
But if we miss, simply start again — this is critical. We might have, with all sincerity, done all of the above, but we might still miss the wave. It could have been a small miscalculation on our part, or something completely beyond our control.
We can choose to look at this miss as ‘failure’, as the end of our endeavours (and life), or a ‘learning opportunity’ to course-correct... The choice is completely ours. For the universe, without fail, gives us more than one chance…
¹I got the idea and inspiration for the composition of the Grand Teton barn photograph, from the “Grand Teton National Park Photographer’s Map and Guide” (Leo L. Larson, Helen H. Larson, 2008). The authors specifically recommend, “You must be out under the pre-dawn sky to be ready to capture first light”. And so I was…on my haunches, my camera and tripod set up and ready, waiting for the first flush of morning, to seize the moment!
My ‘Angles and Lenses’ series is my attempt to share snapshots, impressions and life lessons learnt during my travels around the world, and my journey through this life. I try to look at people and places from different perspectives — ‘Reality’ after all, can be quite subjective, depending on the lens we use, and the angle we use it at…
Click here to read more from this series.
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©Aparna Singh 2021. All Rights Reserved.
