Little Things The Universe Grants You

“When you want something, the whole universe conspires to make it happen.

And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”

 - Paulo Coelho

“What you seek is seeking you” 

- Rumi

          Any person even remotely interested in understanding ‘The Universe’ would have come across these quotes. I was myself no stranger to these quotations (and a whole lot more) when I started my quest for clarity on this mystery called ‘The Universe’. Though I never believed in anything, I was always a curious person. All of my friends who strongly believe in ‘The Universe’ said that only if I experienced the feeling, would I understand the mystery. After experiencing that mystery, I now believe that if you ask for something, the universe will grant you that wish. I don’t mean to preach anything, but I would like to share a few incidents from my life that makes me believe in “The Power of The Universe”. There are three incidents in particular that got me to believe in the universe. Each incident is like a story and is different from one another.  I also believe that each individual’s experience will be different and if my stories do not resonate with you, that’s okay. You probably have your own versions of similar experiences. but do read. (For better reading experience, I would suggest that you try and visualize yourself in my stories).

My green jacket - Before I start this story, there’s something that everybody should know about me, I love jackets. I wear them even if I feel hot. Out of all the beloved jackets, there was this one green jacket in particular that I adored and would wear almost all the time. When I went backpacking to the North - East of India, I spent some time at this place called Mechuka (Arunachal Pradesh) with a friend of mine. Both of us decided to visit an old Buddhist temple which was about 10 kms trek away from the town we were staying in. Along the way, we happened to meet another person who was also heading to the same location, and hence we decided to continue the journey together. From my previous post you would have already understood that I’m a big-time extrovert. As most conversations with strangers during travels go, I got into an intense exchange with this random person, without even knowing his name.  The conversation flowed into how human beings cannot let go of materialistic things and ‘The Power of the Universe’. As he got to know me more, he understood that I loved my jacket. He then suggested that I let go of that jacket. I agreed and was ready to keep it beside a shed and move on. I then realized that I didn’t want to let it go and justified that if ‘The Universe’ wanted it, it could take it whenever it pleased. The stranger without a name said, “Now you’ve asked the universe to take the jacket and there is no turning back.’ I laughed and walked ahead. Two weeks of pleasant conversations, beautiful scenery, and fantastic people passed by way too soon and I was soon reluctantly on a bus, heading to the airport to return home. My trekking bag was beside me, and I had placed my small bag and my jacket on my lap. The bus stopped and the conductor said it was time for me to get off. I got up with my bags and jumped out of the bus. I started checking if I had taken everything and then as the bus started moving 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 meters away from me, I suddenly realized that I had left my jacket in the bus. Normally, I would think of it as an accident but, at that moment a sudden thought crossed my mind saying that it’s with ‘The Universe’ now.

The first time I saw snow - I grew up in Chennai, went to college in Bangalore, and started working in Ahmedabad. There was literally zero possibility for me to have seen snow growing up. This and the beautiful pictures of snow I have seen made me very determined to see snow when I did my first solo travel. After weeks of travel, I had finally reached Sikkim (in the month of May). I chose Sikkim because responses to my online query with regard to where I could see snow in India during summer brought up Sikkim as the winner. Since I was traveling on a budget, I could not afford fancy tours and travels and had to take the local sharing cab along with other people with similar financial plight. As I reached Sikkim, I soon realised that there was only one place where I would be able to see snow and that was at NathuLa pass (India - China border). I also realized that in order to visit the border I had to get a pass approved, which took about two days or some crazy amount of money, neither of which I could be luxurious about. This is where ‘The Universe’ heard and understood my desperation to see snow. I went to the share cab plaza and booked for the most affordable package. Fortunately, the people who I was sharing the cab with and the driver were all really nice people and to my great luck, the driver identified that there was a navy official among us. He came up with a plan and asked the navy official to show his ID card and get permission at the border check-post. We got the permission to enter (we were also the last ones for the day) and as we moved up the mountain, there it was, white as ever, SNOW! The moment I got off the cab, I jumped on the first huge pile of snow that I saw. It was magical (and hurtful as I realized that snow was hard ice). Even though I was wearing my shorts and was feeling extremely cold, I didn’t have a single care in the world and rolled around like a small kid.

The first time I saw snow (P.S this is that green jacket I lost)

That magical concert moment - To all those people who have been to a concert, you’d understand that finding a lost friend is extremely hard as there are thousands of people. I attended my first ever concert (NH-7) with my friends and my then-girlfriend. Initially I was not able to enjoy much as I was tired and extremely hungry. I left my girlfriend in her musical reverie and went in search of food half an hour before the Kodaline concert (the one that both of us were really excited about). During my search for food, I happened to run into my very stoned friends. They asked me to stay with them as both of them were not feeling great. I managed to convince them to attend the Kodaline concert but I was too late and the concert had already started. Since they were the main attraction, a lot of people had gathered and I could not get anywhere near where I thought my girlfriend would be. I gave up after sometime as I realized that it was impossible to move in any direction. After listening to a few songs, my friends asked me to come with them to a different arena to listen to another artist. Even though I was at a different arena, all I wanted were two things:
1. Hear Kodaline play ‘All I Want’
2. Be there with my girlfriend while Kodaline played ‘All I Want’.
My friends saw that I badly wanted to go back to the main arena and they asked me to leave as they were feeling better. As I ran to the main arena, I started to hear the lyrics to ‘All I Want’. I reached and was amazed with the vibe in the main arena. Everybody was waving their phone lights, singing along, and holding onto their loved ones. I thought to myself that, ‘I want to be with her for this song. No matter what.’ I ran through the crowd, pushed people, and kept hoping that I’d find her. The band blew their confetti cannon and as she saw the confetti up in the sky, I saw her from the side. I was speechless as we hugged, and sang our hearts out as the band was singing their last few lines. Finding her was like finding a needle in a haystack. That moment, that tiny moment, is what I call Happyness (I legit felt like Will Smith in the final scene of Pursuit of Happyness).

     Even though each story is different from the other, there are a couple of things that are common. First, of course, is the fact that I really wished for that particular situation. Second, I didn’t stop myself at any point and didn’t lose hope. I kept moving forward in the belief that ‘It will happen’.

     There were many times that I wished for a lot of things and it never came true. I’m sure that you would have also experienced such incidents. From my understanding, I believe that it was not something that I really wanted. It was not something that would have made me happy. Now, I could be wrong about that but, maybe take a step back and think about those times where you really wanted something and you got it, think how did that happen? Why did that happen? I’m not sure if you’ll find the answer right away but, if you keep heading for that direction, you will definitely get your answer/your wish.

P.S As always, here’s a song for you to listen, Powfu - Death Bed