By Samara Mahindra
From serious difficulty in digesting any kind of reading to now having a book at my side at all times, it was no surprise I walked into every bookstore on my never-ending journey back from New York to India. A particular book caught my eye at JFK airport, however not being the genre I was looking for or even inclined towards, I casually ignored it and walked out, only to find myself at the other end of the terminal looking at an identical selection of books. The very same book caught my eye yet again but just then my flight was announced, so I walked away and 8 hours later arrived in London Heathrow. As I ran passed duty-free shopping towards my flight bound for India, there it was again right in front of all the other books.
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green turned out to be compelling encounters of two teens and their journey through cancer, celebration of life and first love (talking about the law of attraction in full force). It is a surreal description of how we are actually meant to live our lives, almost a message from some higher force to not forget that we have one shot at this, literally! Scientists have calculated the odds of you being born at the moment and time you were born, to the parents you were born to, with the DNA structure that you have and that number is 1 to 400 trillion. Digest that!
We have one shot to live the life we love and love the life we live. One shot to love unconditionally and laugh uncontrollably. Live with compassion but selfishly tread our way. Treasure our yesterdays but not be bound by it, look forward to our tomorrows but not live only for what is to come. The key is to savour today, this very second because this is all we have in existence.
Gus and Hazel didn’t thrive in their yesterdays because it was mostly ridden off cancer and chemo. They were unsure of what their tomorrows brought (as we all are) so they lived in their every second of NOW. We don’t realize that those who have faced death have been given a blessing too. They are taught the simple act of mindfulness. A simple act that can give you a chance to live the greatest life you can. Remind you to savour every moment with your child, partner, parent, pet, and most importantly yourself and existence.
I realised that I have been so caught up in my work that I have ignored life outside. I have shamefully comforted myself to one or two friends and traveled for 6 weeks without leaving at all. If you want a gentle reminder or a kick up your butt, this is a must read. I needed both and hence it didn’t leave my sight all the way back home. I am a loner at heart, I love my own company but existence is about interaction with people, things, places and experiences that are taking place at this very moment. We are creatures of habit and are living in autopilot mode. Lets break the pattern!
For you……
“I am not a mathematician, but I know this: There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1….Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than others….There are days, many of them, when I resent my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I am likely to get….But, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”
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