I am realizing slowly that life is a book with each of us merely 'a' character. Each phase is defined by a chapter in the book of life. One chapter finishes and another opens, most times without us realizing it. There are so many ways to define life's chapters.
The traditional way would be age - infant, toddler, teenager, adult, mature adult, older adult and so forth. A creative way to do it would be by incidents that have happened in life - milestones that define who we are and make us ready for the next chapter in our lives. Another way would be by marking chapters by important people who have influenced us.
My father, for instance, who was such an influential figure in my life, till I went to college and discovered professors as father figures. Husbands and even other women (if you are defined by a double 'x' chromosome) will feature in this category.
My way of defining life is by major changes and happenings in my life. I am not talking about motherhood or marriage and such stuff. I am talking about people who I have met or experiences I have gone through that have changed me forever. Some changes were welcome; most changes came as a surprise. Something on the grounds of being pushed into water and then being told to swim.
Which is not bad once you know you are not drowning. The important part is to know that you are not drowning! We recently went through the chaos of getting our house ready for the market. And I have to say, no matter how much or less of a clutter bug you are, you realize how much you have gathered only when you are ready to pack it. So much was given away. Some donated and some shared with friends.
Yet, there was a lot to be packed. Strangely, some of the things I had at least two copies of and some things I did not even know I had. A simple example is this Physician's formula compact that I have been pining for the last three months. I really wanted it because I thought it would suit me. Then I ended up packing my bathroom and realized that I had the exact same compact from Victoria's secret - a brand new one, which I had not even touched for the past three years! That moment of discovery was a 'real' moment of joy. Cleaning and space clearing were also humbling experiences - it made me realize that I did not really need another white shirt or another pair of stockings.
Sometimes you need life to show that to you - I would call packing this house, a chapter in my life. It changed a lot of things, including the way I view life! Another chapter was driving down to Canada recently and going into this vegetable market. Our two-year-old son loves strawberries and we were contemplating buying a pack for him, to eat in the hotel. The price said 'two for five dollars'. A man standing close-by asked if he could help us with something. It was closing time and we mentioned that we were thinking of buying strawberries.
He looked up and said, "I will give you two for four. Please take them". I was shocked. I did not expect him to bargain the price. We ended up taking one box for two bucks because we did not want to waste it. Here was this man who was closing the store at nine in the night, and had to be back at two-thirty in the morning to set up produce for a 5:30 am store opening again. And he does not even know whether he will sell enough everyday. Meeting the man really humbled me. For a while out there I think I got 'Americanized' - forgetting my humble 'Indian;' beginnings.
I forgot that the rest of the world does not live in climate controlled homes driving climate controlled cars. Most people just get by trying to make a living. It's something I guess all of us know but it does not hit home till it actually strikes us in the face. Another chapter. I am sure there are more chapters in my life. Or perhaps my book is about to end. Either ways I have realized that it is as much fun reading the chapters as experiencing them!
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