Steer into the skid!

I write this at a time when disaster has struck a beautiful city. A city I have come to love. A city where many loved ones stay. Chennai today has been declared a disaster zone. The army and the navy have stepped in to rescue people. Chennai is inundated with water from frequent cyclones for the past couple of days. Respite does not seem to be in sight as of now. It merely goes to show how puny and powerless we are before nature's wrath.

This got me thinking, we get upset about so many things in life. When things do not go our way, we find ourselves being upset about the situation and the people involved. We resist the situation and refuse to believe that this could be happening to us. We keep turning and tossing in bed spending a sleepless night. But would any of that solve the problem? No! First of all, we need to realize is that life is no cake walk. Difficulties abound in everyone's life, be he a prince or a pauper. We need fortitude and courage to fight life's battles.

Today something happened that upset me. I was hoping for something. I was expecting something. But things happened another way. And no one can be blamed for it. It just had to happen that way. As I tried helplessly to get some sleep while my mind was turbulent and sad at what had happened. Then as I looked at the whole thing objectively, I realized, there was absolutely nothing anyone could have done. No one could be blamed for it. I can either go to sleep like any normal human being does at 12 AM or keep thinking about why it happened till morning and ruin a good night's sleep. I realized that I was puny and powerless before what happened. Sometimes things do happen and things may not go as planned. One must realize that what has happened, has happened. Accept it. And move on. If you can do something to make things better do so. If it is beyond one's control then..well then depending on your temperament there are two things that you can do.

1. If you believe in the almighty, an all powerful and merciful being, a Sadguru who is watching over you like a mother and taking you always towards something better, then well you can surrender completely to the Sadguru's feet and let go. Do not keep turning over in your mind why something happened that you did not want.

2. If you are an atheist, then you know you are powerless. No point getting stressed as according to you the universe is all about probability. Things could have gone your way but did not. Best accept the situation. See if you can do something to make it better. Or wait with patience and hope that things will get better.

A friend had once written in his blog that tough situations are like skidding on a road in your car. If you apply breaks and try to steer clear of the direction of the skid, you are likely to cause more damage. If however you go along with the skid and slow down, you are going to cause minimal damage. These unpleasant situations, small or big are similar. It is better to steer into the skid. Wait with faith and patience and you will see that things always get better.

In conclusion I request all readers to pray to the almighty to help our brethren in Chennai.

"When rain lashed with brilliant sparks of lightning and booming thunder in Shirdi and the people turned to you for help, you commanded the elements and said "stop, be calm!", and the storm abated. You held the Govardhana when Indra sent thunderstorms towards Vrindavan. Kindly protect your children in Chennai. Hear this prayer. Listen to their cries for help. Save those who have none but you to turn to.."

||Om Sai Shree Sai Jai Jai Sai||