Ordained By Order

Did I tell you I read Eat, Pray and Love (referred to as EPL henceforth on my blog) by Elizabeth Gilbert? It’s a fantastic book, guys. I mean girls.

(Guys may or may not like it for the simple reason that the genders think, feel and expect differently. And more often than not, the sexes just LOVE being on opposite sides of the discussion. Sometimes only to prove that they are unlike each other, and can never be like each other. Fair enough reason.)

(Or so I presume.)

Anyway, back to EPL. (Not European Premier League, you nutcase! I TOLD YOU the book Eat, Pray, Love would now onwards be called EPL. Pretty forgetful, aren’t you?!)

I had heard a lot about it, and I finally bought it at the Crossword sale not too many weeks ago. Alongwith P.S. I Love You. I planned to enjoy both the books, and I was hoping they lived up to expectations. In fact, I’d heard the movies are good, too. What is my verdict? The books are both decent. The movie PS is bad, it honestly disappointed me, coz I had a beautiful image of all the characters in the movie right from Gerry and Holly to Daniel and William and Ciara. Paani over all my creative visualization. EPL, now that it’s released in India, is thankfully much better. It does justice to the book, though there are some bits that drag, and other places that have been grossly misconstrued, edited or deleted. Chalta hai, it's not bad.

While reading EPL, there were so many times when I thought I was reading my own biography! Especially the paragraphs when the protagonist feels she has control issues, her tryst with depression and loneliness, her random insights and careless abandon, little joys coupled with frustrating worries and sorrows. And of course, Italian abuses and words that gave me impromptu laughs and supplementary vocabulary! Damn, I so miss learning Spanish / Salsa. Have been thinking of it for ages, but procrastinating… Waiting for a partner, dealing with a busy schedule, stuff like that… Soon soon…

What’s the book about? It’s the story of a woman who travels Italy, India and Indonesia over the period of a year in order to put back the pieces of her life marred and scarred by a divorce and broken relationship. I know it doesn’t sound too innovative, but the narration is superb and mesmerizing.

I’m not gonna recommend it to you, though, coz I have a feeling that I have liked it more than you would. It’s like those movies, you know, where your evaluation of the entertainment quotient is impacted by the reviews you have heard before. So, I was sure Housefull was going to be a disaster, and voila, I loved it! On the other hand, I had heard that Peepli Live was transfixing – guess what, I hated it. So what if it’s an Aamir Khan production?!! So what if its chosen as India’s nomination to the Oscars?!!

Now that I have introduced EPL, I’d like to take my identification with it and my last post on the blog a step ahead.

About reasons, and how we may or may not know about their logic or existence.

I always enjoy sitting next to the driver while going for long drives. I do have my driver’s license, yet I don’t practice driving – much to the chagrin of my brother and mum.

Why am I telling you this? To let you know that I like being NOT in control, and leaving all the decisions and responsibility to someone else who is intelligent and capable. Makes me feel pampered and relaxed. Not having to worry about the brakes, traffic, accelerator, clutch, reversing and parking. Just look around at the people and trees zooming past, enjoying the breeze on my face, with my arm strung casually on the window ledge...

However, I’m just as quick to give up my passivity and assume control when required. Leadership roles beckon me, and I love them for granting me the opportunity to prove myself, protect and guide people, take risks and learn, garner praise and envy.

Well, backseat driving is horrible when I’m steering a vehicle, but impossible to give up when I’m sailing on anyone else’s ship. Change lanes, speed up, show off or get cranky – and you’ll hear from me, Mr. Driver.

WHY am I telling you this?

To tell you that I have control issues. Things have almost ALWAYS gone my way. I have made my own decisions, done my own thing and taken care of my own challenges. Be it education, career, relationships, or anything else. And that has naturally made me resistant to being dependent and dominated. In a woman, this is often not appreciated. But hey, that’s how I am. I don’t know about Nature (genetics), but Nurture (environment and experiences) made me that way.

Yet, I can think of so many things that did not go my own way. For example, the numerous universities that denied me MBA admission, a few companies that rejected me at job interviews, relationships with friends that did not work out, family not allowing me to go ahead with some plans...

And you know what, I am so glad life turned out the way it did. (Though I didn’t always think this way.)

Never had I imagined that I’d be a trainer when I grew up, working at IBM, with a family as supportive and fun, and friends as amazing as I have.

Thank you, Lord.

Now I think about it all, and I can’t be grateful enough that all these things occurred, with or without my volition. Then, I fought with god, people and circumstances. But now I understand. Things are not always clear at first glance. Things don’t always look right when you’re in the midst of muck. But when you step out and think about it in retrospect, you will realize that things happened for the best.

(Unless you really messed up big time and made a mistake that’s irredeemable.)

Don’t get disoriented and distressed because of the blur. Give the haze time to fade. (But don’t wait so long that all ways to set things right are lost; time is of the essence, remember?)

I mean if I’d got selected at this particular consulting firm, IBM would have been a distant dream. Had I joined some US university for an MBA, I would not have met the people that I hang out with and cherish day in day out now. If my family had been any different, I might have not made the choices and decisions I made.

So what if it’s a cliché? Its true - whatever happens, happens for the best.

And you may not always understand or agree with the reason, but hey… wait and watch, you’ll turn out fine.

Trust me.

Cheers!
Princess