From Where I Am… to Where I Wandered

From Where I Am… to Where I Wandered

In this world, we witness the cycle of life buds becoming blossoms, blossoms turning to fruit, and fruit giving way to seeds.  

This life was not something we asked for or chose.  

We simply learned to love the soil into which we were planted.

In life, our attachments urge us to live.  

Within each heart lies a unique dream, a cherished ideal.  

We sketch the boundaries of that dream based on the limits of the world we perceive.  

Without knowing whether those boundaries are truly reachable, we begin to run toward them.

Our expectations and emotions race along the path of those dreams.  

And as we run, the years begin to run alongside us.  

We spend the most vital parts of life in this pursuit, only to realize when the body tires that the goal may not be attainable after all.

We are reminded of the story of the fox looked at the fruit in an in reachable height and said, “Bah! That fruit is sour.”  

If this were merely a race, we could return to the starting line and try again. 

 

But this is a journey of life.  

Returning to the beginning is no longer possible.

We grow weary.  

The heart gives up.  

We begin to feel the onset of mental strain.

“What is this? Is he singing a sorrowful song?”  

I sense your raised eyebrows.  

But this is not an attempt to break your spirit or shake your faith.  

It is simply an effort to share the experiences life has given me.

For many years, I believed that walking in the footsteps of others’ success was the way to become someone myself.  

Following the path of good people who live by noble values is not wrong.  

Studying the lives of great leaders and inheriting their virtues is never a mistake.

Yet, the true reasons behind their success their principles and choices are often beyond our full understanding.  

The experiences of others’ victories are like a flowing river.  

If we try to redirect that river toward our home to meet our needs, we may not be fulfilled and our home may drown.

Instead, standing at the banks of that river and drawing from it according to our needs is the true strength of the wise.

In my youth, I had access to many privileges that others did not have.  

Yet I failed to recognize and use them wisely.  

I turned golden moments into dust.

Still, I do not believe that all my youthful experiences were bitter.  

Isn’t there a difference in taste between the base of a sugarcane and its tip?  

Though I had the chance to taste the rich base, I chose the tip out of curiosity.

But even a river that strays can, at the right time, find its course and merge with the ocean.  

Likewise, in my life, the divine sent me a noble companion my wife who helped redirect the flow of my life’s river.  

That is the truth behind my transformation.

In shaping the path of this river, the experiences of many who joined me in life’s journey have been my support.  

Even those I thought had deceived me did not truly deceive me.  

They nourished the richness of my experience.

Many loving souls who embraced me have been the balm for the wounds of my painful moments.  

Those who tried to pierce my heart with words have, through their arrows, softened my soul like cotton.

The unexpected turns gifted by divine grace taught me the enduring truths that shape a seemingly unstable life.  

Through faith, hard work, and integrity and by trusting in a power greater than all I came to understand the greatness of humanity.

This open self-reflection, I hope, will offer young hearts a new dimension in how they view life.  

The truth that dwells deep within the heart is none other than God.  

And it is life’s long journey that revealed this truth to me.

The years I spent wandering from where I was to where I am those experiences helped carve the sculpture of my life.  

I am grateful for the opportunity to share them with my connected souls.

Until we meet again,  

With love,  

Sakthi Sakthithasan