"Hope" is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soulAnd sings the tune without the wordsAnd never stops at allAnd sweetest in the Gale is heardAnd sore must be the stormThat could abash the little BirdThat kept so many warmI've heard it in the chillest landAnd on the strangest SeaYet, never, in Extremity,It asked a crumb of Me.~Emily Dickinson
It has happened so on numerous occasions that I tuck my hands in my pocket only to discover a princely ten rupees note or a toffee or a train ticket with some memorable journey printed on it. It never ceases to amaze me that such a tiny discovery can make you smile or take you back in time. It has all but reinforced one life lesson- When in doubt, look within!
There have been desperate times when I am so unclear about what to do and just like that, I stare pensively out of the window only to hear 'Tu Na Jaane Aas Pass Hai Khuda' stream in melodies into me. Or when I am travelling in an auto, mulling over some issue, when I see a Scorpio pass by, with a picture my favorite deity plastered on the window. Or when I am in a particularly upset over a tiff when the timeline throws up a tweet 'There is never a moment when God is not in control', asking me to let go. Or when I am sitting dejected in the hall, absentmindedly surfing channels, when the neighbor's two year old kid walks in and takes my hand, as if acknowledging my pain.
I cling to these little moments of hope and they seem to have immense potential to rescue me from the dungeons of gloom. Over so many years, I have seen my attitude towards bad times undergo noticeable, if not radical, change. Someone else might have dismissed the kid's action as merely a cute gesture but I chose to look at it differently- it was more of a positive sign offering much needed assurance as I saw it. But believe me, they go a long way in uplifting your mood and in a way, your circumstances.
At some point, we all need our 'Aal iz well' moments in life. All you need to do is look into your pockets for that one sign. Go search yours.
