“Life
is a network of invisible threads.”
The above quotation
from the pen of the great Victorian-era English authoress George Eliot is as dramatic as it is simple. Life, is indeed a complex fabric made up of all the
threads of each of life’s experiences, its successes and its failures, its
happy moments and its sad moments, collected during a whole lifetime.
Life begins as a plain cloth made up of the many
characteristics inherited from our
parents. It is pure, clean and unadulterated. As we go through life we begin to
add threads derived from all the knowledge, experiences, encounters, failures
and successes, and influences we acquired along the way, resulting in a mosaic
of such unique and exquisite complexity and specificity. Sherrilyn Kenyon, the internationally recognized American author
and poet explained this quite succinctly when she noted:
“Life is a tapestry woven from the decisions we
make.”
A cursory look at this mosaic will reveal an
apparent accumulation of unrelated threads which appear to have been woven
together in a random pattern, with no regard to sequence or order. Many people
will try to convince you that your life is merely the sum total of all your
experiences piled up one upon the other, like a layered cake, purely by chance
and without any reason or meaning. I totally reject this analogy. To me, every
single thread, as it weaves itself into the mosaic, affects and is affected, by
every other thread it encounters. Over its lifetime it is modified by, and it
modifies the appearance and texture of the fabric, changing its color,
appearance, feel and outlook. And as it does, so also, it affects our
attitudes, our expectations, our hopes and our desires.
Indeed we are the product of what we are made up,
and our behavior is determined by this. Lea
Yekutiel noted Inspirational speaker and author, extended this concept by observing
that:
“The fabric of life, with
all the threads interacting together can be quite positive, but if one thread
negatively vibrates against another thread or is angry because another thread
is “in a better place” or “looks better”, the feelings are passed through the
whole cloth and is absorbed and experienced by all.”
Wayne Dyer, one of America’s most successful inspirational
speakers, who died a few years ago, was more direct in describing the effects
of the different influences in causing him to be who he really is. He explained
this in the following manner:
“As I look back at the entire tapestry of my life,
I can see from the perspective of the present moment that every aspect of my
life was necessary and perfect. Each step eventually led to a higher
place, even though these steps often felt like obstacles or painful
experiences.”
…
By natural extension, this principle applies not only to each
one of us as individuals, but to us as a group, as a society, as a nation and
to the world. In a very meaningful way each one of us can and do impact the
rest of the world by our actions, positively or negatively. In this context, I am
reminded of the concept of “the butterfly effect theory” first postulated in
1963 by the American meteorologist Edward
Lorentz with his famous quotation:
“The Fluttering of a Butterfly’s wings can
affect climate changes on the other side of the planet”
In the same way that a small insignificant
butterfly, by flapping its wings, can affect the climate thousands of miles
away, so too can the movement of a single thread affect the fabric of the whole
environment around it. We need only to look around us to see repeated examples
of this in our day to day living.
In my own personal life, I have witnessed, like, no doubt, every one else,
many instances where a random encounter has led, directly or indirectly, to
significant life-changing events for which I am truly grateful. Very often
these effects appeared several years after the initial encounter and in ways
that could not have been anticipated or predicted. I am indeed the product of
all my encounters. I still recall an incident when I was no more than 5-6 years
old and was taken to see Dr. Pau, a
kind Chinese physician, for my inflamed leg. His gentle spirit and caring way
made me resolve that I too, would like to be a physician. Some 20 years later,
l recalled that moment, as I received my Graduation certificate and was
grateful for that original encounter.
Several years ago, I came across a very intriguing quotation by the
Austrian-born Swiss author and poet, Ranier
Maria Rilke who is recognized world wide, for her quality and intensity of
work. It read:
“Destiny itself is like a wonderful, wide tapestry in which every thread is
guided by an unspeakably tender hand, placed beside another thread and held and
carried by a hundred others.”
This indeed should be a
true guide for every one of us to live by. For as I see it, this Fabric of our
life is uniquely our own, to do with it as we wish. We can choose to abuse it,
without respect or regard, and then suffer the consequences of pain, regret and
eternal damnation. Or to nurture and support it, to respect it and expand it,
and in return, enjoy the rewards that will inevitably come as we journey along
on the road of life; and even beyond.
Pericles, the outstanding Greek statesman and orator, who lived around
400BC, has described the ultimate fate of our life’s tapestry most eloquently
in the following manner:
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in
stone monuments, but what is woven into the Lives of others.”
-Nothing else needs to be said!
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