Yesterday someone shared an interesting insight about fate, destiny and human behavior with me. She said that our destinies are intertwined with those of the people we meet in our lives. Every acquaintance, friendship or relationship has a purpose in life.

And I agree, people are there so that we learn lessons of life that are otherwise hard to comprehend. Retribution for all our acts is as sure as it is swift. If we hurt someone that is what we get in return, may be not from the same person. If we love someone, all that love is returned now the catch is that it might not be from the same person as well. Nothing happens without a reason.

We carry so many things on our conscience that without realizing our psyche crumbles under the combined weight of love, life, responsibilities, expectations and reality. We don’t even realise what is pulling us down until something inside us snaps and we just have to stop caring about it. Although the weight is off but then again it is a difficult and painful process. It is never easy to let go of something that has become important to you, be it a person, habit, schedule or job, but that is what one has to do to bring a semblance of normalcy to one’s chaos.

I envy the pragmatic people, the ones who can keep themselves aloof from all the emotional hiccups and lead a happy life without a care in the world. There is so much to learn from them.

The English idiom about a rolling stone gathering no moss has always had an impact on me. We were taught that it meant that a person who doesn’t stay at one place, both geographically and emotionally, doesn’t have many ties. I always thought that was a negative attribute. What are we without our worldly ties? What an unfortunate way to live! Don’t these people realise that they lose the ones that truly love them when they are busy looking for temporary solace?

But gradually, with time and experience, I realised that the idiom can also mean that stagnation brings rot and those that don’t stay attached to a place or people are actually better off. No moss. No excess baggage. More acceptable. Successful. There is so much to learn from rolling stones too.

All said and done, this world is not a wish granting factory, as a famous book says. People eventually get their Just Desserts, some sooner than others. We just have to smile, move on and let our actions decide the course our life would take.

Being happy is a choice we make. There are some tough decisions involved in the process. Take them. No use wallowing in grief for something that was never meant to be.