There always is light at the end of the tunnel

There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Only thing is that for some, the length of the tunnel will be short, for some others, it will be long and for yet another set of people, it would be very long. But one should never lose hope. The length of the tunnel cannot be never-ending. We must have faith in God.

A girl student from Kota, Rajasthan has cleared NEET exam with flying colors. Her story is very inspirational. When she was preparing for the exam, her father died and her mother had expired much earlier. She had to take care of 4 siblings with Rs. 500 monthly pension she got on her mother's account and some help from relatives. All such difficulties did not deter her from her preparation for NEET exam. Hard work, her perseverance and some luck (amidst all the ill-luck) had finally paid dividends.

I know a person very intimately. Though well-educated, he did end up with penury at the age of 46 years, having miserably failed in his earlier endeavors. He was left with a 'clean slate' with no chalk to write on. A lot of negative factors worked in tandem. Of course, he made blunders in decision making, at crucial junctures (not knowingly, of course), which led to disastrous results. 'Lady luck' too did not show her face to him. 

You  might wonder where does the factor 'luck' comes in. Take for example, 2 farmers. Both do the same thing in their respective fields in different locations (sowing, watering, removing the weeds, applying manure etc...). Just before the reaping time, in one's field, it rains heavily and damages the entire crop. And in the other farmer's field, everything is fine and he reaps a very good harvest. Is it not the extraneous factors that played a part? Do we call it 'act of nature', or 'act of God'? You may call it whatever you want. But the fact is that 'luck' played it's part. Is that agreed? There is no problem, if not agreed....

After passing through the several thorny years, our friend, at the age of 46 years, found a thin ray of hope. It was a trying time, with some family commitment looming large. With no parental family support, he had to fend for himself. The greatest strength at that time was his wife only, who provided the much-needed moral support. But that stint of about 3.5 years (of moderate hope) was again short-lived. The life went on with no progress in sight till around 50 years. 

And finally, after a hiatus of 6 months (unemployed), he landed in a job (thank God) at a low salary, in a foreign land. I must say, 'luck smiled on him'. The company he joined is a progressive one and he found his groove there. He kept rising in position and he never looked back after that. After establishing himself in all fronts, he left the foreign shores after working in the company for about 18 years. Surprisingly the company agreed to keep him in employment even today. More than about 6 years of leaving the foreign land, he is still working from home (sitting in India), though on a 'smaller role'. He is financially self-sufficient now (no need to depend on his children). The children also have settled in life very well. He is leading a contented life now.

There is always a 'second innings' in life for many of us. Some people play very well in both innings and some people play much better in the first innings and falter in the second. Our friend scored a 'duck' in the first innings and 100 + in the second innings (and still going strong).

One should never lose hope in life. Life throws 'surprises' at us at different phases of our lives. God knows what to give us (and when to give) and what-not to give. He also knows 'how much' to give to each one of us. This is my firm belief. How we fare in life does not depend only on hard work, education, financial soundness or even our uncanny ways. Our duty is to work sincerely with honesty to the best of our ability. Rest will be taken care of by God. One should believe (when we go through a bad phase) that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Without hope and belief, no one can live. With whatever we get (bestowed by God), we should get contented and live a happy life.

(Incidentally, the 'friend' I referred to, is none other than the 'author' himself)