There are nine roads to hell, only one to heaven, they say. They also say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Screwing good intentions and making way with good deeds, I have reached somewhere. And this morning while I was in the train, I realized where I was. This morning wasn't the first time I've been at that place, I've reached there at many points in my life- that place is very familiar to me.

And nope I'm not a Harry Potter being tricked to lead Sirius Black there because of a dream. And for the record, I wasn't dreaming when I was in the train. Anyway, I digress.

So if I have been to this place many times in my life, it occurs to me that this means that I meander about the place, and come back to the same place each time, and then meander again, and reach the gate again. Oh yes, that place I've reached, has a Gate. All I'm required to do is to open the gate, and enter. That's all. The interesting thing is I never enter the gate; though I have every reason to enter, and what beckons beyond the gate is a very tempting place to be. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a place where there is no work to do, where you get delicious food all day and all you do is nothing but rest - though there is nothing wrong in being at such a place- but it is a place that will allow me to fulfill my destiny. (It sounds overly wise to claim to know one's destiny, but unlike a lot of people who struggle to figure out what they are supposed to do on earth, I know with a piercing accuracy, my place in this world and what I am supposed to do, however incredulous or awesome it sounds.)

And yet I hesitate, because there is no going back.

No going back to the "normal" world where I have the regular highs and lows, where there is joy and sorrow, success and defeat, war and peace, tears and smiles, hatred and love. What is beyond the gate frightens the hell out of me, because there is no distinguishing between highs and lows there, nor is there a recognition of success or defeat. It is a land where perceiving highs and lows with the same grace is considered normal, it is a place where the flowing tears are converted to smiles not because angels exist but because we are them, it is a place not bound to the will of anyone but yourself, including fate. Unbound by fate, unbound by destiny, at the very place destiny has taken me, seems like a cosmic joke though it is hardly that!

And I make my decision, and this time it's either a yes or a no, I will either take a new road, or enter through the gates, and though I know which one I choose, I am unbound by the universe to share it! (I hope this doesn't sound entirely ridiculous to you, but if it does sound ridiculous, I empathize because if I had read this same article written by someone else before I took the train this morning, I would have declared that person to be nuts!)
This insight of my life might be extremely meaningful or absolutely useless to you, but here's what I wish to leave you with:

When I said that I have been at the same place many times in my life, I don't know how many of you thought about whether this applies to you. No matter how fast a learner you are, I'm sure a lot of you can identify these places where you keep appearing at again and again in your lives, facing similar situations, simply because it doesn't occur to you that you're going around in loops. Take a reality check, are you ahead of where you started off initially, are you on the stairway to heaven, or are you on the road to hell? Are you encountering new things in life, or is your life a repeat-replay? If it is repeat-replay, it's time to do something new! You don't need anyone to tell you what you're doing wrong, you will find it yourself, if only you take a moment to look. This is that moment. Take a look.

I would love to hear where you are in your lives through comments, so do drop in your comments. It's only through stories of different people, that lives are made after all!