You never miss YOUR Bus

One Winter morning, when the wind was on a raid to chill everything it came across, I remember running like my head was on fire to catch a bus… It was a usual morning in Melbourne; heavy traffic on the road, loud and noisy, hurrying people and school kids everywhere. I looked like a rugged-up doll, wrapped in winter attire, my backpack dangling on the side, it was hilarious to watch me running on the sidewalk.

To give you bit of context to the story, back then I did not own a car. So, I walked every morning about ten minutes to catch a bus to go to the train station. Sometimes it was two buses and a train depending on where I worked. This particular morning, I got up late; snoozed my alarm few times and let myself indulge in Winter morning extra five -minutes sleep (you say), and there I was running to catch the bus.  The bus stop was about ten minutes away. But there was a catch; a big intersection to cross with two sets of traffic lights to get to the bus stop. Well, as you may have guessed already, on that day, I watched in horror my usual bus pulling up to the bus stop when I was two sets of traffic lights away!

 I waited impatiently for the green man to start walking, so that I can cross the road. But unfortunately for me, with all my best efforts of running across the pedestrian crossing when the green man came alive, I was twenty seconds too late. There I was at the bus stop, almost out of breath and disappointed, knowing I will be late for work that day. As you can imagine, I was upset, annoyed with myself for sleeping in and I waited for the next bus scheduled in fifteen minutes according to my app.

 I tried to sooth my disappointment, by watching the moving traffic, the world coming alive in the morning around me, but it was hard not to kick myself internally for what I’ve done. Guess what! Within the next five minutes another bus pulled over to the bus stop! Wow, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The driver confirmed that they are going to the train station and just like that I was off to work, and yes, I was on time. Needless to say, I was elated and so grateful for this blessing on that day.

If you ask me, was that bus scheduled to be arrived at that time? I do not know. Have I read the bus schedule wrong? May be. But I’ve travelled on that route for almost two years by that time, So, I generally had a good idea about the bus schedule.  However, regardless of where that bus came from, it worked out so well for me and changed an inevitable outcome (that I thought I would be  late for work).

You may say, what’s the big deal about missing a bus and catching another and arriving to work on time?  Yes, in the grand scheme of things, it is really insignificant; just an isolated incident on a normal day happened to a human being. However, waiting at that bus stop, on that Winter morning, feeling, lost, disappointed, and annoyed with myself not knowing what to do about my situation and then getting on that mystery bus was a very profound experience for me. Because sitting comfortably on that bus and watching the passing traffic from the window, I felt this amazing sensation of happiness and relief. At that moment, I realised that you are on your own timeline, and you have never missed YOUR BUS!

In life, sometimes it seems like we are late for things. Late to get married, late to get that promotion, late to start afresh, late to start a business, late for many things. I feel that too. But if we look at our lives in retrospect, we can see that things happen on time. Sometimes not when we want it or desperately need it to happen. But they happen on their own sequence and time. In most instances, if you look at the outcomes, you will realise that things worked out better than we anticipated in their own time.

I know it can be frustrating when you feel that the world is moving forward without you; when all your friends are getting married, growing their families, going on vacations and posting pictures on social media, having that promotion or building their businesses, and here you are still in the valley; feeling lost, confused and disappointed with yourself. As frustrating as it is, it seems that some of us have more work to do, more experience to make in life. Simply put, we may have to fall a few extra times in life before we have our big breakthroughs.

The question is though, yes, you may be late in life according to popular beliefs or what the society may say. But does it really matter what others may say about your situation? I guess it doesn’t. Because when you find happiness and contentment in your life; the love you waited for, the respect and acceptance you wanted, the fulfillment you worked so hard to achieve, the freedom that you seek to do what your wanted to do in life, at the right time for you, when did you receive that becomes less significant. Behind every façade, every need and want we have, all of us yearn for love, acceptance, human connection, kindness, and most importantly, freedom to choose. So, it doesn’t matter when you get it, as long as you get what you want at the right time for you.

So, my friend, believe me when I say, you never miss YOUR BUS, your opportunity in life. If something is meant for you, it will always find a way towards you.  Even when you feel that you are too late, too old,  too tired, too poor, too…. (whatever you keep telling yourself that you are too late for), you are not. Because, even if you miss one bus (one opportunity or many opportunities in life), there is always another and another and another… to take you to your destination.

Autumn Leaves

You just need to be willing to keep your eyes open to see it.  xoxo