It's Diwali and all the Diwali wishes I have received and exchanged today had an undertone current of a desire to have courage and wisdom to beat our fears.
I believe that we all our blessed with this one skill set which is unfathomable. But it does take in a lot of introspection and effort to realise that skill set and work towards harbouring it. Most of the times we are stooped down by the human factor around us. As a rule, we are not very acceptable of the extra ordinary, be it be trangenders getting legal status of the third sex or people pursuing their passion which doesn't sync with their degree. And to top it all if it's a career switch after investing years in a profession, it's a catastrophe. Raised eyebrows, uncouth permutation combinations, label of being defeated at your present profile, ah, you name it, and people around have already drawn that conclusion.
So at this threshold what do we have to enroute happiness. Well, confidence and belief and if you are fortunate small set of people who encourage your every step on the road less travelled. Collecting the favourable factors one needs to tread that path at least once in one's lifetime. And even it's a futile journey, being as pessimist as possible, at the end of the doomsday, one will still not have regrets of taking it up.
So, there are plethora of us (Attorneys) who have shrieked the slogan, 'Leave law behind'. The reason could be many, working ours that end only when you sleep, huge disparity between billable hours and the takeaways, traditional (read lala firms) still believing it to be an era of British colonialism, discrimination between men and women, black and white positioning in life, or just the overhauling fear of making a typo in a brief. And if not these, just a simple nod to 'law doesn't interest me anymore'. But leaving it all behind how factored is that step. Fear, darling, fear. Fear of acceptance, fear of non association with being called a 'lawyer', fear of what next, fear of starting from scratch, eats us and condemns us of blasphemy. And thus a retired hurt.
However, if for once, one doesn't let the fear engulf us in a canopy and take into treading the path of our passion, there are possible results. Who knows, the Mystic Law of the Universe was just waiting us to grow some balls and take that step. There is an equal probability of a successful career out an envied passion which has all three markings of the dream job, beauty, benefit and goodness. And who cares if doesn't work out, at least one will not live a life of harping on, 'if I had more courage'. And if not anything it will make a fantastic drunken story. I came, I saw, I conquered.
In the last few months, I have mystically come across a number of us, especially lawyers, who were not entrapped by their degree. They took note of their calling and today are successful entrepreneurs, consultants, fashion bloggers, photographers, motivational speakers (you see lawyers sell easily). They all had this one mindset in this common, 'Fuck this shit, bro. The people around will label be 'not the ordinary' when I make it there and quote be as example'.
Frost was not stupid to be remembered even today for 'The road less travelled'. Alice would have never made to your library had she given to fear to venture to the unknown wonderland.
Ah! This was a long post and my coffee has become cold, I need to warm it or may be I can make a new one, this time with a little more passion than the last coffee. (Subtle anology drawn)
Happy Diwali Guys. 14 years of exile and the homecoming gave us Diwali. May we all gain victory over our exiles of fear and plunge into the undercurrent of 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'.
