Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

As I look back at the past, the 14 years of life that have been given to me till now, I realize how much I’ve changed. My face, my dressing, my point of view, my interests, my friends, everything.

But the one thing that has never failed to amaze me is the night sky- the stars. The reasons why they amaze me keep changing. Sometimes their twinkling, sometimes their beauty and size, at other times their distance form the Earth and sometimes their sheer number.

As I look into the night sky tonight, what they do amazes me; I don’t know how long they keep me mesmerized… maybe a second, a minute or maybe even an hour.

They change our destiny, according to some religions…

As I enter my home, I see my family munching on their dinner. Unknowingly, instinctively, a smile spreads across my face as my brother is ready to greet me with a friendly punch or a splash of water, my Father waiting for me with some news (why is it so important to him?), my Mother shoving a plate at me to stuff me with food. I’d rather face hell than not be a part of my family.

Yet, I wonder, would I have said the same thing had I been born elsewhere? Those little stars in some other part of the Universe decided that I’d be born here, so be it.

If those stars were positioned a bit differently at the time of my birth, who knows? I could have been born as a Child Soldier in Sierra Leone, a child running away from a bomb blast or a terrorist attack at Kashmir, a child begging the parents not to divorce in any part of the world, a child washing plates in India, my country…

Man changes his destiny, huh? To what extent? Sure, we can alleviate our sufferings slightly, sure, we can do our bit for the Environment, but our own fate?

Shakespeare once said, in a poem of his called ‘The Seven Ages’:

All the world’s a stage

And all the men mere players:

They have their exits and entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

…

Our birth in the world is decided: time, place, family, package offer including our death! And where we are born almost fully decides our future. And it is in our hands…???

Sure, we can choose whatever career we wish to pursue, but isn’t it luck ultimately? Back to the stars, back to God.

He is far enough that we can not see him; he is near enough to change our destiny.

“ Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

… You decide whether in the fight against bad luck,

I win, lose, or it is a tie…”