Are you prepared for the unexpected?
And why it matters for us as a society
2018 has been a year of several unexpected events in my life.
Reflecting back I feel there is a impending question that destiny kept hurling at me: Are you prepared for the unexpected?
Anticipating the unexpected does not come easily to many. How many of us pay attention to the air hostess when he/she explains the escape procedure in the unlikely event of an accident? We all take it for granted and travel secured, but then lingers the question… what if? Well, precaution is better than cure, but why bother if the possibility is one in a million?
I was relaxing at home on the 29th of July 2017, watching House of Cards when it was time to go for driving practice. The M80 that they offered for me to learn was indeed quite notorious for not having the best mechanics. Or at least that is what I kept saying when I performed poorly. It was time to take an 8 and my bike turned off in between. While starting, I gave too much acceleration and I forgot where the break was. Mistaking it for cycle, I kept speeding up and throttled forward.
As a result I went at full speed towards a wall, skidding and falling on the ground while the bike took major blow colliding with the wall. Blood all over, I was taken to the hospital and the shaved a portion of hair that got impacted for cleaning. My parents came in within an hour and took me back home, where Kevin Spacey looked grim on my laptop as I paused.
Thankfully I passed the driving test, but even today I look back and ask my self, did I see that coming?
September 3rd 2017. I am at my father’s native place — Konni at Pathanamthitta district of Kerala and we were celebrating my birthday along with grandmother and family relatives. After cutting the cake and enjoying it, we were discussing about visiting the elephant camp nearby cause my young cousins would enjoy. For unknown reasons, I decided to race my cousin sister to wash our hand and I unknowingly pushed my grandmother. She fell hand first and took quite an impact as she did not have proper body balance (quite senior in age). And the rest of the day was spent at the hospital watching over her recovery and improvement.
July 15th 2018. I am at Trivandrum along with my grandparents and after the morning service at the church, we were getting our provisions from the super market. My grand mother goes to the first floor and I think of following her but dismiss it to watch over the cart below. 10 seconds or so later, she came tumbling down the stairs with a crack on her forehead. Everyone rushes together and we try to provide first aid. We rush to the hospital and gradually order is restored.
Relatives round the world were getting the news and constantly contacting us to know updates. My father sent for support from his colleagues who came and guided us. After everything was done, what was left was a head band on my grand mother’s forehead and a lot of body pain. With every 2 day check ups and work from college commitments, I was really stressing out. I would wake up 4 in the morning and try to get work done while still having a headache. After two weeks, I returned back to home, thinking how random set of events these were.
September first week, I am at home doing my work. The bell rings and the girl next door asks me quite franticly if I had a car and could drive her grandmother to the hospital. Hesitant to drive, I offered the vehicle which they used. It took quite some effort to bring their unconscious mother into the vehicle but when they did, the rest was quick.
An hour later they return with the news that the elderly women passed away. Was I responsive enough? Did we handle the situation promptly? Could it have been better? So many questions that probably will never be answered.
I could keep taking of various other occasions — the time when my mother fell down at Pune, or the time when Kerala faced severe virus epidemic and heavy floods to name a few. All these pose an invisible question to us: Are you expecting the unexpected?
All these moments in life make me think how confident and strong is one’s spirit to tackle hurdles at all times. None of us can predict the future, and being hyper cautious can result in gloominess. Yet beyond all the uncertainty, there is indeed a certain degree of preparation we can have to be ready — by learning from experiences.
When soldiers are trained for the real world, they are not taken through a smooth path. They are put through immense pressure and extreme challenge to ensure they have ‘seen it all’ and are capable to respond to situations. But not everyone is preparing for that is it? Most of us live our lives believing the world revolves around us and everything is smooth sail while in reality when the slightest problem rises they loose their confidence.
One very useful skill for all of us to attain would be knowing how to give a CPR for those precious moments could save someone’s life. Other skills such as dealing with pressure comes from experience — so the earlier you embrace a challenge, the more equipped you become for the future that awaits us. Instead of trying to escape from the possibility of making a mistake, we should take risk and attempt because only then do we get ready for the outer world.
Do not get me wrong — unexpected moments can be welcoming too! I remember with full clarity the day I received a message from Arya Murali of Rethink Foundation, encouraging me to apply for a scholarship. The positivity that the interaction brought out truly changed the course of my life for the better as I started welcoming challenges instead of avoiding it. Today so much unexpected good things happen in my life and I am grateful for those. Yet while the sun shines bright on the good days, it is important to be prepared for the silent nights. So let me conclude with a short story that my mother told me in my childhood.
After a lot of calculations and predictions, the scientist finally realized that the moth that was going to hatch from the cocoon was going to be extremely beautiful and he was excited. Seeing the creature slowly struggle in finding its way through the substance, the scientist felt sorry and helped out with his apparatus. When done, the moth that was expected to be beautiful in the future lived for a very short moment before dying out.
What the scientist did not realize is that when the moth was struggling, it was actually building a strong body and that development was quintessential for the future of the beautiful creature. The challenge was essential to be ready for the unexpected future.
Will you prepare? Or will you give in? Time can tell and it is ticking away.
