Man proposes, life disposes

My whole life I've been fighting to convince myself that the way our lives turn out is the direct outcome of the choices we make. That there is no such thing called 'destiny'. We always have a choice...to pick one path over the other, to go this way or that, to stay or walk away, to resist or give in. However, as the years go by, it becomes harder and harder to convince myself that this is entirely true.

For instance, I'd never thought I'd go to the US to study. Right through school, I believed I was headed for Delhi University for college. However, the opportunity to study in the US presented itself and I took it up. I didn't go seeking it, but once I got the opportunity I went after it.

Once I was in America, it was almost a given then I would finish college, take up a job there itself and settle down. Life, however, had totally different plans for me! The situation became such that I had to return to India. I'm not saying that was a bad thing, just that I hadn't planned it that way! During my four months in the US when it became apparent that I would have to return to India, I tried very hard to find a means of staying back but I couldn't.

A year after I'd been working in India, I got a call for an interview at a company that was the biggest brand name within my industry. After an excruciatingly long interview, they made me an offer that I accepted. Thus came about my move to Mumbai, a city I love to death! Again, I wasn't looking for this break. It came to me & I decided to take it up.

Seems like history is about to repeat itself now. When I was contemplating a move to Calcutta for personal reasons, it didn't happen. And when I stopped thinking about it & shifted my attention to Delhi instead, I got a job offer from Calcutta that was both lucrative & compelling.

I do think our life is an outcome of the choices we make but only to a certain extent. The options that we must choose between are thrown at us by life itself. It is the greatest of all masterminds. So yes, with each passing day I'm inclined to believe that there IS a force called 'destiny'. Nobody can take away from me, what's meant for me. At the same time, no matter how hard I try, I will not get what doesn't belong to me. I will get only what is meant for me, and that's the way it will be!