A Lesson in Surrender

We have come across so many stories where an individual is struggling to either reach a destination or, to achieve a goal. In hindsight, they realized that the universe had a better plan for them and the stumbling blocks were not what they perceived them to be! Most circulated, as evidence of the same, are stories of survivors of the horrific coming down of the twin towers called the World Trade Center. Incidentally, a recent editorial relates one such story and inspired me to share my experience that is just a day old.

Last week, had a similar experience, though not anything that threatened life. Had hired help in his 50s to get our apartment cleaned. We had the interiors done but could not move for the last three years to the new apartment due to multiple reasons. As a consequence, the apartment was dusty and all washrooms had scale formation since the quality of water is not that great.

Our hired help, Rajendran, came by and did the first level of cleaning with me helping him whenever work involved either lifting furniture or, boxes with our belongings which were transported in March of this year and are yet to be opened. Explained to Rajendran about the next phase of work which was critical to complete before we could move in. He agreed to come by the next day.

The struggle started when Rajendran did not show up the next day as promised. He was recommended by our night security personnel, Shubhdev, and our only way to communicate with Rajendran was through him. Was informed by Shubhdev that Rajendran is not happy with the money that we paid for his services. Although the terms of payment were settled in advance, little did we know that there was a communication gap? We requested Shubhdev to inform him that we can discuss his concerns and we are open to discussions as also to amend the payment. However, it took three days for Rajendran to believe us.

We were equally concerned with the fact that we are bothering Shubhdev every day to visit his house driven by our plan to get everything cleaned before Dussera. We requested Shubhdev to get his contact details (house location or mobile number) so that we can directly contact Rajendran. We were lucky and could contact Rajendran on the mobile of his son. After discussions on phone, we agreed to his expectation of compensation.

We were informed by Rajendran that he has taken another assignment and that he cannot give us a firm date when he will be available to do our work! The tentative date was October 7th. Obviously, our goal to move by Dussera was at risk.

We inquired from many other people for reliable and conscientious help. Taking services of professional service providers was one suggestion given to us. This is where the twist came in our efforts. One of our distant relatives had recently used such services of a well-reputed provider for a similar task and she was not satisfied. She finally had to pay additional charges to the person who came to clean to get the desired quality of work. She also informed us that the person has given his contact number as he also offers these services in his free time without the involvement of the service provider.

We contacted the person and he agreed to inspect the place to assess the work and give us the quote. He came the next day, along with his friend and much to our surprise, told us that they are ready to clean the place immediately if we agree with the terms of payment. We communicated to them that we do not have the cleaning tools and other accessories that they will need. We were pleasantly surprised when they told us that they have everything.

Without any mental preparation on my part and also a missed breakfast, agreed with their proposal and they initiated the cleaning.

While they were at work, dawned on me that this was not a task, that either Rajendran or me, could come even close to in terms of skills, tools, and chemicals that were required. Both the youngsters did a wonderful job and knew exactly the techniques to follow. It was very laborious to remove hardened scales in all washrooms. All work that we intended for Rajendran to complete was attended to. The goal was achieved on October 1st, well before Dussera.

Reflecting on the day, expressed my gratitude to all souls involved and to the Universe for helping us achieve the goal without any hint of how it got accomplished! It will be an understatement to say that it was a blessing in disguise as the experience that we went through could not have materialized without so many variables coming together.

Divine play, with the often repeated statement: put efforts to achieve your goals and leave the rest to the Almighty…. faith leads to surrender, with the strength to face struggles without getting frustrated.

Experiential learning is always deep and this will stay with us forever.

Wishing you all Seasons’ Greetings and joyful holidays.

Feature Image Courtesy: Maridav – stock.adobe.com