The Case of the Conspiring Cosmos

If we will all learn to stop and look around us, we will realize how clever the universe is, how it talks to us, and how unsubtle it can get.

Jessica Zafra calls this phenomenon, “synchronicity.” When the things happening around you seem to be working in a unified theme, that’s synchronicity!

Take my life for example.

From my so-called big leap springs a series of doubts and fears, but through the signs inconspicuously lying around everywhere, I know I am on the right path.

The morning before I left the country, I discovered how the term “too late” really means. That once you postpone acting on your gut feel, a last minute bold move will never redeem your procrastination which translate to idleness, if not cowardice. Sometimes, having too much time spoils us, making us complacent when we should have been proactive especially when we are aiming for certain goals in our lives.

This then leads me to sign number 2. What were the odds that the in-flight movie, the film I had to watch for the three hours that I was stuck on the plane was The Bucket List? The Bucket List is a movie about two men who, at their age, you’d think would have maximized their days. But as it turns out, they have yet to live their lives. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play the lead roles, the characters who, after finding out that they are terminally ill, cram their life’s to-do’s in whatever little time they have left on earth. Aside from trying to make its audience cry, the film attempts to serve as a wake-up call to everyone, to learn to live while they are still alive.

The first restaurant I dined in on my first day in Singapore is ironically a Thai restaurant called, Thai Express. After browsing through their menu, I ended up reading its back cover. There I found the word sa-nook. According to the text, sa-nook which is often heard in Thai conversations means “live life to the fullest.”

I dared not say “pass” to the invitation to hear mass outside my country. And in a place where religion is the major thing I had in common with the rest of the crowd, my senses and ability to concentrate throughout the entire Eucharistic celebration were exceptionally heightened. There I got my fourth sign.

“What are you most afraid of?” asked the priest to open his homily. He then emphasized how our fears take away our lives, how much of our lives are lost when we live in fear. If only we have faith in the mighty being and perhaps in ourselves can we be free of our fears and get the most out of our lives.

Therefore, considering the less than subtle hints I’ve been “receiving” for the past days, the theme of my life as of the moment is what Mr. Keating, played by Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society, refers to as carpe diem. It is almost synonymous to the Thai’s sa-nook. Carpe diem is the Latin literal translation of “seize the day”. And since by now, I am getting a solid grasp of the cosmos’ message, I’m hoping to do my best in seizing my days.

I know there will be a possibility that things out here would not turn out as the next success story I would have liked to boast about, but what the hell?

I took the plunge, didn't I?

At least I would not rot wondering how things would have turned out if I flew out here.

And so to the conspiring cosmos, this I have to say, “I hear ya! I hear ya.”