Life is the best teacher. Life teaches you the correct lesson when you are in need. This happened back in 2007 when I visited my first onsite. The dreamland for all IT-ians, United States of America. I boarded the British Airways flight from Chennai to London and took another flight from London to Chicago. I landed in Chicago and had to catch a domestic flight to Seattle. Transit time was very less, so I had to run from the international terminal to domestic terminal. These two terminals are connected with an internal shuttle train. I got into the train and by the time I reached the domestic terminal I knew I was late. I rushed to the counter and I was greeted by a blue-eyed American woman before I could speak up, she told me “Sorry sir, You missed the flight by 2 mins, here is your next flight ticket to Seattle which is at 8.30 A.M tomorrow morning”. This was the first time I had missed a flight and I was restless. I had to reach Seattle that night and by next morning I had a client meeting. If I go by the next day morning flight I would reach office post lunch only. I pleaded with her, if there was any other way to go early? She replied with a firm No. All the nearby hotels were booked so I had to spend my whole night in the airport.
I was feeling a little low and sat on a seat. It was a new experience for me. New country, new situation. Few others were sitting next to me and among them, I saw one Mexican, who resembled a cowboy of old English movies with a flat round hat. He stared at me and came to sit next to me.
“I guess you too have missed the flight, Isn’t” – He asked me before even saying a hello.
‘’Yes”
“I too missed the same flight” – He said with a wry smile on his face.
“oh, where are u going to stay tonight? – I asked him, knowing the answer.
“I tried the nearby hotels all were booked and few are very expensive so decided to spend the night out in airport” he looked tired and words were coming out mildly. Then I started reading a novel. After few mins, I saw him seeing his right-hand palm and fingers. He was staring at his palm for a long time.
“Sir, May I know what you are doing?” – I asked him with much inquisitiveness.
He turned to me and started telling this “Power of Fingers”
What would you do when you are feeling low? What would be your immediate reaction when something goes wrong at your work? Usually, whenever we are down or feeling low either we look for a mood change or we dwell on the low mood for some time. If you want to change the mood or raise above the issue, there is a simple way to do it, which I have been doing for years. And it is very effective too. All you need to do is to look at your right hand and see your five fingers. Today was a tough day for me, I traveled all the way from London and I must go to Seattle tonight to meet my daughter who has been unwell for the past few days. I promised her over the phone that I would come home for dinner. Since I missed out the flight, I feel very sad, but if I keep feeling sad I will attract more situations which will bring more worries to life. So by doing this quick and simple exercise, I jump into the happiness state in a few seconds.
Just stare at the fingers for a while and remember the following:
1. Thumb – Start with your thumb. You would have held a trophy on your right hand or a degree certificate when you graduated from college. Without thumb “holding” any object is very tough, just be grateful for your thumb and cherish those wonderful moments in your life, by doing this your mind is triggered with positive vibes and your current situation will vanish in a blink of the eye! Then have a thumbs up for your past achievements and smile at your thumb!
2. Index Finger – Now see your Index finger. Your parents or your well-wishers in your life would have shown you the right path in life or you would have shown the right path/directions to your children. So, I match this index finger with “right path”, so whenever I see my Index finger, I feel I am on the right path
3. Middle Finger – This finger I matched it with “heights”, you would have reached many heights in your life, like scoring high in your grades or ranked higher in your high school etc. Life is meant to achieve high things. So this finger teaches you to always aim high!
4. Ring Finger – This finger is for wearing a ring, so I named this finger as “prosperity finger” whenever I see this finger I imagine myself as a wealthy man and thank God for all the money I have in my life
5. Little Finger – I named this finger as my “darling finger” this finger tells me, I should be humble and polite all the time even after I reach different heights in my life.
“That’s it, my friend, I am a little tired, going to have a nap, please wake me up as I don’t want to miss the flight again” He told me and started sleeping on the seat. I was grateful towards him for letting me know of this since it was a lesson that could get me through the long night and we both boarded the morning flight to Seattle.
Life teaches us in many ways, it could be anyone whom we think as a stranger and may play a vital part in our life. Be open to receiving the teachings and don’t feel dejected when you miss a flight and give a stare at your fingers :
Love,
Rajesh Vairapandian.
https://www.facebook.com/rajeshvairapandian