Thanksgiving

Despite the holidays, I kept working, responding to emails, and completing tasks in my projects. The internal audit is taking more time than I thought. This job is usually done by my manager but assigned to me as he is incapable of doing it himself. I continue to work on areas that are not really my job but I do them anyway.  It is moments such as these that one contemplates retirement. Perhaps there are better things to do such as writing that great novel or screenplay. Taking stock of one's life seems to happen more often these days especially in comparison to my friends.

Luck does play a huge part and looking back at my success in moving here was due to my former boss, a New Zealand Indian who was born in South Africa. He was a nice guy where I often had arguments with in the past but in the end, he was a decent chap. He also helped my other friends to move here from Asia and they have prospered as well. It is the usual attitude that one attributes one's success to his abilities when in fact it was the help provided you by others. It is what comes next, how one uses his luck to further his fortune. The mistake is thinking that one has reached where he has due to his abilities rather than by luck.

It is humbling to think that luck plays a big part in one's success that one begins to doubt. Those who think otherwise, that success was due to their own cunning and abilities forge ahead and may end up in trouble due to hubris and miscalculation. I have envied my friends who have better luck and opportunities, angry that my own fortune is not the best but in fact, I am fortunate as well which I often do not see; instead, coveting what others have. It is reaching for an illusion rather than the good.

Everyone has a good soul and that my anger and envy have blinded me to this reality. Even if they are false in their beliefs, one should not fault them for their illusions. One becomes free to think we are all responsible for our destiny rather than looking at others for their better luck ( or so it seems). One must focus on his own life. This is a lesson that I take from that canny South African Indian living in New Zealand who hurled us outward to America. To help us along in our quest for a better life and to take responsibility for our lives.