History repeats itself until we learn the lessons required to alter our path. This captures the gist of the law of change and is essentially what the law is about. It is one of the subset laws of Karma and plays a pivotal role in averting disaster in the sense that it can enable one to break free from the yoke of a negative karmic pattern. Change starts from within and as long as the degree of movement is neither zero nor three sixty, rest assured that in the long run progress will be part and parcel of your history. In the book Atomic Habits, the author James Clear gives a notable example of shifting the route of an airplane by just a few degrees. He gives the example of flying from Los Angeles to New York City. If the pilot was to make a small adjustment and turn 3.5 degrees south, the plane would end up in Washington DC, instead of New York City. This underscores the importance of making changes, no matter how small.
Change can either be positive or negative and it goes without mention that for the most part, positive change ought to be sought. If by happenstance you encounter negative change contrary to your expectations, be cognizant of the fact that a reversal is feasible and all errors are amendable. When one ploughs through life without pausing to catch a breath, one is apt to make the same mistakes repeatedly while at the same time expecting different results. More so if you are moving too fast that you can hardly hear a thing or two while at it.
Once upon a time when I was barely a teen, we had an older relative who was living with us at the time. He was quite skilled at what he did and was pleasant to be around. However, often times he would get antsy and was the sort of person who if given a chance, would drag the words out of your mouth if you took too long to finish a sentence. Countless times, he would scurry off with half the information required to carry out a task and either come back several minutes later for the missing puzzle then proceed to do a remarkable job or blow apart the task and leave you questioning his sanity. Whoever coined the phrase all or nothing must have had him in mind because he either scored hundred percent or zero in everything he did, anything in between was a rarity.
Early one morning as we made our way to school, my mother issued some instructions to him which seemed clear enough. In as much as we were in a hurry since we were running late and I had become weary of being the last one to arrive in class, she repeated the same words twice as we drove off into the horizon. We made the assumption and were under the impression that he had understood the instructions. In any case what else can one do to a puppy if not feed or care for it as best as you can. Upon arrival back home in the evening, he was nonchalant and reported casually that the assigned task was completed. No sooner had we left than he proceeded to kill the puppy. In my vernacular language, the only similarity between the term for kill and feed is that they are both three letter words. Bai means feed whereas bar means kill. To our utter dismay, he heard the latter word and the rest is history. The scene was barbaric and grisly to say the least.
Not too long ago, I ran into him. Age has definitely caught up with him but one thing is evident, he has changed somewhat. Not only has he become older but he has become wiser as well. The natural progression of time can in fact bring a tide of change and in his case, I’m inclined to believe that this appears to be the case. He did not make a conscious effort to change. However, being a laughing stock took a toll on him and with the diminishing energy that comes with age advancement, he carries out his business at a rather more sedate pace thus is prone to make less mistakes. He must have learnt some lessons along the way. Lessons that compelled him to alter his path.
Several miles from our rural home deep in the countryside, a legend once shared with us his captivating story that was filled with twists and turns. In as much as he comes from a place known for producing world class athletes who dominate the marathon scene, he spent a fair share of his early life on the run with little to show for it. He had a brush with the law and moved to the city to evade arrest. No sooner had he arrived in the city than he joined a cult and got deeply involved in drugs while earning a living as a tout. He was good at what he did. However, in the cut throat industry in which he worked in, he rubbed people the wrong way and they caught wind of the devious tactics he was using to woo customers. A plot was hatched to eliminate him and shred him to pieces. As luck would have it, he was warned by a friend and so his second run began in earnest. In addition to the police from his hometown looking for him, members of a rival cult were baying for his blood hence he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
He made his way to a different part of town and sought refuge in a police station. Luckily for him is that the right arm doesn’t know what the left arm does. Therefore, his hometown police team were not alerted of his presence. His friend who worked in that station as a police officer welcomed him and gave him a roof over his head. A day turned into weeks and he was given two options to either shape up and look for work or ship out. A middle ground option available was impersonation as he looked for meaningful employment. They visited the slum areas and he learnt the ropes of how the cops carry out the operation of going after illicit brew. By the end of the first week he had made a tidy sum and felt confident enough to go alone.
Within no time he widened his territory and frequented three other slum dwellings within the surrounding area. However, his proverbial forty days was fast approaching. One Sunday afternoon, he and a friend made their way to a nearby place to have a meal. Shortly thereafter, his friend excused himself and walked out of the room. While devouring his sumptuous meal, a lady opened the door, peeked inside and left in a dash. This caught his attention. He rushed outside and saw her entering the next door. He stood next to the door and eavesdropped on the conversation taking place inside. Apparently, his friend who had accompanied him there was not aware that he was impersonating police officers whereas he was a cop himself. An animated conversation took place inside as the members of the public sought to know what he was doing in the company of someone who had swindled a tidy sum from them. To add salt to injury, his friend blew his cover by confirming that he was just an errand boy who spent a better part of his time at the station. This infuriated the occupants of the room and they vowed to revenge. To cut the long story short, the third chase was activated and he escaped death by a whisker.
He was no longer welcomed at the police station and a shoot to kill order was circulated. Little did he know that this was the case. As he approached the station, he heard someone shout “there he is” and once again, a chase ensued. He took to his heels and the cops were hot on his tracks. Fortunately, the shoot to kill order was not enforced otherwise he would not have lived to tell the tale. As fate would have it, he spent that evening sampling a buffet style dinner at the Vice President’s residence. A few days later, he was rendered essentially homeless. Shortly thereafter, circumstances forced him to travel back home and he had another run in with the law that forced him to flee once again to the nearby town. While there, he earned good money and started establishing roots. However, the money was not put to good use owing to his drug addiction.
One New Year’s Eve marked a turning point in his life. He asked his wife to give him some money for drinks. However, his wife agreed under one condition. The note would be handed to him if he agreed to go to church and allow the pastor to pray for him. That seemed easy enough and he obliged. The service session took longer than he had anticipated and he took several naps in between. Those sitting next to him had to endure his pungent body odor. At one point someone held their nose when the stench was unbearable and he did the same thinking it was time to do so since he had never attended a church service before.
At the tail end of the service, the pastor asked if someone was willing to give their life to Christ. He stood up in earnest because he needed to play his part of the bargain and hit the drinking den. However, the sermon seemed to have hit a raw nerve. He was overcome by the spirit and when asked if he was willing to give up the drugs, he tossed them outside without flinching one bit. From that point onwards, his life changed completely. He is now a Pastor and a drug addiction counselor in the local community. He quit the bottle and drugs cold turkey even though it seemed as though the drugs were talking to him every once in a while. It’s been twenty years since then and the decision couldn’t have made his family any happier. In conclusion, even though history repeated itself several times over he heeded the call and learnt the lessons needed to alter his life.
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