Paths in Life

There are mainly 2 types of paths in our lives. One that we control and the other one which we do not control. There are many instances of the paths that we control, for example our career (to some extent), our choice of partner, our hobbies etc. There are many things that we do not control, and i believe its unnecessary to cite examples of those things. They are omnipresent, like a sudden reward or an unexpected illness, or an employment loss.
As an individual our life is not only affected by just our own state, but by many people who are key players in our life. The closest comes the family , and then friends. A new situation from the uncontrollable sector is often challenging, and due to lack of experience can leave you very helpless. Eventually the course of time, keeps shaping & re-shaping the situations around us. A certain situation can lead to gigantic changes in your perspective towards life. Life includes everything, your personal diurnal activities, your loved ones around you and their well being, your friends & family and sundry other things. Life is always an open ended discussion.
Sometimes it might leave you awe struck with a huge load of happiness , at other times at the trough of distress. You might complain, thinking why in the world you were chosen to suffer, whereas other people around you are living a normal life. But such is life, a wave on which you ride with choice and no choice. Its absolutely irrelevant to compare your chapter of life with some one else's. Every chapter is unique just like us. Even the left side of a body is not similar to the right side, so how fruitless it would be to attempt to jot down the comparisons between my chapter and your chapter of life.
Usually when bad times come, we retrospect about the past joyful events, again comparing the present & past. However, in the past did we enjoy those moments as much as we should have? Most of the times, No, since we took things for granted when everything was normal and only the aberration in the present made us realize how wonderful the past was.
Small things can be a bag of profound happiness, if felt from a warm heart & an alert mind. So , its irrelevant to live your present in a trance, and miss out on the beautiful things only to reach the relatively unpleasant other end. Thus , stop living in a trance, feel the present, however it is, you will find some reasons and someone to make you feel happy, and do return the favor to that or those someones.
Have you ever pondered upon, why we only remember those with a smile when they are not around, rather than telling them everyday how much you love them when they are living with you in the "present". Or why do we lose track of our present for months, giving importance to superficial things more than the elements of life around us, waiting for life to happen once you get done with those superficial things. Why do we waste our precious present, in comparing our lives to the relatively better ones according to our perspective, in treating people like machines sometimes that we dont even feel their "human presence" around us.
In a nutshell, we should attempt to live in the present, enjoy the people around us and be sensitive, not live in our own little world full of trance. The things you can not control, there is nothing you can do about them beyond a point. If not today, someday you will rendezvous with them, and you will have to deal with them with inner strength , faith , knowledge and compassion.