Life constantly throws us opportunities to grow and expand if we would but say that three-letter word. The more we say it, the more swiftly and smoothly does our authentic life unfold, says Aparrna Sharma

WHEN I SAID "YES"

It took me two months to struggle with this article.

What is the most natural reaction when somebody commands “Say Yes”?

Of course, you automatically say “Yes”

But then…. How often do we say a “Yes” while we do a “No”?

Being a timid person wary of taking on challenges, it took me a long time to even start imbibing the idea. But from the moment I said “Yes,” my life started gaining momentum. Long-standing deadlocks started opening up, the inertia in my mind started to melt.

At the same time I received the news of the Spiritual Master, Mohanji, visiting India. A chance came up to organise a meditation session for him in Chandigarh. I was alone, contemplating this in my mind. The voices around me discouraged me: “No, you can’t do it all alone.” “Why would he come to Chandigarh?”, “How can you manage to organise things after your long office hours?”

I turned to poetry, my eternal friend, philosopher and guide.

In her poem, The Journey, Mary Oliver says:

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
…But little by little,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognised as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

I decided to live the only life I have, and said “Yes” where everything around me was saying “No”. Last month, we had a meditation session where over 100 people meditated together, and then I travelled with the Master for the next three days. What I can say from the deepest core of my heart is that those three days of interaction with a living guru became the most sublime experience of a lifetime that will shine forever in my life… resplendent, even on the other side of the grave.

It has been the most amazing journey.