ON A LONG DISTANCE RIDE: LOST IN LIFE, FOUND BY A SAINT

I had no idea what i was going to do now. I had set a deadline for finding a job. It had passed. No oppurtunities on the horizon. Neighbours spoke in whispers about the boy who stays at home. Family posed questions on marriage and paying insurance. I was lost, for words and for myself.
Dornahalli is a small hamlet off the Mysore-Hassan highway. Legend has it that a wooden doll resembling St.Anthony was found here. A farmer was ploughing his fields when he dug up the doll, and miracles and omens were set in motion. Nobody goes back home empty handed. St.Anthony answers your prayers. He is the patron saint of all things lost and found. I was wandering and He found me.
I set off with a friend on a Sunday morning. The drive was excellent. The Catholic influence was obvious in the villages. Turkeys replaced chickens. But even they couldn't help but cross the road. Crosses on the house replaced the usual dung. But, the village charm was still there.Read more on chickens and country chicks
In the vast lands, surrounded by fields both green and barren, lies the church. You can see it from a distance and hear the gong of its bell. Hardly ten were present for the Sunday Mass. An equal number of beggars at the entrance greeted us. We took a look around the church. It was calm and peaceful, a stark contrast to the feast of St. Anthony, when the faithfully congregate in their thousands.
I did have a look at the wooden doll. 'So, the legend is true' i said to myself. But, what blew my mind away was the painting inside of St.Anthony with a child in his embrace. I couldn't take my eyes of it. For the first time in a long time, i was surrounded by peace. I felt light. I felt elated, as if i had found something which was long lost.
I had packed some cake and bread. I distributed it among the poor, and soon we were on our way back to Mysore. All the way, i could not explain the strange yet happy feeling in my heart. Something in that place had touched my soul.
Back at home, lying in my bed, i closed my eyes for a nap, when it flashed me. I had found what i had lost, running behind deadlines and opinions of people, and the expectations of society.
I had found Myself.