INTRODUCTION

EVER BURNED YOUR TOAST AND FELT LIKE YOUR MORNING WAS RUINED? WHAT IF THAT TINY MISTAKE WAS TRYING TO TEACH YOU THE BIGGEST LESSON OF YOUR LIFE?

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. THE BURNT TOAST ON MY PLATE TURNED OUT TO BE THE START OF SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER, A REMINDER THAT EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE, STANDING IN THE KITCHEN, MAKING BREAKFAST, ONLY TO SEE THE TOAST, ONCE GOLDEN AND PERFECT, NOW CHARRED. FRUSTRATION HITS IMMEDIATELY. MAYBE EVEN ANGER. BUT WHAT IF BURNT TOAST IS MORE THAN JUST A BREAKFAST MISHAP? WHAT IF IT IS A METAPHOR FOR LIFE?

THAT MORNING, EVERYTHING STARTED NORMALLY. COFFEE FIRST, TOAST SECOND. SAME ROUTINE, SAME STEPS, AUTOPILOT MODE. BUT THE SMELL OF BURNT TOAST STOPPED ME IN MY TRACKS. I DID NOT GRAB A NEW SLICE. I DID NOT TOSS IT IN THE TRASH. I STARED AT IT AND THOUGHT, MAYBE THIS IS HAPPENING FOR A REASON.

BURNT TOAST FORCES YOU TO PAUSE. IT INTERRUPTS YOUR FLOW. IT DISRUPTS THE ROUTINE WE TAKE FOR GRANTED. USUALLY, WE SEE THESE LITTLE DISRUPTIONS AS ANNOYANCES AND TRY TO FIX THEM AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. BUT MAYBE THEY ARE THE UNIVERSE’S WAY OF GETTING OUR ATTENTION.

THAT DAY, I DID NOT TOSS THE TOAST. I ATE IT, AND SOMETHING CLICKED. LIFE IS NOT JUST ABOUT MOVING FROM ONE THING TO THE NEXT. SOMETIMES THE LITTLE THINGS, THE RED LIGHTS, THE LOST KEYS, THE MISSED CALLS, ARE NOT SETBACKS AT ALL. THEY ARE SIGNALS, REMINDERS, TINY OPPORTUNITIES DISGUISED AS INCONVENIENCE.

I STARTED NOTICING THESE MOMENTS EVERYWHERE. PATTERNS EMERGED. COINCIDENCES THAT FELT LIKE ACCIDENTS TURNED OUT TO BE ANYTHING BUT. EVERY MISSTEP, EVERY DETOUR, WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED TO GET TO THE NEXT CHAPTER. THE UNIVERSE HAS A FUNNY WAY OF GIVING YOU WHAT YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW YOU ARE ASKING FOR. SOMETIMES IT COMES AS AN OPPORTUNITY, SOMETIMES AS AN OBSTACLE, AND SOMETIMES AS BURNT TOAST.

THE LESSON IS SIMPLE. EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. WHETHER YOU SEE IT OR NOT, WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE NOW OR ONLY LATER, IT ALL HAS PURPOSE. AND ONCE YOU START TRUSTING THAT, LIFE UNFOLDS IN WAYS YOU NEVER IMAGINED.

SO I ATE THE BURNT TOAST. NOT BECAUSE I HAD TO, BUT BECAUSE I WANTED TO. IT WAS NOT JUST BREAKFAST. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING BIGGER.

SINCE THAT DAY, I HAVE BEEN NOTICING MORE BURNT TOAST MOMENTS. COLLECTING THEM LIKE BREADCRUMBS. SEEING HOW ALL THE TINY ACCIDENTS, DELAYS, AND MISTAKES CONNECT IN WAYS I NEVER WOULD HAVE IMAGINED.

SOMETIMES, LIFE’S LESSONS COME IN THE MOST UNLIKELY FORMS, EVEN BURNT TOAST.