"From a spiritual perspective, the Universe is just another name for a higher power that exists. Some people call it God, some people call it Source, while others call it Consciousness. It doesn’t matter what you call it because we are all referring to the same thing." - (quoted)

For those of us, who single ourselves out as destiny's chosen or even marked ones, confer 'discriminatory' status on this force. Can something we regard as Supreme, play favourites, or penalise?

If we look carefully around us, life has its inherent challenges and blessings for the collective. Were we to analogise it with nature - the Universe' creation - the ups and downs of our situations and circumstances are akin to hills, mountains, plains and deserts on Earth. Our placement on the physical plane and therefore our experiences, are as varied.

For a flower to assume it's been born to privilege and for a cactus to deem its existence a hard, doomed one, is unfair. What the universe does is plant us, like seeds. Our home soil can be arid, fertile or slushy, that's beyond our control ... what we come equipped with, is the potential to adapt and transform. Our cactuses learn to bloom and sprout flowers even in barren landscapes and mangroves abound in marshes.

Seeds sown from the same lot, under identical care circumstances, grow differently - like us. There are examples around us of siblings born into the same privileges - some may squander their advantage, the others, may continue to flourish and then there are those who rise from nothing, bely their circumstances and history to create inspirational success stories. Which role can we cast the Universe in, with this?

Change is the cornerstone of life. Everything, including our lives, undergo both, cyclical and sporadic changes. The highs and lows are not blessings or punishments, they are the laws of existence. They simply are. The spin we put on them, is solely our interpretation.

Forces and powers, by themselves, are neutral. They acquire meaning only when applied. Guiding their direction and momentum is the universe living in us. How we steer it, strengthens or weakens that force. Its our actions and intentions, which beget outcomes which manifest as blessings or burdens.

It's the classic glass half empty or half full scenario. We can perceive ourselves favourites to the extent we regard ourselves to be such, the feeling of being overlooked can be regarded as the propeller which favours our evolution and growth. The Universe blesses us either way.