How a Dosa & a Snowstorm Taught Me Patience & Perspective

How is everyone doing? If you are in Canada (except Vancouver, of course – lucky you 🤭), how is the snow treating you? Are you surviving or fully considering hibernation at this point? And if you are somewhere warm… Well, congrats, you are basically in heaven. Now, speaking of snow – Montreal has been on a mission to set some kind of record. If you read my last blog, you already know it was freezing. Well, guess what? As I sit down to write this one, we are in the middle of a snowstorm. At this point, I just hope Montreal gets blessed enough to not see another unexpected snowstorm for the next zillion years!

And what’s the best way to survive a snowstorm? Comfort food (at home, hehe), of course! Unless, of course, getting that food turns into an unexpected lesson in patience…!!!

When Clean Eating Meets Weekend Cravings (and a Snowstorm)

Anyway, back to last week. I had been accidentally eating super clean – no fast food, just home-cooked meals. It was all going great… until the weekend rolled in. And my taste buds decided they wanted something spicy, cheesy, and absolutely not home-cooked. I suddenly started craving a Dosa (Savory South Indian Lentil Crepe) with lots of spices and cheese.🤤 Honestly, I wanted to go out and have at it! The only problem? Montreal wasn’t just cold - it was dealing with the highest snowfall in 70 years. And to make things worse, chilly weather has this weird way of making spicy, greasy food even more tempting. But did that stop me? Nope. I went straight to Uber Eats and ordered a Mysore Masala Dosa without a second thought for dinner around 8-05 PM.

Who Knew a Dosa Could Teach Me This?

Now, let’s sidetrack from the story for a moment. Here is the thing – I have realized that when you start paying attention to even the smallest things happening around you, life becomes one giant self-help book. Reading personal development books is cool, but decoding the events and signs the Universe throws your way? You gain next-level wisdom from them. Once you start recognizing these little moments…Boom! Suddenly, you are not just reading self-help books – you are writing your own. That’s how powerful these seemingly nonchalant, insignificant events are. They are tiny pieces of a bigger story, and if you focus on the duality in every situation, you will start seeing all the patience, kindness, and life lessons hidden in plain sight.

Duality, because when something happens, you either go, Oh, I need to be kinder or Oh, I don’t need to judge. OR you flip to the other extreme – Why me?! That was awful! and start cursing the entire event. But the thing is, every situation is trying to teach you something. Even an Uber Eats order in a snowstorm! Yep, you heard that right. Stick around, this one has got a little bit of everything!

The Long Wait for a Dosa

Alright, back to the story.

I was quite hungry, and my food was supposed to arrive around 9:15 PM. So I waited. As soon as the clock hit around 9 PM, I opened the app to check on my order. The driver was still at one location, and the app kindly informed me that he had multiple deliveries to make, so it would take longer. Fine, no big deal – I kept waiting, checking his location every now and then.

But every time I checked, the estimated delivery time kept increasing by 1-2 minutes. I figured, okay, maybe the driver is stuck somewhere, so naturally, I reached out to the driver to ask if everything was okay and get an approximate ETA. It was already late for dinner, and I just needed to know whether to keep waiting or give up and make something myself. But there was no response. I told myself, Alright, maybe he is just busy navigating through the snowstorm. So, I waited. And waited.

At this point, my patience was hanging by a thread. I was hungry, anxious, and mentally preparing myself for the tragic possibility of my Dosa arriving not-so-crispy. I gave it a little more time, hoping for some progress, but nope – the driver’s location pin didn’t budge at all. ​​That’s when I finally decided to reach out to Uber Eats Help to cancel the order.

The Dosa Delivery Conspiracy

After a five-minute wait, I got connected to an agent at 10:05 PM. She checked everything and informed me that yes, my order was very late, but it was on its way. As a peace offering, she said I could either get 20% of my subtotal back as Uber Cash if I chose to wait, or I could cancel the order immediately with a full refund. Now, at this point, I was desperate for my Dosa. I had fully accepted that it might not be as fresh or crispy as I hoped, but honestly, I was too hungry to care. Cooking or even grabbing something felt like way too much effort. So, I gave in, took the Uber Cash, and maybe a bucket of patience on the side – which would turn into a huge tub later!

So I kept waiting a little longer, and the app kept pushing the delivery time back – just a minute or two at a time, as if its goal was to slowly erase my craving for Dosa altogether. Or worse, as if it had some personal vendetta against me!😭 Meanwhile, the pin on the map? Stuck in the exact same spot. It was glued there!!! I knew the Universe was testing my patience at this point... Like, did I steal food in my past life or what?! Because this level of food karma felt way too personal. 😂

Held Hostage by a Dosa (Thanks, Uber Eats!)

Anyway, I tried my luck with another agent around 10:30 PM, hoping for a different answer. But nope – same old "Your order is on the way." At this point, I decided to cancel the order, explaining that the driver was not responding and it didn’t seem like it would arrive.

The agent refused to cancel my order, saying that since I had accepted the Uber Cash, I was not eligible for a cancellation. Wait, WHAT?! Apparently, the second you accept Uber Cash, you are locked in – no take-backs. Great, now I was trapped in an unbreakable contract… over a dosa. I even asked if they could just take the credit back and cancel the order instead, but nope – no way out. Instead, they suggested I reach out to the driver and ask him to cancel – except he was not responding at all, so that was not much of a solution. And now, I was completely stuck – couldn’t move forward, couldn’t go back. I tried requesting a partial refund, but before I could even process what was happening… Boom, the chat was closed. Left on read by Uber Eats!!! (And she cries in the corner😭)

The Moment I Let Go… The Universe Finally Decided to Cooperate

So finally, I gave in. I was exhausted – logically, and most importantly, hungrily. At that moment, a thought crossed my mind: Let me just release it. I had done my part, tried everything I could, and now, it was out of my hands. So, I let it go. For the first time in hours, I didn’t check my phone. I stopped refreshing the app, stopped waiting, and instead, started thinking about what else I could eat – just in case the order never made it. And then, just like that, the moment I truly let go… ping!

At around 11 PM, a message popped up from the driver. He was finally on his way. Not only that, but he apologized for the delay and explained what had happened – his car had been hit by a truck, and he had been stuck dealing with it at the location. And as soon as I read that, two things happened–

First, I immediately pinged him back, asking if he was okay. And second, this intense wave of guilt washed over me for being so impatient. And that? Well, that’s where the real lesson begins.

I couldn’t help but feel like I had been a little unkind. Here he was, struggling with a real problem, and I had no idea. But still, I could have been a little more patient… Damn this Dosa!!! I had tried reaching out to the driver earlier, and he hadn’t responded – maybe that was a sign. But of course, I didn’t see it that way at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, right? (If you haven’t heard this phrase before, it basically means that things always seem clearer when you look back at them. In the moment, we don’t always realize what’s happening, but later, it all makes sense – like suddenly having perfect vision after the fact.)

In that moment, I wished I were Sahadeva (the Mahabharat character who could see the future) so I could have just known and saved myself from all the overthinking and unnecessary guilt. Instead, I spent a few minutes beating myself up over it, replaying everything in my head, and thinking about what I could have done better.

When the Food Finally Arrived… But My Thoughts Took Over

Meanwhile, the driver finally reached my place and knocked on the door after leaving the food at my doorstep. He waited for me to open it, and when I did, he personally apologized and even showed me pictures of the accident. And honestly, I felt really bad for him. So, I asked again if he was okay.

I had already tipped him extra before all this happened, knowing how terrible the weather was and appreciating that he was out delivering in the middle of this brutal snowstorm. But then he told me that because of the accident, the food had fallen over, and if it was not in good condition, he would cancel the order and refund my money.

At this point, I wouldn’t have even thought about canceling. In fact, I would have gladly paid for the order again if needed. Even if the food was a mess, I wouldn’t have minded. So, I reassured him that everything was fine, thanked him, and told him to take care.

Honestly, I didn’t even check the food. I just put the parcel on the kitchen counter and stood there, lost in thought. The packed food sat there, almost staring back at me – the very thing I had waited for, fought for, and felt like I had spent an eternity waiting on. And now? I wasn’t even thinking about eating. I was thinking about what the heck just happened and how to interpret this whole scenario. What did I learn from this?

A Lesson in Self-Compassion (Courtesy of a Dosa)

First, I started beating myself up, wondering how I could be so unkind. I need to be more patient. Then, I weirdly found myself thanking the Universe for making me trip over that $2.50 cashback credit and stopping me from canceling the order – even after trying twice. Because clearly, this was meant to happen. I was supposed to go through this, be made aware of it, and eventually, learn something from it.

Then, I felt myself slipping into the familiar spiral of self-criticism. But then, I remembered something. I am currently reading Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, and she explains this concept so well. She points out that when a loved one – or even a stranger – makes a mistake, our natural instinct as kind and mature people is to be understanding, not overly critical. So why can’t we extend that same kindness to ourselves? We are all human. We all share this universal flaw of making mistakes. Yet, when it comes to ourselves, we are often the harshest critics. Why is it so easy to forgive others but so hard to show that same grace to the one person who is literally closest to us – ourselves?

A reminder to be as kind to yourself as you are to others.❤️

A Lesson in Surrender (Courtesy of a Dosa)

Another lesson I took from this? I spent the entire time checking, refreshing, and obsessing over the order status, and it still didn’t arrive. But the moment I surrendered after doing everything I could, stopped stressing, and left it to the Universe… boom, it showed up – bringing along a bunch of lessons I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. I realized that I was stuck – I couldn’t move forward, couldn’t go back. So, I just decided to release it. And the second I stopped trying to control everything and let it be, things unfolded in a way that was actually better for me. Because not only did I learn so much from this experience… But guess what? The dosa was even better than I expected – absolutely mouth-watering. So glad I couldn’t cancel the order! Hehehe!

Big Lessons from Life’s Smallest Moments

Now, I know what you might be thinking – how can such a tiny moment make me think like this? But honestly, I believe it’s these small, seemingly insignificant moments that teach us the biggest lessons – the ones we never forget. These little experiences shape our perspective, making life bigger, better, and more impactful. So next time life (or Uber Eats😜) tests your patience, just remember – sometimes, letting go is the fastest way to get exactly what you want.

And no matter how small it seems, take a step back and observe what it’s trying to teach you. Because often, these tiny lessons are the ones that end up helping us make the biggest decisions of our lives – the ones that lead us to the biggest and bestest (if I had a choice, I would totally make “bestest” a real word just to emphasize its impact haha!) experiences of life.

After all, small mistakes are so much better than the bigger ones we make when we ignore the lessons from those smaller moments. It’s better to learn patience over a late dosa than over something life-changing, right?😆

Life Lessons(With Some Uber Cashback😜), and a PSA

And just like that, a simple dosa order turned into an unexpected life lesson. Apart from everything I learned about patience, letting go, and self-compassion, I also walked away with one very important realization – Uber Eats policy 101: if you ever plan on canceling an order, do NOT accept the Uber Cash credit unless you are fully prepared to wait it out.  So yeah, consider this a little PSA(Public Service Announcement) from me to you.😜😆

(And If the whole idea of letting go speaks to you, I have written an entire blog on The Art of Detachment – head over there if you want to dive deeper into it!❤️)

Until next time, may your food arrive hot, your cravings be satisfied, and your life lessons be a little less dramatic!😌✨