Storms of Destiny?

Once upon a time there was a boy. He used to work very hard at school. He was punctual, always neatly dressed, did his homework well on time, was obedient, and used to stand first in the class. He was the apple of every teacher's eyes. He never stayed back late in the school, used to start doing his homework as soon as he returned from the school, and then used to go to play for one or two hours in the evening. He kept everyone happy. His parents were more than satisfied and proclaimed him as a God's gift. His relatives never had anything to complain about him. He used to share his tiffin, play in the recess and in the evening, and helped his classmates with their studies by explaining them anything they could not understand or lending them his notebooks. His classmates also were happy with him, and never bullied him. They even let him play with them although he was never a great shot at any game. It was a perfect symbiotic world!

The same continued through his pre-college and college life as well, the only add on being a bigger circle (or rather, more concentric circles of relationships around the same center i.e the boy!) , and hence, greater complexities in the symbiotic relationships. The degree of such relationships began to differ and formed small clusters of similar intensity symbiosis. But, everything was peaceful, nice and calm.

However, as the maxim goes - "The good thing about bad things is that they come to an end. But, the bad thing about good things is that they too come to an end."

One day this silence before the storm had to end. Silence had prevailed for too long - more than two decades! It had to end. The storm had to come. And it came. Everything became haywire. Chaos. Confusion. All symbiotic cords seemed to have been cut. All connections disabled. Relationships forgotten in the haze, or covered in dust. Everyone around seemed to be sure of what they did. He, for the first time in his life, was not. He tried to work hard to understand what to do. But, the efforts did not yield much. He, as always, was punctual and obedient. However, different authorities gave clashing orders. He wasn't sure whom to follow. They said, "Form your own point of view." He said, "Ok". He did what he thought was right. Half the people believed in him. The other half became unhappy with him for not endorsing their stance. He started coming back late to his home. He lost connection, not only with his friends, but with his parents and relatives as well. His parents, for the first time, were not happy. Why? 'Coz they thought he didn't remember them too often! His relatives too, had a similar complaint - "Ki gal? Saanu bhul gaye?" And his friends? Well, they never said the same out in open, but he suspects, their case was not too different. Only, they chose to remain quiet on the issue.

And today, that boy, standing on a crossroad, confused, searches for a way forward. He works hard at learning this harsh lesson of life, and is trying to make amends and find a clear path now that the storm seems to be subsiding. Or is it that his eyes have got used to the stormy air, and hence can see things far more clearly than ever before. In any case, he shall try and reforge the lost connections, search for any loose strings and pull them until they are taut enough to bear the burden of close friendships once more. And then, the journey shall resume on full speed again!

But one series of sawaals tinkle his restless mind - Are these the storms of destiny? Are they some tests God puts us through to test our mettle? Is life like a series of laps, with each lap having one such test? And people falling off or giving up at different laps in the life's marathon?
Yes or No?