Skip to main content

Of trips and transitions...

Today as I packed a carton to be shipped home by road, I caught myself contemplating briefly... imagining the long journey ahead of the carton over about a week and at least 3-4 Indian states. It struck me that it has been years since I have enjoyed a long road trip or even a train journey home. These simple pleasures have fallen victim to the new 'jet-setting' lifestyle, where trips home have got reduced to long weekends and everything including transportation is preferred superfast. Not that I mind air travel, but nothing can beat the anticipation that accompanies all the hours of a slower mode of travel. Also air travel leaves me with a lot of inertia especially when I return from home. Even before I have fully realized it, I am returned far away from where I feel like being the most, after a fun-filled and thoroughly pampered vacation!

Anyway, what the carton also made me realize today is that I am growing increasingly fond of change... motion. Maybe I was always like this or maybe not. But having traveled over a large part of the country with my parents, even simply as tourists on holiday, I can see now that the appeal mainly simply lay in the constant change...the anticipation of something new around every corner or every few hours.  The shifting landscapes, changing terrain, changes with day-night cycles, the varieties in different locations of settlements, people and their ways, even in a single trip...can be really enriching! Even though I'm not a wild and adventurous person and I really prefer planning and predictability...nothing can beat the thrill of change and motion, and nothing sounds worse than stagnation...especially in a single place and way of life. I guess it's time for a change in my life as well... it's been quite a long while!

Maybe this is why I have started preferring the sea over mountains in recent years; the transition of time is more apparent near the sea, in terms of nature and also all human and animal activity. Also sea means waves means motion... :-)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The six month milestone!

Yes, it seems incredible that it's been six months already! Six months since I took a giant leap of faith and left literally every'thing' behind. Six months since I arrived in the 'New World'. And what a crazy six months it's been! Almost every day has brought me new challenges that have tested me in different ways. Every day has reminded me that I have chosen to deal with a life out of my comfort zone and I have no choice but to face it heads on! These six months have also given me several positive experiences and the satisfaction of being able to handle the challenges in different ways and to different degrees. I have been extremely lucky to have been helped by many people and in several ways, all of whom made my survival here so far, possible and often comfortable. I have been warmly welcomed into the homes and hearths of so many families. I have made new friends. I have experienced life from a completely different perspective. I have learnt quite a few les...
Post a Comment
Read more

The irresistible attraction of words

I find myself wandering endlessly, drawn by the intense lure of words, descriptions, and information... to soak in as much as possible and to create for myself... yet day by day it strengthens its hold, and as I struggle to keep up with it; I am overpowered like never before... with the thoughts, ideas and wishlists just piling up, threatening to drive away peace and order...    Illustration by Julie Paschkis in,     Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People
Post a Comment
Read more

Que sera, sera... what will be, will be !

                                         (Photo credits: http://www.missouriskies.org/rainbow/february_rainbow_2006.html) I have always liked things to be perfectly planned, organized, and under control. It doesn't mean that I don't like (pleasant !) surprises and unexpected thrills, but that uncertainty and chaos are big fears. Although always a strong believer in destiny, I have also simultaneously believed that we create our own destinies. With time however, I am increasingly appreciating that most things are beyond our control. No matter how much we try to predict, plan, and organize;  and in spite of our best efforts, most things will happen just the way it is meant to be. When everything looks just perfect and fitting into place, people and situations will create unwanted complications. And again, when you worry about something and fear the worst, more ...
Post a Comment
Read more