"Man cannot discover new oceans, unless he has
the courage to lose sight of the shore" - Old Native American Saying.
Let
me be honest with you, I have been thinking long and thinking hard, and hope
you will also these questions which are playing aloud in my mind.
When do you take a decision to challenge your beliefs?
Change your ideas? Lose your old self and try to find a new you?
What
I have seen is, all these decisions are life changing and people take these
decisions when they face a crisis, may be a job loss, mental breakdown or loss
of a family member. It has to be something troubling, something that makes
people restless to force these decisions.
But
what if, everything is working perfectly fine for you, Would you still take
these decisions? Would you really go out to challenge things which are really
working great for you, shun those great things and try to find something new?
There are people who do it and I finally understand why. It's for finding a new
shore and more important is to experience that journey again.
Since
2 weeks now, I am preparing for the journey which I am about to embark on now.
What I am planning to do is to challenge myself to flip how I am. Let me give
you an example:
- I am a social animal - Hyper active on Facebook, among friends, party hard and yes a selfie buff.
- I am disciplined and very particular - When it comes to my beliefs, my ideology, my views and I stand by them no matter what.
- I am not disciplined - When it comes to my diet, my work out and may be time with my family.
What I am going to do is turn around 360 degrees:
- I am (not) a social animal - Deactivate Facebook (Done -10 days ago), Deactivate Messenger (Done today), Twitter / Instagram - Remove all political following and only pursue hobby, such as Photography, Art and Science. Basically among friends I am going to lose touch with people, am going to disappear. But I would be present among all strangers.
- I am (not) disciplined and (not) very particular - Be neutral to anything and everything, politics, ideology, beliefs and everything that brings a split in people. Try and see good things in life.
- I am not disciplined - When it comes to my diet, my work out and lots and lots of family time. I will go on Treks, hikes, explore places and capture its beauty.
It's
the first step towards the new shore, so there is significant hesitation, but
am going to do it for sure. I know while I walk this road, I will lose most of
the acquaintances I made over these years, by my guess (95%).
The very few (5%)
who remain with me, I will cherish our bond forever. You will be the ones with whom I will share
my experiences as I move forward.
So
wish me luck :-).
If you are interested in how things are progressing on this
journey, follow this blog.
- Chetan Pai
- Sanpada
- 29 March 2017.