So I'm in the midst of reading The Alchemist (I know, I know, a little late) and am totally washed up in what Paulo is saying: People need not have fear of the unknown if they are capable of acheiving what they want and need (Which we all are). I guess the biggest problem we all face is clouding this view of what we want and need with what we think we want and need and living the rest of our lives unhappily trying to achieve it. Some are lucky however, they have a major moment in their lives; sudden realizations, a death of someone dear, a near fatal accident, a drastic life change; and they are able to turn on the windshield wipers and see the road, and realize that they are the ones who are actually driving the car down Unhappy street. Lo and behold, they take a left turn, not because they know where the road will go, but for God's sake it'll get me off Unhappy street!
So I'm kinda driving a rickshaw through the rocky roads of India with no idea about what I might find, but with an idea of the things that I like, that attract me. Whether that be art, culture, music, people...whatever. And being a rickshaw, people jump on, we have some good times, some good conversations and then they jump off and we all move on.
So I attracted something. Actually, I hit it...like a garbage-devouring black bull on the side of the road in the middle of the night (FYI: bulls/cows pull rank over any vehicle on the road). I met a nice Indian boy (and my metaphorical rickshaw was written off).
Actually we were set up and it occured by the means of what I thought were simply meaningless everyday choices. So let this be a warning to you all! Every step you take, whether you decide to turn into the Starbucks or strike up a conversation with the bum on the sidewalk, you're CHOOSING that moments path on the infinite number of paths in your life time. So as I passed on my phone number, and I'll be the first to admit that I was sceptical, as I'm sure you all are right now, the way I figured, I had been travelling(rickshawing) with strangers-become friends anyway, what was the harm in meeting a local and going on a road trip with him and his friends? To me it really was no different.
After spending 6 weeks talking to him on the phone, we decided to meet up and head north to Ladakh, one of the only places in the world where Tibetan culture is still fully preserved. He picked me up in his jeep in Delhi and the following day we left, escaping the Sept.13 bomb blasts by a mere 3 hours! As we zipped along the highway and heard the news (we were at one of the blast sights earlier that afternoon) I really felt that something else was (and still is) at play, pushing me around this map and watching over me. In this moment I checked myself, gave my head a shake and gave thanks for my precious life. This was all reinforced 3 days later when we traversed the highest motorable road in the world and popped out the other side during the beginning of a fatal snow storm that would trap hundreds of tourists in the mountain camps for 3-4 days.
Suddenly my travels in India were upgraded. I was now cruising with 3 local guys (we picked up his friends just after we left Delhi) in a 4x4 jeep, rickshaw long forgotten. I spent the last month hitting all the major tourist sigths in northern India and then some; for the past 10 days I was in a remote village with Ajit's extended family who are still keeping the traditions of the caste system very much alive and where the entire population was presented with their first white visitor. Needless to say, I was treated like a princess.
I've now escaped for a few weeks into Nepal to take a break from the intense 3.5 months in India. I plan to trek Annapurna and will renew my visa here; I've decided not to go to AUS/NZ but to return to south India for Christmas and New Years.
I leave you with this:
The floor of a crowded concert hall, trying to push myself to the front in order to get a better view. After battling for hours and hours, sweating, pushing, being pushed, scratched, bruised and battered, I get a glimpse. But it's not better, it's just closer, and there's a huge, tall sweaty guy infront of me and the music sounds the same!
Defeated but still happy, I now let the crowd do the jostling and see where it takes me - after all, no matter if I'm stage left, front and centre or at the back of the park - I'm having a good time taking whatever the band throws at me, wherever I am. I'm open to letting someone take my hand and lead me around. Maybe I can help them have a good time. I'm dirty, stinky and shoeless, what have I got to lose?
I think that might be what my life is for: providing the hand (or many hands) for people to hold. I think that's what all our lives are for. Let's let go of what we want and let someone hold onto us. Someone is holding onto me now, and I'm actually letting him. He's taking me amazing places and I've actually discovered that after a while, I've started to hold onto his hand too.
Beautiful things happen when you stop trying and just let life take you on it's own journey. Makes me wonder where I would be had I done it at a different time, say 5 years ago. But that's the way the world works: in all its beauty, it's absolutely perfect.
Paulo says there is a force that wants you to raelize your own destiny, just read the omens amd you'll come across your treasure.
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