This past
week I had the good fortune of venturing out on my own for yet another solo sojourn.
Yeah, solo sojourn. I went by myself for a holiday. I see raised
eyebrows. Never mind, I’ve gotten used to them.
Questions I’ve
been asked:
What? Why
would you go alone?
Erm, for starters the idea is to do nothing –
and that in itself many find repulsive even to entertain as a mere thought.
It’s good to un-become – more so in a world
that’s constantly putting the pressure on you to do the exact opposite.
I coined a word for it: de-silting thoughts –
finding that happy medium between holding on and letting go. J
I think people express concern because for
most solitude is synonymous with lonely. HELL NO. And I can substantiate that
with this: “Language ... has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain
of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of
being alone.” ― Paul Tillich
Where did
you go?
Destination: Malabar coast in God’s own
country.
What did you
do? *shock still evident in those eyes*
Well, for starters I just bum-chilled (read:
did nothing).
And caught up on a lot of reading. I find it
fascinating because when I read it’s almost as if you can get into the head of
someone else, figure out the mechanics in there, live the tales of the
characters – who more often than not hold up a mirror to your own self!
Writing (from all the thought distillation).
Recording the myriad of thoughts that flash at the speed of light in and out of
the mind. What if you actually did write them down? Would you see a clearer and
truer self?? A resting place for that inner voice perhaps to be revisited on
another day when life gets chaotic again and you need a perspective real bad!?!
And I did the touristy thing to do:
sightseeing. There are caves that date back to the Chalcolithc Age - a steep uphill climb nevertheless!
And a night time jungle safari J Happy wallah feeling watching spotted deers, sambhar, black bears and
elephants strolling, loitering about in the open. And jungles are like jungles
ought to be – not a wee bit pedicured! During the day I’d hear the elephants
trumpeting about somewhere in the forest as I’d sit down to read/write.
So, how do
you feel…now?
At a time when the newspapers are a bleak reminder of the age we live in, I’ve come back with a small yet powerful voice niggling inside of me saying, ‘Trust life a lil bit – it aint so bad afterall’