Warming up!
This
is my first trip abroad on a holiday. I had not planned, aspired for or even
dreamt about it. The idea of going to Kailash Mansarovar happened by fluke, in
a matter of moments, just like that! A strong inertia, some divine push, and I immediately
signed up for the trip over the internet, at a midnight sometime in March 2013 –
after a long day’s work in an NLP training.
Despite
registering, I could not believe that I had signed up for the trip. It was impulsive,
all too quick, too curious and way too sudden. The thought of going there
firmed up after meeting my friend Nandini, over some fine sushi in a Japanese restaurant
in Bangalore. The night was beautiful, the wind caressing and the company and
conversation memorable. And there I had begun the journey (in my mind) to
Kailash.
I
remember sharing the news of my travel to Kailash to Richard McHugh, my fascinated
genius of NLP, almost jumping with joy. His eyes sparkled, smiles widened and
he wished me well. Soon after my training, I got back to daily routine and work;
and I had forgotten (well, almost!) about the trip – until the time I had to do
endless set of medical tests and be certified by a licensed physician that am
medically fit for the journey.
Countless
number of visits to the hospital (a wee bit of exaggeration I must confess, but
it sure did feel like that!) exhausted me both mentally and physically – not to
talk about the money I spent going through myriad tests. I had not expected
such high level of scrutiny by my travel guide (Isha) who insisted that I do
every single test specified by them and send the latest reports. I somehow
managed to complete this scrutiny and felt a hue of relief, and there began the
travel preparations for the trip. It was also not easy to come to terms with
the huge amount of money I had to pay for the travel guide, this being the most
expensive trip I had ever undertaken for myself. Although this was agreed
earlier, I realized I wasn’t prepared for it in reality, and held a belief that
this was beyond my limits of luxury.
The
long registration process (including the money to be paid), made me re think
about the decision to pursue this trip a few times. I went back and forth many times,
calibrated the purpose of it all, and in the end I was completely confused.
What was I going to Kailash for? While I had self-promoted myself to experience
‘mid-life’ crisis sooner than my biological age and stage of life, I am surely not
as old and wise yet to renounce the world to pursue the spiritual journey. So
why was I really going there? I had no idea, nor did that matter much perhaps.
It isn’t usual that I decide things like this in a blink, turn my impulsive
decisions to reality; I am neither someone who is so passionate about
travelling, visiting an exotic place every year, or a trekker by interest. So,
in all – my reason to pursue Kailash was mysterious and unknown, and yet I knew
in my heart that I wanted to go, and I didn’t have the power to withheld or
withdraw from it.
So
I decided to pursue the trip even though it had no apparent purpose. Perhaps,
the purpose of the trip was to find its purpose. So the aimless desire to
travel strengthened and I began preparing for the trip now. I decided that I wouldn’t
go back and forth on this again and I will go experience the abundant nature
and the divine power it holds. My family, a rock support through my thick and
thin, particularly my mom, never failed to encourage to me go and let myself go
with my gut and intuition; not be so worried about fitting it into an epistemological
equation. She was right, and I thought, this is it! I will not let this
opportunity slip away, and I will make it.
And
that’s where my real journey begins! J
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