On The Road

In life, we move. From one place to another, from one station to another, from one group of people to another and so on. All along, it is something we are chasing that drives us on, and sometimes, where and who we are with is not the right train to be on and we get off it and take another one. All around us, people are doing the same and we meet several people on the way, some we leave behind with a shrug, some with a sigh.

All my life, I have focussed too much on which station to get off at, what next train to take, believing that the next train is the last one, and that's where I'll put down my luggage and finally, smile. However, in the past few days, I have realized that there is no final station, the journey is endless, and you'd rather keep smiling all along or else you'll forget how to. This was triggered by a conversation I had with a senior colleague.

While going to the hotel from the airport, we started upon a conversation about what I wanted to do in life; and I said I wanted to become 'x' at the age of 30-32, 'y' by 40, 'z' by 50 and so on. And then I started outlining how I'd get there, with suitable job-changes and degrees and experiences and so on.

My colleague was silent for some time before he said, "You know you'd rather think about whether you'll enjoy becoming an x,y,z and how you could become a better x, y, z than thinking about how you'd get there. If you like being there and you are good enough you will get there, a few years here and there. You run the risk of getting into someone you don't like and screwing your life".

And then I started thinking about all the conversations I have had with friends, who have constantly asked me to get out of the 'object-oriented-programming' mode which I have constantly refused to do, and I realised that I needed to maintain an equilibrium between looking at the right time/station to get off and get on and enjoying the ride. The destination will wait for some time, I needed to enjoy what I was doing, needed to be able to do things that I liked to do. I needed to live my life.

So I have decided to try and become less obsessive, object-oriented and overall, pay more attention to things which I like doing.

On a new year, right time to usher in "The Year of The Journey".

Cheers!