A year from now

January 29, 2016

A year from now

In two weeks it will have been exactly a year since we left our jobs and our lives in Singapore.

So much has happened since then and yet it seems to have gone way, way too fast.

It is absolute madness to think that over the past year we have lived on a RV site in California, worked on a farm in New Zealand, welcomed my crazy brother who bicycled across Asia, gone for wonderful beach rides in Mozambique, lived in a ger in Mongolia, experienced rural life in South Africa, rode across Rajasthan, discovered the Argentinian way of living and embedded ourselves in Rajasthani culture.

We have fallen off horses many, many times. Manjeev broke his rib, shoulder, sprained his wrist. (I was somehow spared serious injury - so far!).

But most importantly, we met amazing people all over the world. We feel incredibly privileged to have met such wonderful people every where we went, people keen to help, teach, share special moments in their lives.

I think we have changed a lot during that time. We changed in terms of how we see the world and what we expect from our lives. We learned new values as well as to focus on what is important. The rest is fluff.

But we also learned that the journey is as important as the destination, if not more. One of my favourite quotes this year has been:

‘A road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere.’

(I won’t tell you where it’s from to save me my embarrassment. Oh, all right, it’s from Calvin & Hobbes.)

How many of us are guilty of rushing to the finish line. But the finish line is just that - the end.

So here’s what I wish for myself and all my friends and family this year (a part from the usual health, wealth and prosperity of course):

take your time, whether it’s to make tea, write an email to a friend, watch a movie or clean your house. Enjoy the process, it’s more important than the result. Even failure can be fun, if you’ve enjoyed the process.
have fun. We often underestimate the importance of the small things and the fun they can bring.
if you want something you can’t have, let it go. You don’t need it. Let it go. I’m afraid I’m about to quote Calvin & Hobbes for the second time here (that’s what a year off grid does to you) but something you want is by definition something you don’t have. Once you have it, you can’t want it. Think about that the next time you crave something. Will the pleasure last after the purchase? This, by the way, applies mainly to material stuff. Experiences last a life time.
don’t expect praise or appreciation. This is a very bad reason to do anything. Just go ahead and do what you want to do. It’s the same way with approval. The best way to get it is not to need it.