Lost and Found

The little break I’ve taken has done wonders. I’ve chilled out, contemplated, rejoiced.

Lost
My husband and I went to Little India, an ethnic enclave a few minutes away from the city centre, last week. We ate chicken biryani and samosas. Walked through rows and rows of colourful shop houses. After awhile, it became evident that we didn’t know the area that well.

We were lost. For hours we were wondering aimlessly, discovering quaint little corners tucked away from the main road. It would have been really fun if not for the 32-degree (90 F) heat. But that’s okay, a day like this makes an icy cold glass of coffee taste just that much better. And I need to maintain this positive mindset because we’re probably gonna get lost quite a bit come May. Why? We’re planning on going for a month-long vacation to Europe and I’m very, very excited about it. It will be our first time and I didn’t know where to begin! It would be nice to get some info from family and friends who’ve been there but the general consensus when we hinted about the trip to them has been negative – “better to save your money”, “it’s a bad time to go”, etc – so no, we didn’t get much help from them.

Found
I’m thankful to have people around me who cared enough for me to dispense well-meaning advice. I’m grateful too for the privilege of being able to make my own decisions. I decided that if I didn’t go now, I would probably regret it later.

Firstly, the exchange rates are very favourable now. Secondly, I have less work now. Yes, you heard that right. Less work. While I couldn’t possibly envision myself taking a month off work last year, there’s a definite dearth of projects in the coming months. Time, once a great luxury to me, has become more affordable now. Still I felt that I need a little reaasurance, and turned to my best friend.

“Just go,” said my best friend.

“But why?” I asked.

“Because,” she laughed.

Embrace the now, be spontaneous, grab the silver lining, get inspired, live without regrets – she summed it up with one word.