Turning Passion into ACTion

A bit of Chennai

In the end of May 2011 I found myself emotionally broken: the sickness did not seem to slow down,an unbearable heat would only boil the air, mosquitoes were cruelly biting every inch of me and unnecessary stress at work pinched my head.Of course, due to health matters I just literally switched off my brain whenever it came to think of the office.Obviously, I stayed home for a few days to foster recovery by sleeping and

relaxing.

During those hot sick days and nights I was thinking what made me feel what I felt. What was the environment that made me lose my optimistic spirit? Who were the people whose behaviour I could not understand and thus, I did not enjoy their company? What elements were missing to feel uplifted, to smile, to shine and be happy?

It did not take me long to think, to analyse. Solutions popped up naturally.

Firstly, I registered for the Open World 10K Marathon in Bangalore organised by TCS.

Then I said to myself,'Discipline is your best friend at this time. Make it a habit to listen to your heart and do what you really want. Reduce negative language in your thinking.Welcome physical exercises with an open heart when you are absolutely ready for this experience,and go!" So running in the gym and yogging in the evenings, swimming at weekends and feeling lighter and lighter helped me in winning the fever. I must add to it that I am still bad at proper nutrition for myself, especially when it comes to working out. Too bad, I know.

Expect the unexpected. One of the key lessons I always carry in my soul here in India. I can't recall if I learnt this lesson somewhere else but definitely in India it is a reality. (Owing to this precious learning, I have even forgotten the word "Expectation" and whenever somebody utters it I wonder what it is) So unexpectedly I reached the Finish line in the project I worked in for the past 5 months. A colourful box of friends' farewells got enriched with another of Farewell experience of mine: saying Bye is always a two sided coin. On one hand, you are sad saying Bye to your that "Old" lifestyle you led. On the other hand, a Bye is always a door into unknown, and I am always positively certain that the Unknown brings new opportunities, new friends, new discoveries and new desires. Heavily loaded by these thoughts I said a warm Bye to the project and to my colleagues, breathed in excessively filling my lungs with a huge volume of the air anticipating a beautiful exciting summer.I knew what I wanted: travels! I needed so much a break from Chennai, the break from the heat and annoying noise, the break from whatever I was in at the end of May.

Yes, I am an average travel freak. I do not look for comfort when I travel. All I want is to be in the moment, to feel the present and live it to 100%. So I checked my passport, checked my monthly budget, googled the pictures of places I wanted to visit and clicked on 'Book' the flight tickets... Beginning of June embraced me with all its future unknowness and astonishing surprises. I was going to be with myself to rejuvenate and do what I truly love - travel ...