Being Footloosish

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When asked “How do you afford the adventurous life?”, this is what my friend Kate Harris has to say, “I live simply. Chaotically, but simply. My life fits into a backpack, with some spillover onto bookshelves and bike racks. I’ve pared down all my expenses to the point of no rent, no cell phone, no car, and no monthly bills. With an unfaltering appetite for monotonous food, coupled with a fondness for tent living and couch surfing (facilitated by generous friends and family who actually own couches), I manage to squeak by on meager income – and explore the world.

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I’m living in a fish bowl,

and I think I’m growing gills.

I’m getting all misshapen,

and I still can’t pay my bill.

Like a germ under a microscope,

they watch me every day.

They want to know what I’ll do next,

and what I have to say.

I’m really not that special,

just an aging flower child.

I no longer have a green thumb,

and I’m really not that wild.

But I still hold tight to my beliefs,

as all good hippies do.

Of Freedom, love, equality,

Peace, goodwill, and communes too.

But which of these are so darn odd,

that they must study me?

For I’m merely a reflection,

of what I’ll someday be.

To my personal piper, I dance down life’s path.

His music’s so soothing and fine.

And the more they complain about all my bright colors,

the more rainbows I’ll leave behind!

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just little things that i love

thoughtful gestures; smiling faces; late night coffee & conversations; midnight chai at carter’s; the sight of the highway, early in the morning; nip in the air; when beer makes people bond; when the door bell rings and I see friends who have made a surprise visit; the first sip of my morning tea; underneath an open night sky, the sound of waves at a shore; walking with my music and coffee giving me company; waking up early to reach the airport; long train journeys; when I’m untraceable while travelling; spacious green parks; the aroma of coffee; nutella crepes; an English breakfast; going through old photographs, looking at our silly, ugly dark ages and laughing howlariously; when a smile makes people bond; when crazy, stupid ideas make people bond;mom’s food; dad’s reaction while watching india lose a cricket match; mom & dad discussing a saas-bahu show over their phone conversations; brother tuning/ playing his instruments that remind me of the weekend having begun; the me-time with casper;singing with rajiv & nameeta on our drives together; digging out lyrics to match the mood of the day; everyday making people laugh through silly bbm jokes;thinking of more things to add to this list and so on :)

it’s very easy to make a list of things we hate. when was the last time, you made a list of things you love which make each day worth living?

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You’re sitting around a warm and cozy fireplace surrounded by friends and boisterous laughter. Early-morning snow gently falling across the countryside is visible from the enormous, ceiling-high windows beside you. Everyone is sipping hot chocolate, and reminiscing about the fabulous circumstances that have brought you together, brimming with excitement for times ahead. And then you chime in, “If only we’d seen it, we never would have been so hard on ourselves. If only we’d had just the slightest inkling that the challenges, lacks, and issues we faced back then were of our own exacting design, and that they’d soon make possible the whirlwind of events that so swiftly followed, we’d have been, well, as proud then as we are now… and every bit as photogenic.”

And then everyone starts clapping, smiling, and taking lots of pictures.

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This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find … themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. … they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.

Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.

Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? … Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”

Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe … life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path.

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What’s Cooking In That Melting Pot?

Draw till your paint box gets empty.

Dance till your feet start hurting.

Sing till your voice starts croaking.

Even the best has its worst moments.

And we are only humans - but gifted with a beautiful mind and emotions.

So. Imagine. Imagine. Imagine.

Till your thoughts turn into reality.

(Image: A lovely rainy evening at Grassmarket, Edinburgh, August 2011)