I recently returned from a 3 week holiday to North India. I traveled without my wife and three daughters in order to have the greatest access to a series of life’s problems. I went without any plan or expectation at all. I left with a small backpack, a ticket from Melbourne to Delhi, 2 huge bags of lollipops (candy) with no accommodation arrangement. I knew from my previous visits that there would be no problem, and I have yet to see a foreigner sleeping in the sewer. Needless to say, I slept well. Anyone who has spent more than 1 week in India knows how crazy the place is. Cows roaming the dusty streets, rickshaw drivers rarely driving on the correct side of the road, and the inevitable 2 questions: “What country are you from?” and what’s your name?”. Action that never seems to stop, but the attraction is unstoppable. There is a thirst to be a part of it. All you could ask me is “why”. It was just a case of the grass being greener or something else. Why do so many seem so happy surrounded by the smell of urine and the oppressive heat?
On a 3-4 hour train journey from Amritsar (home of the golden temple) to Pathankot, I once again found myself surrounded by curious Indians trying to strike up a conversation using Punjabi manual language and even mobile phones to communicate. After about 30 minutes, I was approached by a very well spoken 25 year old Indian. Very early in the conversation, he seemed interested in my life coaching and began to share his personal life challenges with me. Since my time was limited, I explained a few things to him, talked about his blind spots, and even offered some tools to help him. After about 15 minutes, he explained that he needed to get off the train because his stop was coming up, turned to me and asked if I would be willing to join him and continue the conversation at his house. Without thinking about it, and although I was 3 hours from my destination, I accepted and got off at a small station in the middle of nowhere. I just stepped out of my comfort zone, and the decision was powerful and, in hindsight, worth it. Being a good judge of character and since most of the Indians I have come across were welcoming and caring, I had no problem bonding with my new friend. After a 10-minute motorbike ride from the station, I arrived at a middle class house (Indian style). I was introduced to an 85-year-old grandmother, a sweet and innocent mother, and a tall, unassuming, almost regal Punjabi father.
Over the next 2 days I was pampered with fresh Indian style cuisine and met my new friend Vikram’s friends and family. I enjoyed the hospitality of the most amazing people I have ever met. I’m not exactly sure where his happiness began or ended. It seemed to be part of every moment of existence. It’s hard to chalk it up to one or two things, however I have no doubt that the simpler life, living amongst basic facilities, was part of the equation. The time was filled with friends and family communicating about the events of the day. When friends came over (which was often), Grandma would sit on the bed and be part of the conversation. There was no crazy rush for anything. No rush for extracurricular activities, the simpsons, playstations, computer, tv, no pressure to do homework and no feeling of having to go somewhere or be somewhere. There was very little human desire to compete. People had what they had and what they had is what they had. It seems that in the west, most people don’t really think or spend time thinking about what they are or just planning their life. They are on autopilot living the life designed for them.
In India, how come so many people can sit for hours and be satisfied? How can thousands queue for hours in the heat, just to offer sacrifices in a temple? From the merchants in Shimla to the Tibetan monks in Dharamsala and the Sikhs at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, people are easygoing and happy.
I’m not saying these people lack the human instinct to want to improve their standard of living if they thought they could, it’s just interesting to note the satisfaction one gets from not having to be chasing something. Many Hindus play the game of life very well. They do not create illusions about the future, except when it comes to the afterlife, and they are good at leaving their past in the past.
We all know that whether you are a person who rushes and pushes forward or is a person who knows how to relax and appreciate life, both of you will end up feeling bad.
Someone once told me that the first step to financial wealth, security, and happiness is to appreciate what you have now and to accept now that you are healthy, secure, and happy now, because these things are relative anyway.
If people in the west would stop for 2 minutes every day and consider what they had to be “perfect” and could train their minds to have an abundance of everything they needed and wanted, then they could adjust their thinking and really appreciate what they have. had.
My trip to India was not only exciting and colorful, but once again reminded me that I am the luckiest person in the world, not because I have a beautiful and healthy family, but simply because I am alive and more aware every day. of the wonders that surround me. The universe is a perfect place in every way and all we have to do on this planet is see what is already available to us.
I hope I have made a difference in your life, even in the smallest way.
jonathan lurie
Life is Beautiful.
