Hi, from 41000 feet.

Hello, my friend, how are you doing today?

I hope summer is treating you well. I am just coming back after enjoying a heat wave in the UK. My 11-hour flight has just taken off from Heathrow Airport, and I am starting this blog hoping I will complete it before I touch down in Delhi.

Looking back over the last 31 days, I feel blank. However, I am certain that they were some of the best days of my life. I am thankful to my employer, who gave me a generous month-long holiday. I am filled with new energy and inspiration to go back and do even better.

It certainly feels like I am going back as a new man.

Last night, during my routine late-night walk, I reached my favourite spot. I said to myself that this is my last night on this trip. What would be a one promise that I should make to myself?

Suddenly, multiple thoughts came across my mind. Job, career, love, fitness, but none touched the depth of the emotions that I was feeling at that time. I was feeling something deeper in my heart, something heavy.

A beautiful breeze was running through my hair while I was staring at the twinkling stars in a beautiful night sky.

Then it came to me, and I promised myself that from now on, I would believe in myself more. More than before, and more than anyone else. It’s not like I don’t believe in myself; I do. I am a confident person; however, I often get dazzled by self-doubt. I often give more energy to evaluating reasons of ‘how I can fail ’ than focusing on ‘how I can win’.

We don’t realise this, but it is easier for us to imagine our downfall than our rise. Imagine it like climbing a mountain; when we are halfway, it is easier to roll down and reach the bottom even if it kills us rather than imagining the climb forward. The climb is hard and unknown. We can easily find ways to break the things that we created, but to find ways to create new things, finding ways to reach our dreams is hard.

The path ahead is always unclear; it is full of fog. Fog of self-doubt, the fog of fear, the fog of uncertainty. And with the burden of our childhood traumas and failures, it gets harder every day.

I know me promising this to myself won’t stop intrusive thoughts, fear, or feelings of self-doubt. However, I will always reflect on the last night, that soothing breeze, that clear sky, those twinkling stars, and me standing on my favourite spot. I will remember the promise that I made to myself.

Family

One more aspect worth mentioning, or probably the most important one, is my family. You would be surprised that it was after 20 long years that my whole family stayed together for 31 days.

After my elder brother left India and settled in the UK with his family. Our family time almost vanished. Family is a source of our strength, and the best part is that this source is endless. You can always find endless positivity in yourself, through selfless love and the quarrels you have in your family.

My family is like a sun to me, always illuminating me with its love. I am a hard chap to deal with if I love you. I am a closed person, give witty replies, always stay busy, and have been rebellious since my childhood. As I am growing up, I am becoming self-aware and softening myself towards the people I love. It surely is not an easy path; however, I am determined to pursue it with all my might. And I believe in myself that I can do it.

The last 31 days went by in a flash. I visited a lot of places in the UK. However, I will put up a travel blog some other day. This one is more personal, more emotional. A few minutes before I started writing this blog, when my plane was waiting on the runway for its turn to take off, my eyes were filled with tears.

I was reflecting on the day I came, the things I did, and the time I spent with my family during the holidays. It made my heart heavy; I was already missing them like anything. Well, I guess, with some people, no matter how much time you spend, it always feels less.

Travel, Enjoy, and Love

One aspect that I really liked in the UK culture was people’s love to travel, enjoy their life, and love what they do. Rat races sound crazy, feel adventurous, yet it never fulfills us. It is just another milestone after another; we keep running, and we keep chasing. Irony: the race never ends until we reach our graves and meet our creator.

Since we do not know what lies ahead of us, we can never tell if this race is going to end after we die. All we know is that we have only this lifetime in our hands; the minutes spent wasted are not going to come back. The time we spent pulling ourselves back is gone, so does opportunity to use the same time to push us forward. Having said this, always remember time enjoyed is never wasted.

I found many people following their hobbies, planning for their next trip, taking out their cabins and spending time with their families. Laughing and enjoying. I miss this culture in my home country.

One of the reasons, of course, is that my country is not as developed and is still building itself. My country’s population is very high, and hence the value of human life is not of much worth.

My writing here that every life matters is not going to change anything; it is a culture, a set of values, that is followed by every member of the society diligently, resulting in bringing beautiful results for everyone.

Spiritually and emotionally, the last 31 days have changed me completely. I am a new man. My dreams are back, my belief is back. The task for me is to stay on this course, conserve this energy that I am bringing along with me. Spread the good vibes ahead and enjoy the time I have left in this beautiful world, which possibly is heaven.

I wish you a fantastic week ahead.

Love yourself more each day. Love your family more each day. Believe in yourself and your creator. This world and this life are all we have in our hands; we need to make it better, we need to make it more beautiful.

So, let’s get on it.

~R