The wind beneath the wings
... an aspiration to live life to the fullest - Pura vida
Dreams - what are they? Why do they feel like we can fly?
As I explored Portugal and the UK in the past 4 months, and continued to do what I love: to mentor, teach and empower folks, one thing was evident. Our dreams are what makes us feel alive. It’s the wind beneath the wings.
Have you ever felt like the dream was so real? Like it was really happening and that it isn’t just a dream. You know, the deja vu feeling? or perhaps vu ja de as Adam Grant says :) Like it is meant to be.
Whether you have or not, here' is what anxiety does to topple you over. It creeps in at the last minute and pulls the rug from under your feet. You fall and wish you had seen it coming. But you really don’t No matter how cautious or aware you think you are.
That’s life. As I was deciding where next after Scotland, and waiting for my next sign, I couldn’t go on. I had to stop and pause for a moment. I had to come back to India and hit reset again or perhaps it’s a chance to bring a new lens to see the country that I struggle to call my own.
As I am reading the book: Where the rain is born: Writings about Kerala, some stories stood out and made it clear why I live in fear. As if the world is unsafe for a woman. During my travels, I was amazed by the loving kindness and hospitality of folks who are now family for me. A home away from home…
At the Andrew Carnegie birthplace museum in Scotland, there was a poster asking where do you call home? I froze.. a question I am not yet ready to find an answer to.
In the book, Come on In: Stories about immigration and finding home. The confusions about identity became more evident than ever. I am a global citizen - is that enough? Do I need to pick a side or place.
Even if I do come back, the home right now and the people right now will no longer be as they are. As I change, so will they and so will this place.
Alchemist desires nothing more than to make something new and
unexpected out of materials no one knows are precious.
Alchemists don’t look at what is, but what could be.
“Come on in. Welcome to the United States.”
Love this idea from the book: A very typical family. It speaks to me. The power of words can heal our mind and soul. If only we could find the right words to say all that’s in our heart.
We all have difficult choices in life. It’s about finding what makes you truly happy and what propels you. What pushes you to fulfillment.
You should do what makes you happy. Sometimes it takes a while to figure that out.
- A very typical family
The pure joy of meeting folks was an awakening in itself. I worried what would people think - like I am not enough, as if the divorce is supposed to make me less than who I am. It didn’t matter. I can be who I am as I am. Folks love me for who I am. No more scars to carry forward and never to let anxiety wash me away.
So, I am ready to see Kerala and India in a new light. To be brave to explore and see the unknown - the hidden gems amidst the chaos and fears…
It’s funny how I can travel the world, but taking a train by myself or visiting places in Kerala seems like impossible. How much our upbringing can hold us back - the stories we tell that good girls don’t go around and stay at home.
Apparently, Kerala has a matrilineal history. I have only seen patriarchy and male dominance all my life and I cringe every time I see injustice. Even the smallest things, the place a woman has in a home - in the kitchen is painful for my soul. Perhaps the reason why I had decided as a little girl to not be stuck in the kitchen, to be educated and get a job. To be responsible and accountable - to support the family in my own way. In what I do best - to empower folks and bring smiles in the world.
I have a feeling that the stories of Kerala that I know is only a single story. I would like to explore and see the Kerala that it is meant to be - where equality and freedom are not just words, but imbibed in our living. We have the highest literacy(94%) in Kerala, but what good is it, if it limits girls to spread their wings and fly.
It fascinated me that when you visit a new place, you see things differently than folks who live there and this is what inspires me to see Calicut, Kerala and India in a new light. To see it with the eyes of an explorer - to continue my quest for life’s dreams.