Being born and raised in Iowa there was a shelter of corn stalks that guided my perspective of the world. A view of wide and open spaces of rolling green plains and the constant flow of fresh air that consumed my young, and then, naive lungs.
It wasn’t until I stepped off my second 8 hour flight into the musky and humid New Delhi night that I understood what Dorothy meant in the Wizard of Oz, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
The bustling city of street vendors, religious chanting, and smells, I can’t even begin to describe, consumed me. There was no space, the air was cluttered with smog and there was never a moment for silence. Some travelers may become discouraged by this, but for me, I was in love.
My whole life I thought the world was simple and traveling halfway across the Earth I found a whole new world. India held ancient stories of love and creation, war and turmoil, suffering and peace.
It taught me to be grateful for the endless hills of corn and soybeans that blanketed the space I called home. I learned the importance of stepping out side of my comfort zone to better understand how beautifully complex and interconnected our worlds were.
Even miles away from home I found family in the group I was traveling with, I found comfort in all the Chicken Marsala and naan I could devour, and I found myself experiencing the same world, I was so custom to, in a brand new way. It became more than an adventure. It became a home away home.
Break up your routine
The colors, sounds, and smells inspired me then and continue to influence my perspective. The experience alone has shown me how important it is to break out of habit and routine every once in a while.
We are all creatures of habit and rightfully so. It is comforting to know what is around the corner. It allows you to flow with the motion without much thought. But as too much of anything can make you sick, complacency can numb the mind from change.
As creatives we must allow change to enter our lives to feed our minds. You don’t have to travel to India to find your purpose or new perspective. And it certainly will not happen over night. Taking the time to recognize that change must happen in order for you achieve your personal goals is the first step.
Once you acknowledge it is time to grow that is when the fun begins. It forces you to be vulnerable which in turn makes you open to seeing something you never noticed before. I felt my most vulnerable my first day in New Delhi. People kept staring and taking pictures of us and I hated the attention. We all got use to it by the end of day 3 but I really didn’t see the connection to opening myself up to India until a family approached me when I was journaling at Gandhi’s Ashram.
A side note and fact you should know about me is that I refuse to let the art of cursive die, so I am still old school and write everything down in cursive. This family was watching me from afar which was nothing new at this point. Why they were watching? Who knows and to be honest I could care less. I just prayed they would leave soon.
Then a woman came up to me with a kind smile. She looked down at my writing and her face lit up with curiosity and amazement. Even though she couldn’t read a single word on the page, she found beauty in the movement of my hand and how that translated into a flow of curved lines on the paper.
Pretty soon the whole family was surrounding me as they watched me write. They asked to take my photo and I was happy to do so. I inspired them in some way and even though we spoke different languages I knew that my actions spoke to them.
Embracing that vulnerability allowed me to understand the culture. They weren’t staring to be weird or make me feel uncomfortable. They saw something new and they immediately embraced it. Maybe they thought I was weird or funny looking but regardless something sparked within them and I wanted to feel that same way.
Not long after I really began opening myself to the culture of India and the stories and people it holds close to its heart.
What I am trying to get at is that it is perfectly normal to be ‘weirded out’ by vulnerability. As you move towards growth and change it is super weird and uncomfortable. Being honest with yourself about your feelings and being open can lead you down a path you never saw before.
What are you waiting for? Seriously!
You don’t have to travel half way across the world to become something new, it can be the simple act of breaking up your mundane routine to experience the vulnerability and excitement of something new, refreshing, and enlightening. I encourage you to try one new thing this week. It could be trying a new recipe you saw online, staying in on a Friday if you normally go out, or trying out a new hobby you have always been interested in but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Try it, fail at it, and try again or find something else to try. Either way breaking up your routine, even just a little, can start up the growth you are looking for and before you know it you might find yourself on the streets of New Delhi trying new food that your stomach might hate you for later (But is so tasty that you just don’t care).
I’d love to hear what you are doing that is new and vulnerable. Share in a post on social media with #madgalmademedoit
“My life is my message” M. Gandhi