Making a new friend
Someone told me that it is very hard to make new friends once you reach a certain age. I believed it to be true until recently I began to question it. I tried to test my assumption while I was on my travel by connecting with someone I knew only as an acquaintance. It was not only a very rewarding experience but also an eye-opener. Friendship is an instinctive relationship that needs you to be open and vulnerable. People tend to appreciate non-agenda interactions and reciprocate the same. We are not too old to make new friends but we may be too scared and rigid to open up.
“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, and a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.” – His Holiness Dalai Lama, Spiritual Leader
Proximity
Travel can truly teach you lessons if you are open to them. One such lesson was about choosing a place to visit. My host questioned my need to travel further when I was yet to explore the place where I stayed. I saw the merit in her suggestion and changed my plan to walk around the neighborhood and let serendipity reward me. It was truly enriching as I learned a lot from observing simple neighborhood walks which I might not have gained otherwise. Each house looked the same from a distance, yet each one had its little charm. You could tell a bit about the pastimes by looking at the backyard to find gardening tools or an angling kit. A stroll to a neighborhood park gives you a glimpse of how people play with their children and pets. Sometimes, we go very far in the hope of seeking something that may be available in the next lane.
“Traveling is not about distance, but about the transformative journey within.” – Pico Iyer, Essayist and Novelist
Light pollution
One of the privileges of living in the middle of ‘no-where’ is that you get to enjoy the darkness. I realized that I had not been in darkness for a very long time. It was initially scary but in fifteen minutes my eyes got used to the darkness and I could see well in the dark. Our eyes can adapt very well to low light conditions called dark adaptation. However, our modern lifestyle has deprived our eyes of the needed darkness. For the first time, I realized we have been living in light pollution, which disrupts natural patterns of wildlife, increases carbon footprint, disrupts human sleep, and obscures the stars in the night sky. Above all, perhaps, our future generations may potentially lose their ability to see in darkness.
“It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he should prepare himself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky…a mysterious transaction between the infinity of the soul and the infinity of the universe.” – Victor Hugo, French writer and politician