Moving Mountains: Newsletter #4

 Happy Holi everyone!

This mail is being sent to you 2 days before the schedule. 

The reason, you ask. 

Because it's my chutti:p 

Also, it's Holi and a lot has happened since last month.

Okay, I have a story for you. 

Ready? 

Free yourself some 10 min before going ahead.

Caution: Many mountains on the way!

Ok enough, Story Time!

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This is a story of a software engineer

He was too occupied with work. But work was the least of things that bothered him.

There was a fire burning in his soul. He knew he could do more. 

But his managers and the lack of impact his work created kept bugging him.

Being 23, was it too late to try searching for passion? How will he judge his life on his deathbed? Will he ever be happy doing this work? Or will he regret not taking a chance?

He couldn't answer these questions. He just didn't know the answers.

One night, while sitting silently with himself under a starry night, a hundred thoughts occurred to him. Will he be scared throughout his life and remain where he is Or will anything change if he feared so much?

He wasn't like that in real life though. You would be surprised to know that he was a fearless person.

Once he fought against the whole class of students in college when someone said something derogatory about a girl. He risked being beaten but still revolted.

Once he hosted an event in a packed auditorium of 5000 people. He was anxious and damn scared but it turned out well.

Once he formed a team himself and organized an old age home visit when he sensed politics in the NGO he worked for.

Once he went to Naxalite areas and interviewed Naxals and spent 2 months living there fearlessly because he wanted to understand the native's problems.

He did so many courageous acts in his life.

Courage oozed out of this crazy human.

So why was it that he was scared to venture out when he wasn't satisfied with his job? 

While scrolling carelessly on Instagram, he came across a post of a strange man. He seemed crazy with long hair, a long beard, and a Shiva devotee. He looked wild but happy. There was a wild charisma in his eyes.

Going to his profile, he clicked on the link that opened a trekking website. 

It was a trekking invitation for Mt. Kedarkantha, a 12,500 ft Himalayan mountain in Uttarakhand.

He felt a strange calling. Thinking that it won't hurt if he went on a solo journey. He needed a break badly anyway.

He subscribed and paid for the trek without thinking much.

He was going on a Himalayan expedition soon!

How will the Himalayan journey change his life?

Who was this strange, wild man who seemed so happy and attracted this scared soul?

What's in the mountain, who is the wild man and what will they teach him? Will anything change?

(End for now)

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Okay before you say anything, Sorry for ending it like this. This idea is still in the development phase. I don't fear sharing with you. I need your feedback and suggestions on this. As you would have guessed, I am considering writing this story:D Let me know what you think?

Disclaimer: All events are fictitious or maybe not:p

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Picture of the month:

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Reflections:

Book: Born Again On the Mountains by Arunima Sinha

Yeah, too many mountains in this mail. I know Already warned you!

This episode will be available on the podcast by Monday (21st March).

If you want to know about Arunima Sinha, she was a normal girl traveling on a train when a few bullies threw her out of the train. She lay there on the tracks for the whole night crying with pain. The next day, she knew her leg would have to be removed. Yet she climbed Mount Everest. It's her story. And I recommend you to read this. A very courageous tale and strong fightback.

A line I loved was when she went to meet Bachendri Pal. On seeing her limping and still desiring to climb the mountain, Pal said, ‘In your heart, you have already climbed Everest. Now you merely need to prove it to the world!’.

Personal Rambling:

Guess what I am going to talk about?

Mountains!

There are mountains that life gives us. 

And we all have to climb them. 

Be it fighting to go out to play when we are small, deciding Science or Commerce, choosing the college, cracking the job interviews, working with tough clients, handling your team, dealing with management's expectations. But these mountains are 'external' events, and there are more 'internal' ones like dealing with parent's expectations, dealing with disappointments of friendship, finding a job you love, being mentally healthy, dealing with lies, manipulations, biases, prejudice, and discrimination, dealing with childhood patterns and unhealthy behaviors. I am sure you have faced many mountains in your life and we would agree: there are more of them coming in the future.

There are some mountains we choose for ourselves. We DECIDE to climb them. And we give all of ourselves to climb them.

While we can't be sure of the mountains life gives us, we can always make sure that we CHOOSE to climb some mountains ourselves to give us confidence for future mountains that come our way. 

The more YOU choose to climb them, the stronger and more prepared you are for unknown climbs that you have to do.

Someone may ask, but what are these mountains that we must choose to climb ourselves: it can be as simple as reading about diverse aspects of life to taking up adventures.

If you want to read more on this, I have added some write-ups on the blog. 

When I shared this thought with one of my friends, he said ‘what rubbish’ and I left it at that hahaha. 

Before ending, I want to wish you all a very happy Holi. 

May you choose to climb mountains and have the strengths to climb many mountains that life gives you.

Until next month

Take care and keep shining!

Nishant (or Nish or Bookishnish)

 

“It's not the mountains we conquer but ourselves.”

-Sir Edmund Hillary