A Review After 3 Years and 4 Months

Did we take on this road less travelled because we were dismayed and wanted to escape the beaten path or were we enchanted by a new way of life? Partly both. What proportions? I don’t remember; also, it is irrelevant now. 

Nonetheless, there was a willingness to explore and do it earnestly. 
We did not begin by being members of an alternate lifestyle group/community. We were not opponents of the existing system of education, farming, construction, economy, governance, etc. We have no ideology or a spiritual guru. As we moved along, we got acquainted to many people, who had also chosen to tread off the beaten path, but most of them had affiliations to certain ideologies or beliefs. The common thread that bound most of them is their disapproval of status quo. 

Rekha never really felt at home with most of these ideologies and beliefs. But I did share their thinking and hoped that an alternate is workable. But now, I don’t have much of that hope left. The wife is (almost) always right. 
I’m not feeling let down or dismayed. I feel liberated. I understand people in both worlds (the alternate and the mainstream) much better and I love them irrespective of the badge they’re displaying, irrespective of whether they’re able to reciprocate. 

The truth is that there is nothing wrong with status quo and nothing right. The truth is that any alternative is just an idea. The truth is also that I’ve found joy in both lifestyles. 

As a family, we’ve lived for 3 years just trying to find ground below our feet, just to get a feeling of having settled, having transitioned successfully from an elite urban lifestyle to a life on the farm. We’re now on the other side of the bridge. Yes, there are incremental adaptations, some more understanding, few more goals, but the difficult part of the journey is over. We now know ourselves and each other much better. What a journey it has been! The travel has been far more exciting than the destination. 

Is it time to sit back, slow down and enjoy the fruits of our labour? It sounds logical, but not exciting. There is indeed a lot more, that can be done. One may perceive that the real journey is about to begin now. Not wrong at all. 
Alternatively, how about taking another road...even less travelled! How does it matter whether someone else has travelled or not? As long as the love in the heart grows and excitement scales new peaks, it is in line with our family characteristics.

I guess some more thought has to be applied

Comments

  1. abhilash warrier11 May 2016 at 01:43

    Woah! I am looking forward to a continuation of this series! :-) Your friend in some lifestyle... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown15 May 2016 at 03:36

    Congratulations for undertaking this journey and more so to Rekha for her support and sharing your vision. There is no doubt that you guys have enriched yourself in this process...as you rightly said the journey is what we have to enjoy. I admire you guys for the courage to break the status quo and I am sure life ahead with be more joyful. Best wishes

    ReplyDelete
  3. Vijay Khanna7 June 2016 at 00:32

    Hi Shantanu,
    I can appreciate the journey you have undertaken as an insider, having walked a part of the path myself. Many of the feelings resonate with my experience.

    Experience of Exploration itself is the Fruit of the journey is what i take away from this article.

    ReplyDelete

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