A Letter From The Mountains

Nov 08, 2020

Hello!
Been a while hasn’t it? 42 days to be precise. But I’m glad to say that Project Safarnaama is back again and serving its primary purpose of being a record of my travels, stories & learnings. Last one week has been beautiful for me, and I wish the same for you. Let’s dive in!

Questions for the week:

Current Read:

This is one of those simple reads, as is familiar with Ruskin Bond writings. A collection of short essays, poems and notes from his days in the mountains, this book inspired me to start writing essays every day. I’ve been uploading them all here and you can check them out if you wish to!
Here are some of my favourite lines from the book & questions from me to you to reflect upon:

1) I doubt anyone in single-minded pursuit of enlightenment ever finds it.
- I have spoken about this before too. If one gets fixated on goals & results, they will end up undermining themselves. Focus on the journey instead and celebrate it.
Are you stuck in the pursuit of happiness? Are you letting yourself celebrate the pursuit itself rather than waiting for a big ideal version of a goal you have?
2) To be unconcerned about a desired good is probably the only way to possess it.
- It is far more important to focus on the process and control the details on the way of what you desire than to keep reminding yourself of the goal.
What can you do NOW to kickstart that process or journey towards what you desire?
3) If you have the ability, or rather the gift, of being able to see beauty in small things, then old age should hold no terrors.
- I have never thought of old age much nor stressed myself out on how life would be like then. At the cost of sounding proud, I truly appreciate how I’m able to see the good in everything. I don’t think everyone can truly see good in every situation, every person, every relationship, every step of the way.
What would it take for you to start observing the beauty around you every single day?

What are you reading? Drop in suggestions!

Mental Wellbeing tip for the week:

Practical suggestions for a prokoptôn | How to Be a Stoic

If there was one tip I could give anyone in the world about mental wellbeing, progress, success or happiness, this would be it -
Focus on what you can control for the things that matter to you.

Travel Diary | My first week in Mussoorie

I met a few fellow travellers here who are also travelling alone like I am, all of us sharing a couple of dormitories between ourselves. Everyone belongs to a different part of the country and yet I have found something to talk to them about - a common friend, a common native place, a common old workplace, or simply the fact that we’re all solo travellers. My first week in Mussoorie has been nothing short of an amazing experience.

It is too soon to tell you a story about it all, but read a bit about it here in this essay.

Running at 2000m altitude!

My learning for the week:
Running in Mussoorie at ~2000m altitude is WAY MORE DIFFICULT than running at my usual location in Pune!
My first 10 mins out I was already panting, the insides of my respiratory tract burning due to lack of oxygen, and my body still completely cold! Warming up here takes some time, especially in 7°C to 9°C temperatures. But the magnificent view of the mountains around me make up for it all.

I’ve been trying not to chase any targets, but I’m super happy with my current timings considering it is majorly uphill. I’m hoping to reach 8kms soon.
What are you doing to keep physically healthy?

Snippets from my personal life:

Couple of small updates from my life that I really want to share with you all:

Just as I mentioned above in the mental wellbeing section, I’ve been focusing on things that are in my control for things that matter to me. Before taking these decisions, it felt like I was taking a step back from where I currently am.

But is a step back really a step back if it is the first step to something bigger in a different direction?

Are you stopping yourself from taking a decision because it may seem like a step back?
Can I help add value to you in any way? Let’s talk about it. Text me on Twitter or IG!

Internalising Gratitude

I’m grateful to be able to travel. I acknowledge my privilege to be able to do so while the world deals with a pandemic. There is nothing else I am more grateful for than these beautiful mountains, the kind people up here and the incredible people that I’ve met here where I am living.

What/who are you grateful for? I would love to hear. Let me know below!