Living in India Has Given Me a New Perspective

I’m back in India!

It’s so strange, but in many ways, it feels like I never left.

As soon as the plane landed, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I know part of it is that I’m so happy to be here with my husband after we have spent much of the year apart.

I think the other reasons are that in Chennai, I am removed from the daily stresses of my life back home and the constant reminder of things that haven’t worked out for us.

Here, it’s like we’ve embraced a new narrative and there’s a freedom in that.

(If you’re new to this blog, start here to learn more about why my husband and I are splitting our time this year between India and New York. And then, read this post to get more context as to why I needed to take some time off and come back to this enchanting country.)

India has Given Me a New Perspective

It’s funny that I started the year in India, and I’m also ending it here. I’m wondering if this isn’t an accident, and it’s what fate had in store for my husband and me all along.

My happiness about returning to India, and ‘taking a break’ from my life, got me thinking about how we live back home in the States.

Sometimes you need to be removed from a situation to see it more objectively, and that’s how I feel now. India has given me a new perspective on my life and what’s important.

I’ve started to question many of the values and the cultural standards which I have blindly adhered to without questioning.

I want to talk about this here on my blog because I think I’m not alone. Some of you might be questioning the same things. So let me know if some of my thoughts resonate with you too.

Here are some of the questions on my mind:

• Why are we so damn busy? Like all the time, to the point that our health suffers and the ‘norm’ is to feel suffocated and overwhelmed?
• Why do we put so little value on sleep and taking care of ourselves?
• How do we SLOW DOWN?
• Why, when we have so many of life’s basic needs more than adequately met, do we have extreme anxiety and bouts of depression?
• In what way do we feel secure in an increasingly volatile world?
• How do we prioritize the things that are truly important to us?
• How do we start to truly understand the idea that indeed, less can be more? Meaning, the less shit we need to take care of, or buy, or fix, or consume, the more TIME we have to spend with loved ones, do the things we love, move our bodies, break bread over a leisurely meal, have meaningful conversations, explore our surroundings near and far, and most importantly, get still and connect with our inner spirit.

I don’t know about you, but I’m guilty of everything I’ve mentioned above. When I’m here in India, I can more fully recognize the things in my life back home which aren’t working. I can see clearly what I need to change. I’m grateful that India has given me this new perspective.

A Hiatus is a Good Thing

I realize now that this year I’ve been given the gift of an unplanned hiatus. At first, I was resisting this huge change in my husband’s and my life. It derailed so many things for us. A home renovation, stepping stones in our careers, and our attempts to start a family with more rounds of IVF.

Related: I always thought I’d be a mom

But now I know that this hiatus is exactly what I need. I wish more people would recognize how beneficial it is to take a break. And I wish they would give themselves permission to do so.

When we can step back from the daily grind of life, and do things that enrich our soul, it becomes a time of renewal. Just as farmers know that the land needs time to remain fallow in between growing crops, so do we humans need time to reflect, restore and renew our minds, bodies, and souls.

The problem is that our society would have you think otherwise. Except for the world of collegiate education, where professors regularly take a sabbatical, taking time off is frowned upon.

Why?

Why is it a bad thing to take time off for ourselves?

It upsets me that our culture places more currency on working non-stop rather than living a well-rounded and thoughtful life. And this frantic pace comes at our expense.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I don’t have the answers to many of these questions. But taking time this year to live in a different country with a very different culture, has at least given me the awareness about these problems.

So, even though I initially resisted the upheaval of our lives this year, I now see that every experience teaches us valuable lessons. If we have an open heart and accept life’s surprises, we have the opportunity to grow in ways we never thought possible.

In this way, India has been a great teacher to me. I think I will look back at this period in my life and see it as a major turning point. And I will be forever thankful for the broader perspective India has given me as I continue on this journey of self-discovery.