Bucket List

I’m having an attack of insomnia. I close my eyes and a million thoughts crowd my brain. It’s moments like this I wish a 24 hour gym existed. The best solution to over thinking I’ve found, is running. I literally try to run away from my thoughts, though they always seem to outpace me.

Anyways. I’ve been thinking a lot about my life and recently had a quarter-life crisis style melt down. I’m not unhappy with where I am, in fact I’m kind of  pleased. BUT, I am worried about time. It seems like once you enter your mid-twenties (especially as an Indian girl) your life starts rushing past you. It sometimes feels like I’m trying to hold on ever so tightly to the sand of time slipping through my fingers. (Lovely cliche, I know…)

I still have so many things I need to do/see and I’ve been moving at a glacial pace. I’ve always had a ‘To Do’ list in life but for some reason I never registered in my head that I’m not 16 anymore. So without further ado, here’s a taste of my so-called bucket list. Hopefully  penning some of this down will help me to actually get through a good amount of it soon!

Trips: Every continent.
Specifics: Andalusia, Provence, Madrid, French Riviera, Italian Riviera, The Greek Islands, Stockholm, Berlin, Camino de Santiago, The Alps, Cliffs of Moher, Rome, Sicily, Tuscany, Lauterbrunnen, Salzburg, Mongolia, Himalayas (again), Nepal, Mount Kailash, Manali, Indonesia, Angkor Wat, Sri Lanka, Goa, Bali, Fiji, Kerala, The Caves of Petra, Morocco, The Pyramids, The Sahara, South Africa, Istanbul, Dubai (outside the airport), Bhutan, The Northern Lights, Machu Picchu etc… (This list won’t ever end.)

To Do:
Learn to ride a horse, learn to swim, run a marathon, become fluent in French or Italian, climb a mountain, go kayaking in the ocean (again), get at least one other degree, understand what true love means, become more empathetic, go bungee jumping (and not die), have a pet, overcome my fear of heights, be part of a food fight, learn to knit, learn to become a good public speaker, play the piano effortlessly, learn to ski, go paragliding, go on a cross-country road trip, open up my own photography studio, help as many as I can, understand humanity and all its perspectives, become more spiritual, blah blah blah….. I can keep going.

In any manner, this list is ever evolving and changing. Things get cross off, substituted, or checked off (mind you, at a very slow pace). Hopefully I pick up the speed soon!!

Hope your bucket list is ever growing as is mine, and hope I can fall asleep soon.

Sneha

 

Dreams

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it. – Paulo Coelho

One of my all time favorite books is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It’s a book about so many things. I had to read it twice to even get a grasp of what the point of the book was. The first time I read it, I got the superficial layout. There’s a boy named Santiago and he goes on a journey to find this place he’s been literally dreaming about for days. He comes across some interesting people and situations but he eventually gets to his destination. That’s pretty much the layout of the entire story. When I brought myself to re-read the book for a second time, things made much more sense. It’s not just a book about a journey. It’s a book about finding yourself and being content with the decisions you make in life and paving your own way. Coelho writes so eloquently and simply, the allegorical story of life. We learn, we believe, and we dream. And if we’re lucky enough, we achieve the dream. Everyone goes through these motions at one point or other in their life, it’s just that not many people take the time to realize this. As we move through life, our dreams and goals change. We see new things, observe new events or ideologies, meet new people, and in the course of all this, we ourselves evolve.

In the story Santiago is a shepherd who wanders the hills of Spain with his sheep. He leaves his family in search of the world and all that it has to offer. This whole concept sounds awfully familiar. Whether young or old, most humans are usually ambitiously in search of something. There aren’t very many people I have met who are undoubtedly content with themselves and their way of life. As much as some people try, no life lived is without regrets. But when you truly and purely want something in life, chances are you’ll get it. This book is also about having faith; not just faith in a higher entity but also faith in yourself. When you start having faith in yourself (not overconfidence or ego) things just start falling into place. There is a certain calm that comes with this, which is frankly unexplainable, and can only be experienced.

I think this is one book everyone must read. I know I’ve tried pushing certain people to read it (you know who you are) simply because I think the message behind the book is so pure and enlightening and it really makes you question a lot of things in life (in a good way).