Losing Yourself to Find Another You

Hello Everyone,

Hoping you all are doing great. A post was long on my mind, but only today after I served a rather simplistic dal roti lunch for a Sunday, I decided I am gonna play sport. With the non-stop downpour outside, there is nothing better than making myself a cuppa and starting to type.

Aaaaaah what a day, what a way, when there's a lot to say. :)

In keeping with my tradition of writing long & often unrelated Post Titles; I have named this one "Losing Yourself to Find Another You". Honestly that would not qualify as completely unrelated but its a little bit of those things that count as far-fetched.

Okay. Let me build a little background to this post. Lemme give you a small personal update.

Earlier this year, I took two plunges. First I went bungee jumping(45mtrs) and then a week from that incident, I went somersaulting into that age old institution called "marriage". Amid-st simple yet beautiful temple wedding rituals with my near & dear ones within arm's reach, I strode over to the other side of that thin line. That line on the other side of which we know "Life Changes". Whether one has been married, once or twice, or never before, & whether or not is considering one in the future- we all know that "Life will never be the same again."

The usual yet unusual followed thereafter. We went on a road trip for our honeymoon. Discovered topographies of natural & unnatural natures...LOL(please don't get ideas here). Returned in about 10days to set up a domestic world for ourselves. Groceries, laundry, bills & housekeeping unceremoniously arrived & settled themselves in our lives.

And like most things in life, life fell into a routine. In a very nice way though. More in a beautifully content way.
And then one fine day the Soh in me rose to its element; and said to herself, its Time to do more than just this. And there started my quest to plan my next escapade. An escapade to discover another facet of myself & my life.

This year in my mind, I have set quite a few targets. All of them personal. So I went through my list and decided upon checking off one of the many to-do things lying there. To give you a sample, following are some that I have already conquered:
- beat my aversion to orange(color)
- not succumb to my high altitude & motion sickness
- tackle my abhorrence towards strong smelling(perhaps flavored) fruits(plums, peaches, apricots)
- disrupt my inherent need to be in control
- etc etc

And thus a plan was laid out for a solo trip to Spiti & Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh. And this is where my post title will find its relevance. "Losing Yourself to Find Another You". I kept this trip planned for months and not shared with anyone beyond family(new & old) to avoid the obvious questions & unsolicited advise. I strongly advocate solo travel while many find it discomforting and thus the use of discretion. To each is his/her own, like they say.

I am of the view, that a trip with yourself has many obvious advantages:
1. You have to follow no itinerary
2. You don't have to wake up, eat meals, defecate & sleep as per anyone else
3. Nobody else will influence what you want to learn, discover, explore in your leisure
4. You do just what you wish to do
5. You truly holiday

In addition to the above, it does some wonderful things to you
1. You become truly aware of yourself & surroundings physically
2. You are forced into crisis management(god forbid if any)
3. You develop decision making(even if that simply entails ordering your food every meal)
4. You become truly conscious of your feelings, emotions & choices for yourself
5. You acquire some key skills which you will never do in company of others(coz there is obvious natural process of delegation)

And if you stretch yourself further, you will be lucky to
1. Find new interests
2. Explore your physical & emotional limits
3. Develop restraint
4. Set free yet contain curiosity
5. Rollick your deep seeded fantasies(we ALL have them buried all the time)
6. Take responsibility of each & every breath
7. & with that 6th point Fall In Love with Yourself before Anyone Else

And along the way, you meet living beings, things, places & make memories that transform your world completely for all the time to come. Though I was busy accumulating experiences for 8 days, I did manage to click over 1500 pictures to keep for memories. I am sharing herewith a chosen(it was a hell of a job) few of them.

 Hills & Clouds....An eternal love story. Laden with the water deep inside...both.

 Burst of all seven colors of rainbow at a hydel power station.

 Roads less travelled......

 Can you not almost hear the sound of the gushing water???

 Confluence - Of Sutlej & Spiti river...... color, texture and movement.

 Hide & Seek

 Colors!!!

 In one simple word...... LOVE!!

 The Sacred Nako Village.

 Snow Far Snow Good

 Land Slide in Action. Men at Work.

 Warm Love!!

Farm Fresh

Words can never describe what these pictures would. This is my first attempt with a DSLR camera. Please pardon my lack of skill and expertise.

Love to you all. DO try travelling by yourself and share your experience.

P.S: My trip destination was Chandertal at 15000ft in Trans-Himalayan region. Will share more updates later but soon.