The Outbound Workshop

I have had a fun two days at the outbound training workshop that our company organised. We were taken to a resort in the sylvan outskirts of Thane. Once there, I made a number of good friends and also relished the fact that I was once again close to nature (twice in the Maharashtra countryside within a year!! Hmm…). What’s more, there was a swimming pool at the resort, and I thoroughly enjoyed the dip into a swimming pool after a gap of two years.

Let me share with you two moments of the outbound trip that made me reflect.

The Wrong Turn

After a morning of warm-up exercises (~sigh~ they were NOTHING compared to the kind of warm-ups I used to do before my practise runs), I was in a mood to explore the countryside. I must thank Nike; if it were not for him, I would’ve wandered off alone and have missed out on some fantastic company. It was Nike who asked a group of people whether they were interested on a morning walk to a nearby river and of course, there quite a few enthusiastic takers.

Off we went then, just a group of young people out to explore the world. We took a number of twists and turns, on muddy tracks, past fields and mud-houses with thatched roofs and some beautiful countryside. Villagers going about their everyday lives in a simple and honest manner were an absolute joy to watch.

And then, at this juncture where the muddy tracks of the simple villagers met the concrete roads of modern civilization, we took a wrong turn.

We kept walking in the wrong direction for a while till we asked these two men who we met on the road for clarification about our direction and our ultimate destination. We were told we needed to take a u-turn in order to reach the river.

And even as we walked back on the now correct path, I couldn’t help smiling to myself.

After all, what could be better than course-correction, irrespective of whether it is done in your life or simply on a fine Sunday morning?

The Drop

Later in the day, as I lay down on the cool green grass of the lawn that covered a significant area of the resort, I could hear the chirping of the sparrows in the trees nearby. I smiled and was greeted a fine ‘good evening’ with the gentle breeze that blew that very instant, and resulted in a endearing rustle of leaves.

~plop~

A drop of water fell on my face and I shifted my gaze towards the sky. There was a beautiful cloud formation right above us. Amazingly, this patch of grey clouds seemed friendly rather than threatening and for an instant I felt as if it were smiling down at me (I swear I wasn’t doped!)

~plop~

Another drop of water landed on my forehead. And as I continued to stare heavenwards, I could see hundreds of tiny droplets gently dropping towards me, as if they had been waiting to rush towards me and ask with a smile, “Isn’t this a beautiful planet?”

Some day, dear friend, if you ever get the opportunity, lie down on the grass and look up at the sky and feel the limitless universe.