Follow the Journey

To stay in your comfort zone is an incredibly comfortable way to stay incredibly comfortable. To stray from your beloved pillow padded lifestyle is the uncomfortable way to learn and thrive, especially here in India. Our Shiva leader this week, Hank, has requested that we each step out of our comfort zones these upcoming days.
“If you see a man singing in the street, ask him why he is singing,” Hank said.
The group sat in silence, unwilling to divulge our thoughts on the matter. As for me, I sat there and wondered why he would ask us all to leave our comfort zones. Hadn’t we already done that? Hadn’t we already packed our bags and said goodbye to our friends and family? Hadn’t we all taken a rickshaw through New Delhi’s frighteningly chaotic and lawless traffic? Hadn’t we all taken cold bucket showers and done our business in toilet-less bathrooms? As far as I was concerned, simply applying to Carpe Diem’s India trip was a step out of all our comfort zones. But as I sat in our hostel room using my headlamp as my only source of light because the electricity comes and gos as it pleases, I realised after this past week and a half, a lot of the seemingly abnormal tasks and sights that once took me for a spin are no longer that abnormal anymore. I’m now comfortable with hand washing my clothes and dodging cars in the street as they ruthlessly blare their horns. I’m comfortable with the hundreds of stray dogs in the streets and sterilizing my water with Ultraviolet light. I’m even comfortable with squatting to use the bathroom. These were all aspects of India that came as a shock to me a week ago, but what was once uncomfortable has found itself inside my comfort zone. So I guess the only thing to do next is take another step. A new way to challenge yourself whether it be culturally, emotionally, or physically, is always available.
Right now I am sitting in the room of my new Tibetan Mom, Irnchen, who speaks little to no English and puts chili powder on my bread; all of which I can assure you is out of my comfort zone, but maybe next week it won’t be, and something else will be.