Yes when I look back, I see myself a transformed person. I never believed that I could do the things which I have done in the 20 odd months I’ve spent at Blue Lotus. It has been a terrific learning experience. Still a lot to do, because everyday is a learning experience. Yes, I do have a serious VERTIGO problem. There was a time when even looking down from 3rd floor made me dizzy. Once I had a spin on a giant wheel felt disoriented for three whole days. My friends had quite a few laughs at my expense.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
Life can teach us so many things and each day and moment is a new learning experience. We should be prepared to adjust to new conditions as and when required. We should give the seed of learning a chance to grow within us.
It all started with the Rajmachi offsite. We trekked non-stop for two long, arduous days. The path traversed was along the Western Ghats; the ground was extremely slippery and the conditions unfavourable. All the while there was the danger of someone slipping down to a free fall of around 200 meters. People were made to live in tents, cook their own food, and dig toilet holes. In spite of the hard conditions, they just refused to give up. As if that was not enough, on the final day we had to climb to a height of 750 meters and then rappel down. This final trek to the bottom of the cliff was nerve wracking. There was a 250 meter drop on one side and towering range measuring 2000 m on the other side and we were walking along a path of about two feet width which at times reduced to a feet. The climb was steep and exhausting. But what came as a total shock to us was when we were told that we had to rappel down. I was horrified, made two false starts, fear holding me tight in her grip. My family, friends and all the loved ones came in my mind. But then I thought that let me go through the motion and I knew that I could do it. The feeling of being suspended at a height of 750 meters is frightening. But then as I have already mentioned, something is more important than fear. As I was rappelling down I felt the fear leaving me. It was a great feeling, a feeling of having overcome adversity. Great, isn’t it? In our just concluded offsite, we were out on all three days, totally soaked in the rains. It was a fantastic experience. We had events like a Tag Hunt, a Simulated War, and Climbing and Rappelling down in difficult conditions. And yes, my team and I did them all.
It didn’t end there; yes, if I extend my learnings to daily life, the offsite has certainly helped. Monday morning it was raining heavily when I started from home, but I thought that getting wet is a state of mind. Yes, the rains can no longer stop me from doing things. I came to office almost soaked, but because of a fire burning within, I dried up equally fast.
