When I read this Rumi quote on a WhatsApp message, I knew immediately that this would be my suggestion for a Friday Three on One blog post and I duly recommended it to my fellow bloggers Padmum and Shackman who readily agreed. Please do go over to Padmum’s blog and Shackman’s blog to see what each has to say on the same topic. Thank you.
True, I have not been able to change the world. I have however either changed myself many times or change has been thrust on me, whether I liked it or not.
Neither of my parents were fortunate enough to see two centuries. My siblings and I were from the twentieth to the twenty first. And what a change that has been!
My life, bar the last thirty years, has been one of change of residence for either moving due to my father’s transfers or my own besides my having been a bit of a rootless guy for a few years during my early twenties. I have lived in Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkatta, Koratti in Kerala, Assam, Hyderabad, Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and finally in Pune now for the past thirty years.
The result of all these changes of residences has been that I am proficient in five languages and can manage quite comfortably in three others. Though I can read only three scripts, I am now flooded with local language messages written in the Roman script from different parts of my glorious country which boasts of 122 major languages and 1599 other languages which of course included many dialects!
I have seen carefree bachelor status, married man status and for the last ten years, widower status.
I have seen my career going through public sector, multinationals, private sector and family / owner run organisations and have also worked in an NGO non profit organisation in a voluntary position.
I have changed from being a hard drinking meat eating executive into to teetotaller, vegetarian spiritual person over the last twenty two years.
I have also changed from being a very indifferent person where religion is concerned into a deeply involved in it person over the last 22 years.
Other significant changes that have taken place in my life can be called physical due to the inevitable changes due to ageing and also my issues with COPD and replaced and revised hip joints. From a very active person, I have now become more or less a couch potato though, thankfully not yet wheel chair bound. I however dread a fall somewhere, which can have serious repercussions and put me into one for the rest of my life.
I am not the wisest and I flatter myself that I am not the stupidest of men either. I accept that change will happen. I am sure to see more before I fade away into the sunset.
Change is forever our traveling partner as we traverse the roads of life. I have lived in Nor Cal, So Cal, Colorado, Connecticut. Hawaii, Texas and North Carolina. Your language proficiency has always amazed me as has your cultural awareness.
A great start to 3 on -1
Thank you. As I write this we have already become 4 on 1 and I hope that your meeting with Conrad makes it 5 on 1.
Yes, we do change. Not least clothes. However, and I believe this firmly, we all have an inner core. The one we were born with. That immutable I, me. That which makes us who we are, and how we deal with change that life does impose on us welcome or unwelcome, organically.
U
It has always been a question – nature vs nurture so how much of your core is nature?
I am surprised. It is vedanta.
I’ve been through plenty of changes in my life- changes of job, of home, of political views, of financial circumstances. But I think the biggest change was moving from London to Belfast, which was a bit of a gamble but has worked out very well. The other major change is of course the string of governments that have taken us from a generous and caring society to one that only wants to make the rich richer and poor poorer – and the sick sicker.
We all do. Most of us simply do that without being aware of it.
That is a beautiful quote from Rumi. Your country has a great wealth of languages and dialects. This post of yours gave me things to mull over. Since I became a widow three years ago I find that I am closer to God and leaning on God more than ever. Suffering and loss can push us in that direction. Paul in Philippians tells us to rejoice and yet again rejoice, which advice I take to heart. Thank you for sharing a bit of your own journey here.
Thank you Terra. It is entirely my pleasure that you have enjoyed the post.
Love that quote and I try to live it.
Thanks for the sharing of your own journey Ramana, very inspiring.
As to change, I have had massive ones and both beautiful and painful experiences along the way. The pain has forced me to change, to accept, but as you know we are ever-changing and go backwards and forwards, stumbling one minute, triumphant the next. I had to work through much of my childhood experiences to arrive at a place of peace.
XO
WWW
Yes, your journey has been one of many changes and I quite like the place where they have brought you.
This post was quite thought-provoking. Your style of writing kept me hooked, and wanting more! The self-reflectionary angle of this post gave it a new clarity as well. This post reminds me of the quote- ‘the only constant in life is change’
I am delighted to see your comments here and thank you for them. I hope to see more of you in the days to come.
Life would be quite dull if we didn’t encounter change both welcome and unwelcome variety, I think, though the latter I prefer to be minimal.
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Indeed.