There is an important family occasion happening in Chennai by the end of July and a number of my relatives from all over are gathering there. My initial idea when I received the summons was to combine the visit with one to Bengaluru and Tirupur where I have some unfinished work pending. I took a few days thinking about the various ways that I could accomplish all that and in the meanwhile, my son Ranjan and daughter in law Manjiree were also given the summons and they too decided to go over.
They decided on a three day visit to take advantage of a week end and I readily agreed to go and return with them but they had been given clear instructions by the summoning authority that I should be left behind at Chennai for at least a week more.
We were still debating this matter when I retired for the night last night and this morning found that my tickets had been bought during the night by Ranjan that effectively keeps me in Chennai for a week longer than his stay.
My initial reaction was despair. I did not want to stay there for that long but on reflection found that I do have enough and more to do at Chennai for the additional few days.
When I thought about my reluctance, I have concluded that I am getting stuck in my comfort zone at home in Pune and resent leaving it. I am so comfortable that even leaving the home for local trips is increasingly unattractive. For instance, there is a mini alumni get-together today and I had agreed to go for it but since morning felt lethargic and was thinking of some excuse to beg off the meet. Not a very good diagnosis!
If I had insisted on coming back with Ranjan and Manjiree I would have lost the opportunity for some serious catching up at Chennai and when I found this message on top it made sense to me. I must make the effort to get out of my comfort zone more and get out of the house even if it is just to go for some minor shopping for fruits or vegetables. Otherwise, I would atrophy! And I have decided to overcome my reluctance and lethargy and go for the get-together later today.
What about my readers? Do you resent leaving your comfort zones?