Home is where you find it

Life is what happens to you when you are too busy making other plans. It surprises you with unexpected gifts, with curve balls that underscore the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Alternately, the pace of life today is hectic and in meeting the demands of time, often the essentials are overlooked or not emphasised enough. Add to this the self-seeking mindset and life style that erodes the very keystones that a family rests upon.

In my home, everyone has their own room or a place that is their favourite haunt. We are all separated by the very walls that hold the foundation of our home together. Sometimes, it’s only at dinner that we meet, have hurried and often silent meals together, preoccupied with things that need to be done. The sad part is that we don’t even realise that we are silently drifting apart.

Travelling undoubtedly gives us a chance to discover and explore more around us. However, it can also become a medium to unearth what’s inside us. This is the beauty of life; it teaches us in multifarious ways. Our recent summer holiday provided a fresh perspective in a way we least expected.

We had decided to go to Singapore and Malaysia to enjoy the pristine beaches and theme parks. Since Singapore is somewhat compact, the hotel room we booked online was rather small. It necessitated that we all share the same living space and the diminutive bathroom. It also dictated that we interact with each other all the time as we were literally at an arm’s distance from each other.

We were forced to come to a consensus regarding what programmes to watch on TV, what to eat, share our reactions at what we saw and felt. It initially felt like an irksome exercise but eventually turned out to be the proverbial blessing in disguise. Yes, there were altercations but there were also meaningful conversations and all because the physical walls that separated us in our own home were no longer there.

As we sat for meals together, we laughed at each other’s antics and idiosyncrasies that we had long forgotten. We packed and unpacked suitcases with little snippets and stories. We felt the compatible silence as we relaxed together after a particularly tiring day. We suddenly had time to give informed responses, listen to each other and take pictures galore. It was almost like we were getting to know each other again.

I knew that once we got back home, this magical mystical time would evaporate and the fabric of our life would again be coloured by the hectic pace that we move at. However, I also knew that in that capsule of time, we had not only found entertainment and escape but also regained a sense of family.

Time that erodes memories, can also help us make new ones. All we must do is travel to known and unknown destinations together again. After all, it’s not the destination, not even the journey, but the people that we travel with that give meaning and rekindling to life.