Solitude and bliss

“We need to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what.”- George Santayana

Solitude and bliss?  Have you experienced that? That state of complete mental, physical and every other kind of contentment. That is exactly how I felt sitting on the Ghats for the last time (at least for a very long time) staring at the reflective waters of the Ganges. Life continued to move forward, at its usual pace, boatmen calling out to passersby, small kids selling diyas, but for me it seemed to have slowed down, almost to a standstill.  For hours I just sat there, pondering about everything that I had learnt on this 10 day journey and believe me when I say this, there was a lot to take away. And while this journey has not transformed me into a more mature, spiritually enriched version of myself it has had a huge impact on me. I learnt through this journey not to be so quick to judge, to see life not only through one lens but several others. I learnt that what I as an outsider, considered a problem may not have been not a problem to the local inhabitants of this place at all.  And while I yet am an agnostic I learnt through observation what an impact faith and belief can have on people, to believe in something so strongly that nothing anyone says can deter you.