Have you ever travelled around India? It’s a fabulous country with so much variety and colour. I recall backpacking around India for the first time as a 17 year old having just finished Year 12. The Lonely Planet guide was the only guidebook available back the and they described India as “an assault on the senses”. It’s absolutely true.

But amidst the chaos and confusion, there is a stillness that underpins the entire nation. Indians by the nature of her massive population, mastered the art of waiting. The Westerner travelling in India for the first time maybe infuriated by the pace of life. We travelled mainly by trains and local buses which invariably ran late. Often when a train was delayed, no announcement would be made till 2 or 3 hours later. The locals just waited patiently whilst the Westerners marched up and down the platform. Sometimes a train would be cancelled and the next one would be 8 hours later. Nothing to do except wait. The waiting was punctuated by little games, mindless chatter, and endless small cups of spiced chai.

The bottom line was that nothing really was that important if you ended up arriving 2 days late. Life would go on. There was no intense ambition for the villagers. They just lived for the next day and as long as there was enough money to put food on the table for the short term future, then nothing was a big deal. No investments. No major planning. People lived a very simple existence. Whenever life gets hectic in the big smoke back in Australia, I give myself a pinch and imagine that I’m waiting on an Indian platform for the next train to roll by. That’s a peaceful space to reside in.

Embrace slowness and develop the art of waiting:)

In Health and Wellness