And Make No Mistake, Moving Is Living
Yeah, George Clooney said that sometime, somewhere.Very little can compare to that amazing feeling when you set a courageous (outrageous) goal for yourself and achieve it against the wind; taking that leap with an open mind, and heart-- when you step outside your comfort zone in search of something unfamiliar.
Moving to a new place where you know no one is one such thing. Loving strangers is another. Part terrifying, part exhilarating; however distant, however brief, it introduces you to yourself all over again. And for someone who lives their life in cycles of monotony, stability and chaos, yet gets easily lost in the noise of it all, this re-introduction makes it all worthwhile.
New spaces and new faces can teach you quite a bit. I happen to have taken the plunge recently, and what I discovered was nothing short of wonderful. Like--
You'll find new friends. New friends are refreshing; refreshingly different too. They may or may not be better than your old friends (too early to tell? or may be you just wouldn't bother to compare), but refreshing is good enough.
You'll get to know people and cultures vastly different from yours, with different points of view and experiences, which will only widen your perspective on life.
You can make connections with anyone and everyone you want. There's no one telling you whom you can or cannot be friends with. You might also be introduced to new ways to have fun -- even if it's just a walk in a park instead of a stroll on the beach.
You probably have some social pattern back home: fortnightly dinners at certain restaurants, movie nights, game nights, the usual bakeries, the same cafe, the same art gallery, weekend drinks at a pub you've earned a platinum membership to (you boozard!) etc. Of course these routines are fun, but do they really stretch and excite you? Nope.
You'll also begin to develop a certain degree of social ease to walk into a room full of people you don't know (Coz you'll be doing it ever so often now!). I mean, besides a few insanely extroverted folks among us, most of us dread having to attend a social occasion solo-- all that worry about not knowing anyone, and being stuck talking to some creep. But know this: you’ll end up getting a little too drunk to compensate for all of the awkwardness. And the atonement, if necessary, will happen after a day or two. Once you've been through this a few times it will stop fazing you at all. And if you're anything like me, your social anxiety levels might even dip a bit.
The great thing about having to start again is that it allows you to leave your tired self behind and work with a renewed you. It gives you the time to calm your angst or rid yourself of unwanted habits and say adieu to friends or lovers who no longer serve you. You may learn something new about yourself; you may learn a new skill, a new hobby. Tattoo. Piercing. Haircut.
I understand our comfort zone is, well, comfortable, but when we shift to a new place, things are different; mostly, the nice kind of different. You'll have to figure things out on your own -- figuring out the public transport system and finding a place to get a decent coffee (and a good cheesecake). Independence will be thrown at you and you will be forced to make it work; you’ll become a little more insightful, resourceful and liberated person because of it.
You’ll learn to appreciate your own company. And if you already do, you'll just learn to appreciate it more. If you’re someone who usually surrounds yourself with family and friends, you may be in for a surprise when you learn that spending time alone can actually be nice. You'll get time to reconnect with your individual thoughts and desires. You can do stuff on your own timeline and budget (Oh yeah, you'll have a budget. And it will be very, very real).
You’ll find that as clichéd as it is, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. You'll also realize that the old adage ‘Out of sight, out of mind’, holds equally true.
Perhaps one of the foremost takeaways from moving is the insight you’ll have into your strengths and weaknesses. You just need to open your mind to new possibilities; be open to change; be open to other people changing.
Go wherever you want. Go wherever it suits your rhythm, your aspirations, your desires.
Reaching our point of saturation is unbearable and all this can get a tad bit overwhelming as well, more so for us introverts; but you will acclimatize. Guaranteed.
Seize that chance to reinvent yourself, or find yourself. Realizing that you only need to rely on yourself is simply empowering.
In a similar stage, currently...
ReplyDeleteNew places & new faces brings out the New/hidden 'You' in You. It might take a considerable time to digest the newness inside and outside you and make the most of it but, you will realize that you aren't what you thought you were., you're a bunch of people, wrapped up, waiting to be given a chance to experience the world.
yes, Moving is Living,
Moving is knowing...
Yeah, we just try to wrest parts of us out slice by slice, in order to configure ourselves to our intentions and the scope of the choices we make. Though moving might not do full justice to this, it's a fine place to start.
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