Good bye to Minneapolis
Its tata to Minneapolis for now. A city I love so much. A sort of hometown for me. Three full years and a lifetime of experiences. People. Activities. Things to see. Things to learn. The most important being - 'Shovel off the snow and get on with life'. This place is truly a hidden treasure. So are the people. What can I say. I am going to miss all the people I know here. Quite a few that is. Thanx to all the shramdhans, AID activities and the U. (To the uninitiated, at Minnesota, U implies the University of Minnesota).
My new job is taking me to Chicago. Don't know where I will be next month though. I am happy I would get to work at different places in different organizations as part of my new company. Promises to be fun. Would be nice to try and get involved with the local community in short durations. It took me more than 2 years to establish all my contacts here, get to know people from different sections of the society - both geographically and otherwise - students, professionals, indian owned businesses, etc. And suddenly I have to let go all of it.
I was always a proponent of 'charity begins at home' and hence concentrated my involvement with AID to things that deal with the people right here. Be it organizing events using local talents or getting funds for that through local businesses or helping local groups in their events. To me, these kind of activities directly connects me to the people I am involved with. And it gives me a sense of doing something useful without the feeling of feeling superior.
You may wonder why. Its so good to feel superior, better, helpful, in a position of
being able to serve rather than served. To me, all that would deny me one thing I value the most - the opportunity to learn. Unless and until we are humbled by our actions, we are not going to learn much from it. If we swell our chests with pride, it will only lead to one thing - elation. We would think about the result and feel happy. But the actions that got us there would be forgotten in the celebration. Results as such tell very little. They are poor teachers. Its the actions that got the results - whatever may be the outcome - the real enlightener. In a state of joy, and in a state of sorrow, it is very difficult to think rationally, leave alone learn something from that experience. In success we are happy. In defeat we are sad. By the time we get over those feelings, we are already into our next project. Very rarely do we squeeze some extra juice from that success or defeat by reflecting on our actions and the outcome. I always believed it is very imperative to be even headed in order to observe, learn, and use it in our future endeavours.
With all the exposure I had here, I am hoping things would be better. More enriching and sophisticated. Sophisticated in terms of my expectations from what I do and what I experience and get.
Chicago, here I come. After experiencing all the winter here, I am sure your heavy wind would be a breeze :)
My new job is taking me to Chicago. Don't know where I will be next month though. I am happy I would get to work at different places in different organizations as part of my new company. Promises to be fun. Would be nice to try and get involved with the local community in short durations. It took me more than 2 years to establish all my contacts here, get to know people from different sections of the society - both geographically and otherwise - students, professionals, indian owned businesses, etc. And suddenly I have to let go all of it.
I was always a proponent of 'charity begins at home' and hence concentrated my involvement with AID to things that deal with the people right here. Be it organizing events using local talents or getting funds for that through local businesses or helping local groups in their events. To me, these kind of activities directly connects me to the people I am involved with. And it gives me a sense of doing something useful without the feeling of feeling superior.
You may wonder why. Its so good to feel superior, better, helpful, in a position of
being able to serve rather than served. To me, all that would deny me one thing I value the most - the opportunity to learn. Unless and until we are humbled by our actions, we are not going to learn much from it. If we swell our chests with pride, it will only lead to one thing - elation. We would think about the result and feel happy. But the actions that got us there would be forgotten in the celebration. Results as such tell very little. They are poor teachers. Its the actions that got the results - whatever may be the outcome - the real enlightener. In a state of joy, and in a state of sorrow, it is very difficult to think rationally, leave alone learn something from that experience. In success we are happy. In defeat we are sad. By the time we get over those feelings, we are already into our next project. Very rarely do we squeeze some extra juice from that success or defeat by reflecting on our actions and the outcome. I always believed it is very imperative to be even headed in order to observe, learn, and use it in our future endeavours.
With all the exposure I had here, I am hoping things would be better. More enriching and sophisticated. Sophisticated in terms of my expectations from what I do and what I experience and get.
Chicago, here I come. After experiencing all the winter here, I am sure your heavy wind would be a breeze :)
posted by d'na | 3:02 PM
3 Comments:
This place is truly a hidden treasure. So are the people. What can I say. I am going to miss all the people I know here. Quite a few that is.
Isnt it funny... U r leaving a place uve been in for whats it been... 3 years now??? and what u will miss most is "AID work"... the new ppl in the community u have met and so... and worse still... "shoveling the snow" off a car that isnt there anymore!!!!!!
Should i take it to be a reflection upon u.. that u spared not a line to talk about your frnds.. roommates.. and so... the ones u spent days and nights... what.. 10-15 hours a day for 3 years!!!!
is it that u r trying to block out your most painful thoughts... or it is jus the way it is????
-AC
To me, what I miss if I leave a place are stuff unique to that location. Things I got to do because the place had that to offer. If I could do it else where, I would be fine with it. Being someone who has been shifting bases frequently, 3 years is indeed a long time.
And I dont believe in missing friends or roommates because of moving. Shame on you if geographical distance is going to make you 'miss' your friends at your old place. You cant miss them. You can only lose contact with due deligence. If anything, I would only be closer to them because of the distance.
True u r!!!!
-AC
PS: heard of farewell gifts ;) ???
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