{"id":412,"date":"2014-08-24T10:27:04","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T10:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tojoeapen.com\/blog\/?p=412"},"modified":"2017-01-09T07:46:26","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T07:46:26","slug":"evolving-self-transitioning-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/evolving-self-transitioning-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolving Self – Transitioning Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLife is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward….\u201d<\/strong> – Lao Tzu<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As I was saying good byes to friends and ex-colleagues in Finland earlier this year, many\u00a0encouraged me to\u00a0write about my experiences of transitioning\u00a0back to India, after more than a decade\u00a0of living in the U.S. and Finland. \u00a0In addition to personal experiences, some were also curious to hear more about India through the eyes of\u00a0someone they could relate to.<\/p>\n

For other readers, in a personal development context, may I suggest the self awareness\u00a0question for\u00a0your\u00a0thinking – “What defines you?”<\/p>\n

Considering that Finland and India are worlds apart in many respects, this transition\u00a0involved big readjustments.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0early stages of moving\u00a0back involved feelings of\u00a0fuzziness. \u00a0It was a feeling of being in different\u00a0places at the same time. \u00a0There was a mix of sadness and happiness, thinking about\u00a0what would be missed and gained. \u00a0It involved letting go of personal comfort zones, habits and relationships built\u00a0over the years.<\/p>\n

There were early readjustments. \u00a0After having gotten used to the silent environment\u00a0in Helsinki, even adjusting to the general noise levels was a change. \u00a0I live in a smaller city in the south of India (Trivandrum, Kerala) which is more laid back and easier to navigate compared to many other larger cities. \u00a0Life brought a difficult turning point, when my mother passed away after a month of my arrival. \u00a0Pain and challenges tend to lead to a yearning for spiritual advancement. \u00a0My efforts during previous\u00a0years to understand spirituality deeper\u00a0helped\u00a0to focus on\u00a0life from a larger wisdom and perspective.<\/p>\n

I’ve wondered – Does wisdom find you or do you find wisdom? \u00a0What leads you or vice versa to you, certain things, people or circumstances that\u00a0seem to be\u00a0outside the predictable flow of things in life?<\/p>\n

On the professional side, I had decided to move in an independent path of consulting and coaching. \u00a0This involved figuring out\u00a0new ways of working. \u00a0Working from home on my own was an interesting adjustment process. \u00a0Trying to build connections in a place that I had not spend much time during the past\u00a0decade was another. \u00a0In many ways, it felt like starting from scratch. \u00a0There was a\u00a0sense of frustration and impatience creeping in and a need to manage that. \u00a0I traveled to Delhi and Chennai to meet with contacts\u00a0and attend a national HR conference. \u00a0Those experiences were helpful to get a wider view on some\u00a0cultural and professional aspects. \u00a0Some ex colleagues and friends were gracious in meeting\u00a0and responding. \u00a0There were disappointments in my mind with few others – I realized it was due to my own expectations mostly of others without thinking about or knowing\u00a0their perspective. \u00a0Life seems to become a lot easier and less complicated\u00a0when we let go of judgment and expectation of wanting others and things to be\u00a0our way. \u00a0Learning to deal with that\u00a0was important personal progress.<\/p>\n

It also gave me an impetus to write more and channel positive energy. \u00a0A high school friend who is currently working on a book and\u00a0involved with\u00a0the publishing world, helped create new\u00a0blog page. \u00a0In around three months, there have been close to1000 unique views from 45 countries. \u00a0I am grateful\u00a0for the\u00a0many encouraging responses and feedback.<\/p>\n

On the personal exercise front, after enjoying squash\u00a0(learning to lose painfully \ud83d\ude42 a lot before starting to win)\u00a0for the last four years personally,\u00a0I am yet to pick up a new game and get back to the active exercise mode. \u00a0Squash courts are hard to find. \u00a0Some of that relates to me trying to find my new enjoyable\u00a0zone.<\/p>\n

Regarding general experiences in India:<\/p>\n

The process flows and government interfaces are improving slowly and\u00a0surely for citizens. \u00a0Another positive aspect I experienced personally is meeting\u00a0more grounded individuals in positions of power in the public and private spaces, who are aware of the intelligent use of power and want to make a positive change and impact. \u00a0Experiences in India can vary considerably depending on where one is\u00a0located.<\/p>\n

Readjustments also involved\u00a0getting used to how things work. \u00a0Many\u00a0things (public or private sector) did not seem to work smoothly and to the\u00a0expected or communicated timeframes. \u00a0It also seemed to\u00a0take multiple follow-ups until\u00a0something got unnecessarily complicated. \u00a0Time still seems to be a flexible concept and delays are normal. \u00a0Communication styles are still mostly top down and hierarchical and the frontline staff in most places are not empowered to make changes for customers. \u00a0Small business owners say that they still can’t trust work to get done if they’re not micromanaging their staff. \u00a0Many things get completed faster depending on where, who and how the request comes. \u00a0Social status and networks plays a major role.<\/p>\n

India continues to develop. \u00a0Infrastructure is much better but there is a long way to go before getting to world class. \u00a0The progress may be in bits and pieces. \u00a0It is encouraging to see the new central government emphasize major infrastructure development and change in attitudes and habits. \u00a0Connectivity, accessibility and ease of travel are much better. \u00a0The impact of information technology is widespread, with many process being connected to the internet. \u00a0Unlimited internet at home is not unlimited at the same speed\u00a0– the access speeds reduce dramatically\u00a0after a certain data transfer amount depending on the type of connection packages you take. \u00a0The cars on the roads have changed and the numbers have increased dramatically with most global car brands being present but the quality of many roads and traffic management need attention. \u00a0Maintaining the current roads without potholes seem to be a challenge. \u00a0One of my rough first hand\u00a0experiences was a six hour journey in the last row of a state transport bus, which felt like sitting\u00a0on a jumping ball. \u00a0There seems to be lesser queue disruption than in the past. \u00a0Public transport system is overcrowded during\u00a0peak hours but provides much more options and comfort than earlier. \u00a0Mass transport systems are still few in number. \u00a0Basic utilities like energy and drinking water seem to be under stress and require a lot more planning for the future.<\/p>\n

Some services are as good or better than anywhere in the world. \u00a0I can order\u00a0a cab sitting at home, for any time of the day or night. \u00a0There are also apps now in many parts of India that even track our ordered taxi through gps, after we\u00a0order. \u00a0The Delhi metro seemed\u00a0as good as any other metro system in the world but the rush hour traffic may become or already is over capacity. \u00a0Global startup names like Uber seem to be\u00a0building up in India quickly. \u00a0I can also book bus, train or plane tickets seamlessly using apps or through the internet anytime – this was not easy even few years back. \u00a0I could travel\u00a0on the train by just showing my photo id and online ticket booking. \u00a0Most major brand names are visible on the local store shelves and everywhere . \u00a0The latest mobile devices and electronic equipments are quite visible.<\/p>\n

Even though many things have improved tremendously, it is obvious that\u00a0India is still difficult for foreigners or tourists to navigate practically on their own.<\/p>\n

Back to my own experiences – Memories, recollections and emotions still remind me about my\u00a0previous world,\u00a0people and experiences. \u00a0There are still days in which I distinctly picture internally\u00a0my favorite walking path around the waterfront in Helsinki. \u00a0What I miss most is my\u00a0diverse conversations with my small group of friends and connections. \u00a0Physical distance results in mental distances and grabbing a coffee together is no longer an easy option. \u00a0As time passes, the distance grows. \u00a0Close friends will remain close and the reconnection will be seamless but the nature of closeness shifts when the frequency of interactions drop. \u00a0On the other side, old friends in India are still friends, but they have evolved as well and we are all in different phases. \u00a0That needs rebuilding. \u00a0Very few stay the same.<\/p>\n

All this serves as means to deeper\u00a0learning, wisdom, new paths, connections and a more evolved future. \u00a0I am learning and unlearning without letting go of the\u00a0valuable knowledge and wisdom acquired. \u00a0With every new direction, life has led to unexpected new paths, people and experiences.<\/p>\n

Feeling lost seems to be a familiar\u00a0feeling before discovering myself in an evolving self. \u00a0It has led me to a\u00a0place of hope, belief and\u00a0confidence to progress\u00a0through new experiences stronger.<\/p>\n

To my global friends, I hope and wish our paths cross again… There is some sadness in thinking that it may not happen sometimes but glad\u00a0that destiny helped cross our paths. \u00a0It may not have been total coincidence. \u00a0I am a result of my\u00a0experiences.<\/p>\n

A special ‘Thank You’ to my good friends for your\u00a0inspiration and encouragement, to share my experiences.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. \u00a0Life is eternal. \u00a0We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. \u00a0This is a precious moment. \u00a0It is a little parenthesis in eternity.\u201d-<\/strong>\u00a0Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cLife is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward….\u201d – Lao Tzu As I was saying good byes to friends and ex-colleagues in Finland earlier this year, many\u00a0encouraged me to\u00a0write about my experiences of transitioning\u00a0back to India, after more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career","category-coaching","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":697,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412\/revisions\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tojoeapen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}