A Journey to the Center of the Soul

Part 1 — Homeward Bound

The teenager turned to take another look at his home, which in a very short while would become a speck in the distance. He sighed once again, and twisted around to glance at his father, hoping that he would receive some sympathy there. But the man’s heart seemed to be set in stone.

The boy was well aware of the fact that this journey had to be undertaken. Everyone of his age must go on their trip. But he didn’t want to, though. He was very reluctant to leave the comfort of his home, although he noticed that his family had been getting ready for his departure for the last year or so.

His mother no longer sat next to him, tidying his mane and weaving stories like she used to do every night. His grandmother no longer appeared on the horizon to comfort him when he bawled his eyes out in distress. His grandfather, the dear old man, he was not even on the horizon anymore. The boy was left with his father, the toughest man he had come across, for a guide.

Accepting the fact that he had no where else to go, but straight ahead, the teenager began to assess his situation. What lay in front of him, was the unknown, and he felt deep chugs thundering through his heart. As long as he was home, he was embraced by love, understanding and comfort. Now, here, cast out into the wild, all he could feel, was, fear.

The young fellow was afraid, very, very afraid.

Some of his friends who had begun a similar journey had been so excited that they had started off on their own, without wanting or waiting for a guide. “Risky,” the boy’s mother had cautioned him about that sort of behavior. “It is always better to receive help, especially during the initial stages.” Her words had only triggered even more fear within the already frightened child.

Walk through your fear. The boy remembered the words that had been repeated to him like a chant, every day, by his family and everyone else who cared about him. The phrase had begun to flow through his blood and had become an automatic solution-fueling thought, every time he felt the tangles of fear creep upon him. That was why he understood that he did not have a choice but to complete the journey before getting back home once again.

He looked once again at his father, who was going to guide him through the initial phase of his journey. The older man’s eyes remained fixated on the road ahead. The boy knew that behind his father’s hard facade, his mind was busy thinking about the encounters that lay waiting for the two people to pass their way.

The boy’s father was not his guide because he had tread this same path before. Everyone has a different journey to take. The boy’s father was his guide because of his own experience as a man who had journeyed far, and fared reasonably well. The two of them were not going have similar experiences, but the boy’s father had accumulated the gift of wisdom over the many years.

There would be no hand-holding here. His father would walk with him up to a point, teaching him to handle his initial encounters, beyond which, the boy would be on his own. The boy gulped at the thought.

Before noon, the travelers happened upon their first encounter, who seemed to be waiting for them — eyes hungry, knife in hand.

(How do father and son handle their first encounter? Will the boy be able to complete his journey? Follow this blog to follow the series)

Dear Reader,

All of us journey all the time. If we are not journeying to places around us, we are journeying to places within us. Yet, we rarely become aware of this side of our journey. The first time we begin this expedition is when we grow into teenagers. Our body knocks on our mind’s doors frequently, trying to awaken us to this fact.

Then, there are the emotions that accompany the knock — that rebellious, experimental attitude of the average teen is the typical sign. These are the kids who are excited to begin their journey on their own. They mark their journey their way. While on one side, their attitude is termed callous and irresponsible, these are in fact, the kids that are designed to grow into go-getters, the ones that take the bull by their horns. My best friend is one such bull-handler, who was the bane of both her parents and our teachers when she was a rebellious, teenager.

Let us move to the type B teens, the ones that are reluctant to leave their comfort zones. These kids need a guide to help them traverse their path. They also need their family to show them the door. They need to be pushed and pulled, and chased away. The greatest reason behind their reluctance to move along, is their fear — fear of being judged, fear of failure, fear of doing the difficult, so on and so forth. I know, because I was there. I am still trying to get away from there. The more I understand myself, the more I understand the type B teen. These are the kids that have the ability to see the bull before it gets there, and figure out different ways to manage the bull. They don’t fight the bull, they choose to make peace with them instead.

Truth is, the world needs both the type A and type B teens, and type A and type B adults, in the right way. In the way nature has designed them to grow — beautifully, inside out. But to reach the stage of beauty that shines outside, we need to reach for the beauty that shines within.

Join me in this journey of getting to know yourself. Here’s to journeying together!