The next Local......

Local trains of Mumbai, (also known as “Locals”) are considered to be the heart beat of Mumbai. It is said that Mumbai comes to halt only when its local trains comes to halt.

Somehow, I have often thought of my journey in life as being analogous to a very long train ride. But the entire ride doesn’t have to be on one single train, one doesn’t always know what their destination is and *most heartbreakingly* the companion who shares your berth may not necessarily take the entire trip with you.

In the last couple of years I’ve felt like I’ve switched so many trains, spent long amounts on time on platforms wondering where I’ve come from and where I am going, and looking at the person sitting next to me wondering “How far along this journey are you going to travel with me?” It used to be unsettling, but lately, it’s become an idea I’ve welcomed.

Now, instead of lamenting over a train I missed or being told by the the conductor that my ticket is expired and I need to get off, I look forward to where my journey takes me *bright eyed and bushy tailed* and tell myself that at the end of the day, no matter which train I take, I will reach my destination. It may take awhile, the ride might be uncomfortable, I may be cheated, lied to and hurt during my travels, but its all part of the growing experience.

Another idea I’ve quite grown accustomed to is the notion of “travelling light”. I’ve found it quite therapeutic over the past couple of months to give away my clothes, sell my furniture, home and dispose of things I never used (or have no use for). I know some of this I will regret (I should have kept the damn toilet brush!), but overall, I feel lighter, freer and more able to enjoy my journey knowing that I have very little too worry about losing. Someone did say “you cannot lose what you don’t have” – so there you have it!

So – where to now? I laughingly say – I don’t really know. I know life changes dramatically when you miss your last Local and have to wait on the platform for the next train. It’s happened so many times before – but this time I’m prepared (with everything but a toilet brush!). Wish me luck!