I lay there making snow angels as the Confetti dropped down on my face from the sky in what seemed like slow motion. The band that had been playing Indian tunes all afternoon went wild once again. One of the happiest members of the band, a skinny guy in a tank top and glasses, now covered head to toe in hot pink, orange, purple and powder of all the colors of the rainbow, played the Tabla to the beat of Phagunwa Mein Rang Ras Ras Barse for what seemed like the third time that day. He told me earlier he was a fan of Zakir Hussain, and this was his chance to show off some skills.
This was life.
I took it all in.
I smiled as the music was drowned out by the sound of my own breath.
This was what I'd been looking for when I left Europe on a short break to the East while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.
People talk about being a "digital nomad" these days like they really know what that means. Back when I started my journey, that term didn't exist yet. I just wanted to get away from the freezing, rainy, cloudy Amsterdam weather of January. Not to mention the expensive... everything compared to the Southeast Asian countries I've been traveling. Most people envision what they see on Instagram: a High color, POV GoPro shot of someone walking with their laptop to a sunny porch overlooking the turquoise Pacific from Bali, Indonesia. Typing a few minutes on your keyboard only to go back to hang out with your buddies on their hammocks. Everybody's laughing, wearing sun glasses and jumping in the water. Of course, this does happen sometimes, especially when it's your first time in Southeast Asia. You rent out a bungalow somewhere exotic and enjoy island paradise and make sure to FaceTime your friends and family back home who are either indoors or freezing their boogers off on their bicycle ride home from work. But it's not always like that. A lot of the time you're alone in some semi adequate co-working office space with lukewarm, half burnt coffee. You have to make the decision to walk to the convenience store to get something to eat or ride it out till dinner time to have something decent in your belly. You're often questioning whether you're doing the right thing or followed the right life path too. Whether it's coding, design, or something else, working from your computer far away from home isn't always the way folks envision it. And when you're locked in on your computer, you're not exactly hanging out with lots of people either. You're not partying, playing, joking, laughing... You might get outside to enjoy nature from time to time, but you'll miss that too if you're working all night and sleeping all day.
Today was different.
Today, we celebrate life.
This story is an original creation of mine. I came up with it by rubbing some neurons together while listening to Zakir Hussain & Rakesh Chaurasia at Crossroads Festival 2015 as well as some Tommy Guerrero. Share some of your musical discoveries if it makes you zone out or wiggle your bum.
Cover image created using Mid Journey, text added using Canva
