Friday, May 19, 2017

Finding love again

Been a while since I posted last. So much has happened and I have not written much. But I guess this is the side effect of the social media. Where we tend to express ourselves in bits and pieces. From a blog to a FB post to a tweet as the canvas shrinks so does our retention power. But that is besides the point.

Today, I complete 4 years since I left India. On May 20 2013, I landed in Singapore.  Visited USA in Oct 2014 and ended up moving to USA in Feb 2015. Lived in Singapore, Chicago, Tampa and now Charlotte (NC). Besides having visited so many places that every visit deserves it's own blog post.

Last few years have been a roller-coaster ride with family, work and the travel involved. I have loved every bit of the journey. However, some interesting changes have come about recently.

As life gets more and more monotonous with job and regular chores of life, we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture of living the life and living the wonderful moments life has to offer. As I came to Charlotte, I connected with my friend Usman from college days. He introduced me to playing tennis.

What started as just a means of moving more to stay fit soon turned to an almost daily high point. This I would say is the process of falling in love again.

Having been a pretty bad athlete all my life. I've played cricket ocassionally. I've had my moments on the cricket field and also in street cricket but studies and career commitments made it just an once in a while event. And being a lazy soul doesn't help. I always loved swimming. It helped me maintain a certain mobility. But again discipline takes lot of commitment and creating moments. Which I could not quite do to the best of my ability.

Coming back to tennis, I think trying a new sport at the age of 34 took some encouragement and coaching from Usman and his friends. Trying to transition the cricket technique to the tennis racket/court and above all not being embarrassed by certain ugly moments because of poor athleticism and technique. But a good support group gives the much needed impetus to doing anything new. I am very lucky that way.

What have I gained playing this new sport? I would say hell of a lot. Just running or swimming can help someone achieve a great degree of fitness if you are a self starter and monitor progress consistently. Or, you need a group to work with who is motivating and entertaining at the same time.

Biggest plus I see with a game like tennis is you can always measure your performance in terms of winning games, agility, stamina and strategy. Every player is different and every game demands a new approach to challenge/beat the opponent. When compared to a team game like cricket (which I still love) a struggling player is always at the mercy of captain. You get a chance to bat/bowl based on the game flow/your perceived ability. Many people do anything for love of the game. But I have limited time.

So in short, it has been amazing 3 months playing this new sport. It has been great to re discover my ability, passion and drive to try something new everyday. Especially when you tend to lose more as a beginner.

Challenge is to keep this love alive. Every love story tests the commitment of the parties involved. Hoping this one lasts longer than my knees/back.