Thriving in Movement

My last week in Nepal and I feel the heaviness of the pre-monsoon heat beginning to weigh on me. The heat and smog trapped in the atmosphere create a haze that hangs over everything. You can't quite see anything clearly through the thickness of it, and it makes a terrible environment for doing anything productive. Landlocked and hazy-headed--no one can thrive in this environment. I think I might have read that in a guide book.

Moving through the world at this slow pace, I've been able to get a better idea of what environments I thrive in best--where I find that perfect equilibrium of productivity and relaxation, where I'm never too restless or bored. In the past 4 months, I have moved across India and Nepal living in six very different towns and situations, and I have found ways to thrive in each of them. I could have lingered in some places to see how long my momentum would last, and in others, I knew it was time to move on. But was it the place that I was thriving in or the movement from place to place?

"The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar to heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements free as they are insignificant. What shall we choose? Weight or lightness?" Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

It's been ten years since I first read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and this quote still catches up to me. I took note years ago that the longer I stay in one spot the heavier my life becomes, and over time, I stop thriving. The burden of those things that begin to weigh a person to one place becomes overwhelming, and it can really start to take a toll on the psyche.

Of course, this isn't everyone's reality. Some folks can find their niche and thrive through the heaviness. I have not been able to do this--time and experience have taught me that this way of life is not for me. I need movement to thrive. I can stay for a long while in some places, but ultimately, I will need to move on to continue to grow. I will need to shed the burden and take flight again.

Sometime we don't thrive in the place we were born. Or we move somewhere and thrive for awhile, but once we reach a point, we stop and need to move on. Or we simply stop resonating with a particular place because we've grown and changed. For me, it's perfectly natural to move around in the world, to find those places I resonate with and can thrive in.

What makes you thrive? Does it have to do with place? Have you found your niche where you can thrive long term in one spot or do you need movement?

Signing off from the ancient land of Nepal which, by the way, has the most incredible landscape of any place I've seen in my entire life. Tomorrow night I finally leave for tropical Southeast Asia where I'll spend the rest of the year. First stop: Bali!