#7daypositivitychallenge : A family which travels together

I was horrified when this #7daypositivitychallenge popped up on my feed. How could someone remain positive for 7 whole days? 7 years in Tibet would have been less challenging for that Pitt guy. I hoped no one would tag me, but alas, @mrprofessor did the deed.

Staying positive for 7 seconds comes naturally to me. 7 minutes would be possible with a considerable effort. The only way I could be positive for an entire week was if I was stoned throughout. So this is a challenge which is rather challenging for me. So, I shall rise to the challenge.

Was that too frequent a use of the word ‘challenge’ in one paragraph? Yes, because that is exactly how I feel. Positively Challenged! Being positive comes as naturally to me as eating Gorillas to a Hippo.

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To be positive, I am going to delve into the past and hit the home run first! Home, the first and foremost thing that I am grateful for. A family which is as oddball as is capable.

Source

Growing up in a home which was different from your neighbours, friends, relatives, can be quite taxing as a kid. I always wanted to ‘fit in’. As I grew up, the ‘different’ home which I enjoyed allowed me to do things in life which my friends and colleagues don’t find possible.

In India, the general life path is something like this: born>best school>best engineering/medical college>best job>biggest car>biggest house>die of boredom at 40. Travel and adventure is something lacking in the people of this country in general.

A conversation I eavesdropped on, in Bombay between an American tourist and a 30ish year old middleclass Indian guy gives some insight:

American Tourist: Oh, I love India, it is such a wonderful country, blah blah…
30 Year Old Middleclass Indian Guy: Yes, India is the best country in the world. We are the world leaders in everything and more ultra-patriotic rhetoric
AT: Have you ever visited America?
30YOMIG: No
AT: Okay, which is the farthest place you have travelled to?
30YOMIG: Pune
AT: Double facepalm

Pune is 200 km from Bombay. I cringed as heard the conversation. This might be an exception. But in general, Indians don’t travel.

I know people whose parents don’t allow them to drive, because it is too dangerous. Another 30 year old guy sitting next to me in the bus, gave updates to his mother every 15 minutes on a 12 hour journey!

Being over-protective is the way most Indian parents express their love for their kids.

At such times, I am extremely grateful for having the family that I have. Even though they spent countless hours worrying about me, as I have criss-crossed the country on my motorcycle multiple times, they have never tried to temper my adventures. From the time I was a little kid, full support was given to me to live as foolishly as possible.

From time immemorial, we travelled as a family. We went to new places, saw new things, ate different food. Were pushed to explore and experiment. Those life lessons have made me who I am today.

They allowed me to:

Learn from my own mistakes, rather than following in someone else’s footsteps

I kick start this #7daypositivitychallenge with heart filled gratitude towards my family who gave me a home with no social barriers.

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I was tagged by @mrprofessor to:

Write a post about something you have to be positive about today - this could be anything from being thankful for your current situation, someone being nice to you, being thankful for your friends and family, or even being thankful for the opportunity you have been given here on Steemit - just keep it positive :)

• Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated.
• Mention three people who should do this on each day.
• Tag it with #7daypositivitychallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post Include a picture of something positive (related to your story if possible.)

Tip: You need to put the # in front of 7daypositivitychallenge or it will not let you use the tag.

I would like to tag @robmolecule for this, since he has just gotten free from the burden of boring jobs and currently riding bikes every day. He should be super positive right now. I am only tagging one person, since I am not Mary Poppins and there is only so much of positivity that I can spread. Positivity is not a venereal disease, it is rather more difficult to spread!