Imagine, an ideal place, where your breath stays fresh, your schedule flourishes, you step out and hear roars of an untamed flowing river, and when you look up you see the mountains while feeling the grass under your feet.

It is starting to sound like a very real place and that is where the most beautiful week of my life(yet) was spent.

The idealistic aspect of this place is your Mind. The mind is not a physical object nor a figment of our imagination. Very weirdly, it exists, just like your credit card balance, but can you see or feel it, probably catch it? Maybe. If you ever sat down alone, anywhere, with only the eyes closed and the rest of your senses wide open, taking in the smallest of inputs from the surroundings, then you have definitely seen glimpses of this mind.

Now, I'm not guaranteeing that this will be everyone's ideal place. But, at the time, it was for me. The reason was my hollow, empty self and mind.

Day 7 of a blissful Meditation Program in Rishikesh.

For the past 5 days, we (150 participants) were in Silence. Staying without exterior interactions. This was the day we broke our fast, from society, indulgence, and our worldly selves. Even though there was no communication, the people here felt like a family of strangers, including myself. However, being the pretentious slick person I am, my social skills in approaching someone are laughable, so chances were low for open conversations.

I did interact and got to know some people, by chance of being put in a group. Though there was this person, I really wanted to approach. Meanwhile, thinking about it, I conversed with a very wise German person who had been in India studying Sanskrit for the past 12 years. Judging myself, for taking Sanskrit tuitions in school.

However, there was this person I was looking forward to, a girl. Here, over the past 7 days, no one can be the same personality that they usually are, in the society where we live. We were simultaneously in a charged and relaxed environment multiple times in the day. When that happens, there is no effort left for being pretentious. So yes, we are pretty much left with our own minds, and a lot of thoughts to go by and vanish.

In that pure state of mind, I did not think why I was looking at her, but it just felt like I could talk to her. Something, that I felt very rarely with people.

Human connection in my opinion is just the comfort with which a person can be themselves with this certain group of people around them. Definitely varies from person to person. Surprisingly I already felt that the connection was there.

Before that, our eye directions matched quite a few times during the past week. Yet here we were on the last day, sitting with our luggage at the fruits and juice bar, right outside the ashram, maybe 2 feet apart, but without words. That is when I got to know we were traveling back to Delhi on the same bus.

To be continued.

Hey, it's Nischay Sabharwal here, welcome to my very first post. I hope it was something you enjoyed reading. If you liked it, please let me know that you would want me to continue, and kindly share your thoughts.

Would love to know more from you about how I can improve the way the story is told.

Thank you for reading.