Looking back

“Dead yesterdays and unborn tomorrows, why fret about them if today be sweet?” —Omar Khayyam

The popular one liner is often used when you find someone living in the past or future ; to remind them of the fallacy in not living in the present. But there is value in looking back. There are lessons to be learned from old chapters.

After close to 30 months I returned to India for a 3 week visit. Tomorrow I am headed back to the US. While I was in the states I seamlessly integrated with the American culture and made the American dream my own. Not that I forgot my Indian roots, but I often believe that immigrants have a unique advantage. They are in a position to evaluate two cultures (the one that they left behind and the one that they face) and pick the best values and principles and come up with a new stronger way of living that is more meaningful and fulfilling.

Coming back to my original point, after living the American version of life, I came home. I saw the dust, pollution and complete chaos in Indian cities and roads. I took part in mandatory visits and social obligations. I interacted with certain relatives and friends who still expected me to behave in a certain manner, passed judgments and assumed a level of familiarity that never existed. The conservative and judgmental part of Indian society and the utter lack of processes still bugs me.

But at the same time I slept in the same bedroom I slept in 16 years back. I drove up the same road that my father drove my mother and me back 26 years ago from the hospital after I was born. I shared stories with close family and friends about the fun days we had in college and school.

Looking back is definitely good. What thoughts come to your mind when you look back? Who were you most happy with when you look back? What did you do when you look back that made you happy? These are the lessons you need to learn.

Yes, once in a while you need to live in the past. Only then does your present have meaning. Only then can you plan out your future. Who would you want to try and spend your future days with? What kind of things would you like to do in the future? What are the core set of values that you want to carry with you?

In conclusion. You need to live in the present. But to figure out who you are and what makes you most happy, you need to look back. I am glad I took this 3 week vacation in India. Going back to the US, I know what values and principles I need to pick from the American way of living and what I need to pick from the Indian way of living.