Coming Home
Greetings. After 11 days in India and 26 hours traveling home I've just returned filled with new insights, new perspectives, and a million images of a remarkable journey. I've also returned with many new friends from the companies, schools, cities, and villages I visited along the way. And, with a better understanding of how business is done, the history and practice of Hinduism, the simple magic of the annual celebration called Holi, the challenge of educating 1.1 billion people, the importance of cows, the beauty of cricket and the passion that most Indians have for this sport, the art of Indian cooking, the caste system, and the problems of overcrowding and overcoming the intense poverty that is around almost every corner.
Modern India presents a striking contrast between rich and poor, educated and uneducated, possibilities and despair. And it will take me a while to figure it all out and see if I can make a difference in some small way.
But isn't that what travel is all about? And we only start to make sense of what we've learned when we come home to the place we understand best. Our north star in a world filled with great potential and great difficulties.
As for the most memorable moments in my trip, I've written about several during my time away and I'll plan to share others in the weeks and months ahead. But I would be remiss if I didn't share a picture from my celebration of Holi–a very special holiday in which people come out into the streets to cover each other with brightly-colored paint. And, for a day at least, to come together as equals. Now if we can only figure out how to make that happen the other 364 days of the year. It's something I wrote about last year but didn't imagine that I would have the chance to participate just a year later (see "Finding Wisdom in Colors").
We win in business and in life when we challenge ourselves to visit and learn from other people and places. And when we return to discover more fully the brilliance of where we've been and the genius of home.
Cheers!
