Live the Life You've Imagined (Part 2-Do What You Love)

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “Fill your life with experiences, not things.  Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” –Anonymous

Storyline: When Gautam, at the age of 23, scrounged some money from his best friend Subha and bought a train ticket to Nepal in the summer of 2008, he had no idea it would change his life forever.  After living a sheltered childhood in India and going through the motions, spending three months hitch-hiking and backpacking in the Himalayas was eye-opening.  “From an experience like that, a switch in your brain just turns on,” he says.  “On that trip, I understood what freedom meant.”

Though he earned his degree in engineering, Gautam’s true passion is exploring the natural world.  For the past decade, he’s traveled the world with his now wife Subha, also an engineer from a similar background.  From spending their honeymoon with the Pech Indian tribe in the remote jungles of Honduras to riding motorcycles up the Pacific Coast Highway, all the way to Seattle, little seems off-limits for Gautam, who prefers to venture off the beaten path rather than stay at hotel rooms in crowded tourist destinations.  Yet he doesn’t see his unconventional lifestyle as risk-taking: “Out there in raw nature, you never push yourself to do what you think you’re capable of,” he says.  “You have to be able to enjoy what you’re doing.”

While Gautam loves exploring the natural beauty of the various and diverse landscapes the world has to offer–from glaciers and mountain ranges to deserts and rainforests–the real draw of many of the places he visits is the people he meets, many of whom have shown him immense kindness and hospitality.  “When you meet all these interesting people, you learn so much about humanity in general,” he says.  “It reinforces the fact that people are inherently good.” 

Parenthood has also been a key part of Gautam’s journey: “Kids look at you as an example of how to live, so now you have no choice but to be the best version of yourself,” he says.  “I have to learn things to make it safe and more educational for them, which is only making my life more enriched.”  During COVID, Gautam took advantage of the opportunity to truly bond with his children, taking them on coast to coast road trips to Florida, camping in places like Yosemite and many other national forests in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and planting a vegetable garden.  “I want my kids to learn that you have the freedom and ability to do what you like to do,” he says.  “A lot of people want to do many things, but they have a lot of fears in mind.  If it's an honorable passion, what I want them to learn is that you should do what you like.  Only when people do what they like can beautiful things happen.”

Gautam’s goal is not to excel at one single thing, whether that’s work or climbing.  Rather, he wants to experience the variety of what the world has to offer, regardless of skill level.  “For me, it’s about learning, to satisfy the curiosity of mind,” he says.  “I don’t have to be the best engineer or the best mountaineer.  As long as we’re giving our best and having fun at it, it’s okay.  It’s my life.”

Reflection: While talking with Gautam and writing this post, I thought about the song “Try Everything” from Disney’s Zootopia, and the saying “jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one.”  Your passion doesn’t have to be limited to one specific field or area.  If you can be passionate about life, about trying new things, then you open yourself up to all sorts of possibilities and opportunities you may not have had otherwise.  You don’t have to be the best at everything, or even one single thing.  Sometimes it’s only when you try–and fail–that you can really experience freedom.

 

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.... * 

From L-R: Camping in Himlayas, Leh-Ladakh, @16000 feet, Annapurna-Nepal, Ice climbing Frozen Waterfall-Outray-Colorado, SanJose to Seattle on Motor Bike, Burning Man, Indian Creek-Utah

 

Honeymoon in Honduras (where there are no hotels or tourists)

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” Thomas Carlyle

 Row 1-Mount Shasta, Row 2 Mount Whitney, Row 3-Mount Rainier

Row 1: Mount Hood, Grand Titon. Row 2: Yosemite, Rock Climbing in Tahoe, Thousand Island Lake

*....As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." ― Henry David Thoreau

Serenity of Home Sweet Home: Home grown, Home Cooked

 

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

Anand and Phoebe first met at a Kid-to-Work Day over two decades ago. Once a week, they meet to discuss the various stories, experiences, memories, and lessons he's collected over the years. They approach each conversation from two different stages in life, one looking forward, the other looking back.

Comments

[Nanseng Jeng]

Wonderful story! Thank you for sharing! It is a great write up, too. I see a big potential ahead.

[Bhakti]

Excellent share.. really enjoyed reading this Wishing them more and more wonder ahead.

[Carol]

A different path chosen. Unconventional fortitude required. Thanks for sharing!

[Roger Quadra]

Wow thats life freedom

[sujat]

Interesting. Am glad for you both, Subha and Gautam, and for your children. Lovely garden and abundant, healthy harvest! I wish you joy always. :)

“I don’t have to be the best engineer or the best mountaineer. As long as we’re giving our best and having fun at it, it’s okay."

:) I relate with this. Am there, been doing that since childhood - although not "successfully" !!

If i may have the liberty to share a realisation.... - Even greater freedom than in getting to pursue passions and pulls of the mind.. is the freedom from those passions and pulls themselves.

[Prasad Vepa]

Fascinating and inspiring indeed. I share so much in common w Gautam and have been to most of the places he has been to, from Ladakh to the Grand Tetons. And I was on a 10-day trek to the Annapurna Base Camp the same year, 2008. He looks like a younger and more daring version of me. Very nice to read. Thanks for sharing.

[Shardamandir Friend-J]

Very true do everything which you wish👌👌

[Xiomara Cedillo]

Is That Gautam, he is my friend too!
Aw that’s awesome, very cool story, yes he is quite a camper and explorer, say hello to all and Rays daughter incredible what she does!

[Sam]

I feel each one of us have something inside us which the Creator had designed for. It is something that will tug our heart when we find it. Gautam found it during his backpacking experience. Key is to listen to our curiosity and not to ignore it due to rules from others. Glad that he could meet so many folks in such a short life.

[Sharvary]

Video of Honeymoon in Honduras Absolutely brilliant, what superb photography and the capturing of expression on faces of children. The ruins, the nature, waterfalls, jungle... stunning. What an experience 👏 makes you feel, wish I was younger and able to travel such

[YB Lim]

Another beautiful write up and story of Gautam. Truly a joy reading this, a learning experience for me how life can be enriched ! Love all the photos too!

[MC]

Wow amazing journeys and reflections!

[Bill Hoddy]

Being somewhat an adventurer myself, not to the level of Gautam however, his story is very appealing to me. I enjoyed his sharing his adventures with us all. Kudos to Gautam.

[humble warrior]

whoa... inspiring!

[Cari Shim]

What an inspiring story. So perfect for the year end as we reflect on the year and the future ahead. Great one!