In my new normal

As I look back on the past few months, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve done, the people I’ve met, it’s obvious a lot has changed.

When I landed in Dhaka it felt that my world had turned upside down. Waving goodbye to my parents, at the airport, in the long series of flights and at the immigration I knew that I was setting off towards a new reality but the realisation only sunk in when I found myself staring into the unmitigated chaos of what seemed like a million humans crowding outside the airport.

Staggered, for a moment or two I stood gazing into this multitude of humanity and felt weightless.

You know how you feel all light-headed and disoriented when you suddenly stand up? That was my first week in Dhaka.

My brain went into overload trying to capture and absorb the minutiae of my new environment.

It’s mind-boggling how much muscle memory and the subconscious contribute to mundane stuff like walking, shutting the door, putting stuff in the cupboard and various other seemingly trivial actions that one just takes for granted but in a new environment you actually have to be mindful of what you’re doing.

Change is terrifying.

Change is exciting.

Change builds perspective.

It makes you look at things from a different angle and forces you to question things you once believed were normal.

They say familiarity breeds contempt. That it restricts your personal growth and prevents you from achieving your full potential. That may be true but far more importantly, familiarity gives a sense of safety, of confidence and, of warmth.

That’s why right from the get go, I set about regaining that lost sense of familiarity and finally I feel that I’m starting to find my footing in this bustling metropolis.

This transition from the alien to the familiar is taking its own sweet time but I think I’ve come a long way from when I was afraid of stepping out at night lest I get lost.

It’s so gratifying to be finally able to identify landmarks, recognise routes and people around and having that subtle sense of intuition about your surroundings that is indescribable but very much present.

Naturally, moving to a new place entails a lot of adapting and acceptance. It is alright to fondly recall your earlier life but going down the rabbit hole of ‘comparisons’ is extremely unwise.

I can go on all day and all night expounding on how things are done a certain way in Ajman, how I spent my time earlier, what my daily routine was like but that’s akin to flogging a dead horse.

My ‘previous’ life (the key word being previous) is of little consequence as I find my place in Dhaka, building a new comfort zone: day by day, step by step, bit by bit.