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2 weeks in paradise

I am in a very thoughtful mood today. Recently returned from a 2 week holiday, just joined office and yet to get into the daily grind. Still in the holiday mood. A holiday which I can only describe as a trip to paradise.

No. it was no exotic location, in a foreign country with azure seas, beaches, (down boys, no scantily clad girls either), none of the stuff that we have been conditioned to expect when we imagine paradise.

What is this paradise then, which I experienced? What is paradise for that matter. I would define it as a state of mind. When I planned this holiday in Dec 2011, (No fear, the story doesn't go that far back), I had no idea it would be so much fun, no idea of the hassles and haggling I would have to endure with my boss (it was quite trivial actually), had no idea that it would be over in  flash, and would leave me unsatisfied and wanting more.

Anyway, it was a 2 weeks well spent, in the company of friends, family, some of whom I haven,t seen in over a year, some even more. Felt the warmth of kindness and caring of a mother, felt a fathers proud gaze, experienced a brother's welcoming embrace, and a loving partners excitement and jubilation at seeing me again. This was paradise. To be with the people who matter the most in my life, to whom I matter the most.

A paradise further enchanted by the welcome extended by my new family, my wife's family, who immediately decided I was one of them.

This was true paradise, the place did not matter, the weather did not matter, neither did the environs or the setting. I experienced true paradise for two weeks. And I was the most distressed when I finally returned. there was a feeling of paradise lost!
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