Are you losing yourself?

 Don't all of us feel this at some point in time or other? But what does this even mean? How do we know that we are the person that we are losing? Is losing yourself all good or all bad? These are some of the many questions that I had been thinking about recently. I would like to present my perspective on these. You may have a feeling of "losing yourself" when you experience a change in your lifestyle: maybe you have stopped focussing on your hobbies, simply because you don't have enough time while juggling work and/or studies. But it is at this time that you need to figure out either the reason that is affecting you so much or a way to not turn that change into a habit. 

I can't say if losing yourself is all good or bad, but I think it may be important because losing ourselves made us grow into who we are today. But if you ever realize that you are losing yourself, ask this question, "Do I want to become the person that I'm becoming?" This will answer all your questions because if the answer is "yes", then go ahead and be that person but if it is "no", you can always try to bring that prior version of yourself back. I know that the latter is not easy but let's just focus on the best "one-day-at-a-time" strategy. 

I watched the movie "Eat Pray Love", starring Julia Roberts, recently. Some of you might've read the book on which this movie is based and for those who don't know about it, let me fill you in. So, the protagonist goes through a divorce and feels lost. This is when she decides to find her balance in life by visiting three different countries, namely Italy, India, and Bali, all in that order. She discovers the art of enjoying food and self-reliance in Italy and meditates and finds inner peace by praying in India. So, by the time she comes to Bali, she feels that calmness in the fact that she has achieved a balance in her life. This is when she falls in love with a man but finds it hard to accept because of the fear of losing the recently discovered balance in her life. It is at this point that her mentor tells her something which most of us remain unaware of throughout our lives. He said, "Sometimes to lose balance for love is part of living a balanced life." 

It is simple yet so subtle to figure out when it is the right time to lose yourself while not feeling lost. Maybe it isn't about finding the balance, rather about embracing the chaos within and coming at peace with it.