Unlearning — Kunal Gupta

My mom called me yesterday, complaining about a home renovation project they are knee-deep in.

‘I’ll shower on it and get back to you.’

I went to turn on the car, and then realized I was sitting in the passenger seat.

Often children stories we think are helpful for children, but watching Inside Out recently was a reminder of how much more relevant the children stories can be for adults,

The bright green base was no bigger than the size of my hand.

It was three years ago this past week that I had moved spontaneously to Portugal, without much thought, without knowing anyone and without a plan.

The destination was a Michelin star restaurant that stood quietly alone near the top of the Swiss Alps, but I had no idea that’s where we were going until I got there.

“Over 100 countries”, he said when I had asked him how many places he had visited in his lifetime.

“Do you like the heat?”

I was in Paris for the Olympics recently, and the city felt like it had come alive in a way I’d never experienced before.

“Thank you for your request but the restaurant has the day off today”

“Are you done with your phone?”

“Is your time yours?”

The scene comes maybe two thirds into the story.

Six months ago, I was overwhelmed by a constant sense of annoyance living in Portugal.

Walking the streets of Lisbon recently, a family of tourists asked me to take their photo in front of one of the many city lookout points.

One minute he would be in tears and the next he would be laughing and playing with his toy cars.

A seed was humbly planted at the start of the year and what grew from it surpassed any expectations I may have had.

To contrast that experience, a few weeks ago I was invited to a retreat in Southern Europe alongside a range of entrepreneurs and investors.

I have twenty years of experience driving and have driven in at least twenty countries and many more cities.

This is not a reflection about pigeon, a common and comforting yoga pose.

Sitting for dinner, at a beachside resort in the South of Spain overlooking the Mediterranean, I was with a group of entrepreneurs last week.

The root of the word mother is matr

After spending the last few months enjoying the Australian summer, and avoiding the North American winter

Imagine watching a boat speed away, leaving you behind, alone, on a tiny little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“One tiramisu.

“I go to yoga so I can post that I went to yoga”.

I noticed when someone took one out.

I didn’t realize he had been holding it for so long.

The day had started slow, or at least slow relative to what my norm had been.

The sun had not yet risen and my eyes were blurry, it was still early in the morning.

I walked in and felt intimidated.

For the first six years of my entrepreneurial career, I did not take a break or vacation.

It was the biggest risk I had taken in a while.

In the West, so much of what we culturally encourage is forceful

As I sat there in silence, quietly eating my meal and staring at all of these old people, I began to wonder about identity.

The wisdom of Ayurveda was initially passed down through oral tradition, with sages conveying the principles and practices to their disciples.

Earlier this month while on extended holidays in Australia, being in the worst possible time zone relative to my businesses, family and friends, actually opened up a new sensation that I am still making sense of.

I was trading voice notes with a friend recently, and they were becoming lengthier and lengthier with each turn

As the sun shined sharply on my body, while I was lying on the sand, I heard a voice directed towards me

It is an empowering feeling to be able to on a moment’s notice follow an impulse or feeling that is inspiring me.

There are many ‘forks in the road’, be it little tiny ones or big heavy ones

It’s important to let go of what was not, to make space for what might become.

So often, I am guided by the choices I made for myself in a previous moment.

A new yoga studio opened outside the doorsteps of my apartment building in Lisbon recently.

My hands were salty, as I had just finished another bag.

This past weekend, I turned off my phone for 48 hours continuously

Hosting is a metaphor for how to move through life.

Diwali, often referred to as the Festival of Lights and the New Year celebration in the Indian calendar, is still a significant celebration in my life.

As I have changed my country, my career, and my lifestyle, it is not my friends that have changed but how I relate to them