Dictionary meaning Landmark : -a significant or historic event, juncture, achievement, etc.
This is it how it goes..a snippet of a conversation between me and my friend some time back....
"Oh...ok, so you are planning to do the Landmark Forum. But why?? Are you going through any problems in your life or at work or something. Isn't it the place where people eventually go to when things go topsy turvy in their life".
Now that was a question I had heard just recently many times over, as soon as I had announced to the world about my intention to do the Forum. As if attending Landmark forum was the most perceptible thing to do ONLY if you hit the most stumbling roadblocks of your life and not because you want to see yourself transformed into a better human being. Which is what it does largely and the real reason for my enrolling.
My reply for the nth time was an indignant "NO" but this time I just didn't care to explain the 'why?'. I was in no mood for any reasoning and also didnt want to temper the bubbles of curiosity which I knew were frothing in my friends' head about the so called imaginary (imagined by her)'problems' in my life.
So with a sadistic glee I just let the conversation die a premature death.
Flashback to 2 months before, where it all started.
'So what is this Landmark forum all about?" an innocent question to my hubby, Ashish when I first heard about it and also his interest in attending the forum. He had mentioned to me earlier that he had heard about it from an ex colleague who had been urging him to attend it and he had been brushing it off like any inconsequential event.
His answer to my question was even more quizzical and left me begging for more answers. All he said was if I needed to know more, I had to attend it personally and there were no easy answers.
Since it all sounded exciting and intriguing, I surmised there must be something in it. Also, its not everyday that my hubby gets interested in something new other than Football, Old cinema, History & Wikipedia(very much in that order). Very difficult indeed to get him hooked on..a complete snob for new interests!
His willingness to finally relent looked liked the proverbial case of the curious cat having bitten him.
So when he told me he was attending the Landmark forum, "So be it, go ahead and attend!" ...I muttered to myself half happy, not that he was asking my expert opinion but I wanted to think so.
Back after 3 days of the intense sessions of Landmark forum when I finally met him, I actually refused to recognise him! It wasn't like he did the SRK makeover act from "Rab ne bana di..." on me nor had he turned into a Mark Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice" and was wooing me on bended knee. But yes, I definitely saw a transformed Ashish..'new and improved' as folks from HLL and P&G claim for all their brands. Forgive the pun, but the reason why I am saying this is, I heard him saying something to me which truly left me drop jaw astounded. And it made me ask him, "Are you alright? Hope you are ok!!!"...when actually I wanted to ask him was "Have you lost it or are you on drugs?" But somethings are better not said especially when they (hubbys')are being nice to you. What he was telling me was what every spouse would love to hear but gets in short dosage typically. He had said those 3 magical words "I love you" and almost in the same breath, "I am sorry!" ...the next 3 magical words again any spouse would love to hear and also gets it in small doses. Well...all I did was soak in the moment and enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling as they say which accompanies these golden words..wishing that the minutes of this conversation turn to hours and more. It was too good to be true..like a typical ' I had to pinch myself' situation. After hearing those magical words, its anybody's guess that what followed was mere shaking of head and a stunned absent minded acknowledgment from my side to what he was saying... when inside I was still reeling under the wave of emotions which had welled up out of the blue.
As I was gathering my wits and absorbing every word that was leaving his jaw, the coup de grace that sealed the conversation was "I think you must also experience the Landmark forum. Its good you know."
With these words of his, I came back into the real world.
But I just left it at that, least bothered about his last statement. I accepted this to be one of my good days not to come again so soon and expecting to see the real Ashish again the next morning...sober, practical and not fuzzy like the previous night.
But surprise surprise! The facade had not slipped and what I thought was going to be a dream run ..was actually a full marathon. 1, 2 , 3, 4.....10 days...2 weeks passed but it was still going strong. And then I was eventually convinced that it was not just a facade he was wearing but a real transformation. And mind you, it wasn't just words but actions as well.
By then I had also heard a lot of new terms in those many days BE COMPLETE, RACKETS, STRONG SUITS etc which were new to me but equally mysterious. Even though they sounded like the simplest of words, I was sure they had a deeper meaning which I was looking to unravel and that too at the earliest.
Cut to present....
The day had arrived and I was going to attend my Landmark forum. I had been, in the past couple of months, looking forward to this day after having witnessed the positive after effects on someone dear who had attended it.
What was in store for me? I didnt know. But I was ofcourse ready for a myriad of experiences - high and low, revelations, discoveries and looking into the unknown dark places in my mind which I never knew existed.
End of Part I
This is it how it goes..a snippet of a conversation between me and my friend some time back....
"Oh...ok, so you are planning to do the Landmark Forum. But why?? Are you going through any problems in your life or at work or something. Isn't it the place where people eventually go to when things go topsy turvy in their life".
Now that was a question I had heard just recently many times over, as soon as I had announced to the world about my intention to do the Forum. As if attending Landmark forum was the most perceptible thing to do ONLY if you hit the most stumbling roadblocks of your life and not because you want to see yourself transformed into a better human being. Which is what it does largely and the real reason for my enrolling.
My reply for the nth time was an indignant "NO" but this time I just didn't care to explain the 'why?'. I was in no mood for any reasoning and also didnt want to temper the bubbles of curiosity which I knew were frothing in my friends' head about the so called imaginary (imagined by her)'problems' in my life.
So with a sadistic glee I just let the conversation die a premature death.
Flashback to 2 months before, where it all started.
'So what is this Landmark forum all about?" an innocent question to my hubby, Ashish when I first heard about it and also his interest in attending the forum. He had mentioned to me earlier that he had heard about it from an ex colleague who had been urging him to attend it and he had been brushing it off like any inconsequential event.
His answer to my question was even more quizzical and left me begging for more answers. All he said was if I needed to know more, I had to attend it personally and there were no easy answers.
Since it all sounded exciting and intriguing, I surmised there must be something in it. Also, its not everyday that my hubby gets interested in something new other than Football, Old cinema, History & Wikipedia(very much in that order). Very difficult indeed to get him hooked on..a complete snob for new interests!
His willingness to finally relent looked liked the proverbial case of the curious cat having bitten him.
So when he told me he was attending the Landmark forum, "So be it, go ahead and attend!" ...I muttered to myself half happy, not that he was asking my expert opinion but I wanted to think so.
Back after 3 days of the intense sessions of Landmark forum when I finally met him, I actually refused to recognise him! It wasn't like he did the SRK makeover act from "Rab ne bana di..." on me nor had he turned into a Mark Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice" and was wooing me on bended knee. But yes, I definitely saw a transformed Ashish..'new and improved' as folks from HLL and P&G claim for all their brands. Forgive the pun, but the reason why I am saying this is, I heard him saying something to me which truly left me drop jaw astounded. And it made me ask him, "Are you alright? Hope you are ok!!!"...when actually I wanted to ask him was "Have you lost it or are you on drugs?" But somethings are better not said especially when they (hubbys')are being nice to you. What he was telling me was what every spouse would love to hear but gets in short dosage typically. He had said those 3 magical words "I love you" and almost in the same breath, "I am sorry!" ...the next 3 magical words again any spouse would love to hear and also gets it in small doses. Well...all I did was soak in the moment and enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling as they say which accompanies these golden words..wishing that the minutes of this conversation turn to hours and more. It was too good to be true..like a typical ' I had to pinch myself' situation. After hearing those magical words, its anybody's guess that what followed was mere shaking of head and a stunned absent minded acknowledgment from my side to what he was saying... when inside I was still reeling under the wave of emotions which had welled up out of the blue.
As I was gathering my wits and absorbing every word that was leaving his jaw, the coup de grace that sealed the conversation was "I think you must also experience the Landmark forum. Its good you know."
With these words of his, I came back into the real world.
But I just left it at that, least bothered about his last statement. I accepted this to be one of my good days not to come again so soon and expecting to see the real Ashish again the next morning...sober, practical and not fuzzy like the previous night.
But surprise surprise! The facade had not slipped and what I thought was going to be a dream run ..was actually a full marathon. 1, 2 , 3, 4.....10 days...2 weeks passed but it was still going strong. And then I was eventually convinced that it was not just a facade he was wearing but a real transformation. And mind you, it wasn't just words but actions as well.
By then I had also heard a lot of new terms in those many days BE COMPLETE, RACKETS, STRONG SUITS etc which were new to me but equally mysterious. Even though they sounded like the simplest of words, I was sure they had a deeper meaning which I was looking to unravel and that too at the earliest.
Cut to present....
The day had arrived and I was going to attend my Landmark forum. I had been, in the past couple of months, looking forward to this day after having witnessed the positive after effects on someone dear who had attended it.
What was in store for me? I didnt know. But I was ofcourse ready for a myriad of experiences - high and low, revelations, discoveries and looking into the unknown dark places in my mind which I never knew existed.
End of Part I
