As another year went by, I sat down to ponder on how the year faired. The tasks left undone, the accomplishments, the failures and the success all started flashing through my mind... It's then I realised that what's important to savour are the experiences and not so much the annual to do list.
So I decided to recall my various experiences both direct and indirect.
2014 gave me my biggest project till date, another stepping stone. A project that made me come out as a stronger person. I saw dreams coming true and friends and relationships falling apart. I saw money taking control of people and their behavior. I also had friends bailing me out of the crisis. I saw the joy of work well done on the faces of the labourers and I felt the muscles strain in the effort to meet deadlines.
The year made me cross my comfort zone and made me do work I had never attempted before. It made me experiment and it saw me out-perform my earlier work. I also connected with many new kids. Passionate about art and totally fun to be with. It had me teach art to moms who had their plate full but wanted to vent creatively.
While I felt the joy of playing the piano again, I missed my vocal lessons as my guru became too frail now to sing. I had the joy of growing my own vegetables and see little tomatoes... And I also felt pain when my 10 year old plant just died...
I attended a wild Bachelorette party where almost every one let their hair down... And painted the town (read Hyderabad) red with my girl friends...
In 2014 I lost a few old friends, people I had been with for years. With reasons not clear best course of action was to move on... Beginning of the year saw me through the roller coaster of first finding and then letting go of someone who was perceived to be my soul mate for last 22 years. Alas what's not meant to be is not meant to be...
They say that when a door closes another opens. I met new people and I experienced the joy of reconnecting with school mates from kanpur. The joy of talking about the days gone by was priceless.
This year I also vicariously went through a lot. Joys, sorrows and ecstasy... A knee surgery and painful recovery... A birth of boy child... Managing the tantrums of a 2 year old who was visibly upset at the entry of the little brother in her life... An adoption of a girl... And even taking the plunge to tie the knot. Each of these life changing event I witnessed and lived them closely.
I lost my favorite uncle and felt my aunt's loss of a partnership that had lasted 57 years.
I ran marathons and kept bettering my record. I walked and I cycled. I baked and cooked and experimented with the spices. I tried hard to diet and through some I was a success and somewhere else a failure.
Be it my own or others from all the experiences one thing I realised that everyone goes through their own shit. Some find others lose. Some lose their love, other their spouse, some their parents and other their siblings. Some lose their pets and some their jobs. And almost everyone tries to lose weight.
In 2014 I saw the high and low, I lost and found, I surged ahead and often staggered. I lacked discipline but not determination. I lost heart but never hope. I cried a lot but laughed even more.
With joy in my heart and determination in mind I surge ahead to welcome the year 2015 with another annual to do list. Tasks I'd like to complete, projects to undertake, places to visit, people to meet but keeping in mind to focus on and savour all the experiences big and small and good and bad alike... Happy 2014 it was and I hope happy 2015 it will be...
(c) shubhra
January 4, 2015
