A different start

Learnings from this year so far

Most of us start our new year with excitement. We start with different goals and dreams. We make resolutions and look forward to keeping them. We start with the energy "This year is going to be different, this year is going to be mine "We plan things and stuff but some people don't start that way and this year I was one of them.

I wasn't expecting anything from this year in the beginning. I wasn't expecting it to be good or bring joy, I still don't. I didn't want to plan it. I knew things that I needed to figure out or wanted to do, but I wasn't excited about anything. Circumstances were crazy and I thought we will just face and figure things out as they will come but meanwhile, one thing is that somewhere I had this feeling that even if nothing will happen, we will learn a lot of meaningful things this year and that intuition has been true so far. 

So far this year, life, books, people, conversations, situations, etc. have reminded me a lot of things and taught many new ones as well. Things that I have never seen or, felt before, or situations that I had never been in before. 

Following are some of those lessons, those things I learned, things that I'm being aware of, and things that I'm keeping in mind : 

• It's not possible for you to understand everything always and trying to do so is not good for you either. Just give yourself time. Time will make you understand things eventually anyway. 

• We need to be reminded more than we need to be taught. We all know deep down what we need to do. Most of us have enough information to take our next step but still don't cause we don't know what our 10th step will be. We make things way harder than it needs to be. Avoid doing that. Focus on the next one only and just start. 

• When something hard happens to you, you have two choices in how to deal with it. You can either get bitter, or better. Choose to get better. It’ll make all the difference. 

• Think about life as a game. Play it with playful seriousness. Give your all, have fun, also be serious when you are playing but don't be too serious as at the end of the day know it's just a game. Your loss is not actually a loss, eventually, you aren't going to take away anything and none of this will matter.

• Everything that is happening, it's for my betterment. The period of life when it's making me wait has some meaningful purpose and something better is surely waiting for me ahead.

• If we demand the future be free from suffering in order to be happy, we can’t be happy. It is like demanding the sea be entirely still before we sail on it.

• Take time out to think and decide what you want and what you want to work towards. Direction is the key. Deciding what you want and having some goal, or dream in your life that you want to work for, can eliminate that feeling of being lost. Set it and you'll have a better life

• Asking yourself constantly " what would the person who I want to become / person I admire would do in this situation ? " can help you to form better habits and make better decisions in everyday life. 

• Asking yourself the right questions and having self-conversations can help way a lot to heal.

• If you are bitten by a snake, you don't go and try to prove to the snake it's a mistake. You go and help yourself to take away the poison. Likewise, when someone does wrong, it's better if you help yourself first rather than trying to make them realize their mistake. They already know it and they probably don't care. Focus on you.

• Being honest and always saying what you truly think or feel is the one of the best gifts you can give to yourself, even if sometimes it serves you pain in return. It will always save your time.

• You can let someone go and still love them the same. Pray for their well-being. That can bring peace and help you not to turn bitter.  

• Don't wait life or an illness to show you how short and unpredictable life can be. Start living. Let things go.  

• Time passes quickly. Every moment you spend with your loved one is a gift, every smile u you put on someone's face, and make them feel seen is the purest thing a human can do. Don't wait for tomorrow to spend time with them or to do the things you want to do together.

So these are some of the learnings in these four and a half months that I'm grateful for, let's see how life unfolds ahead. 

Adios for now ! 

Varun