January: Month in Review | #SoulfulSunday

A truly mixed bag, it was—the month of January!

The best part about January was getting back to reading. I read a lot of non-fiction and most of it was about neuroscience and philosophy and I loved looking at things and life in general with the sense of limitless possibilities. I saw myself moving away from a world of measurements and entering the world of possibilities, and guess what, found myself in a totally new light—that brought me not just a deep sense of comfort but an equally powerful idea of empowerment, on the personal and the professional fronts. I think it helped me grow in ways that I hadn’t anticipated.

But, as we all know, the thing about growth is that it can be painful too, at times. I had moments when I went through the lows as I grappled with situations beyond my control. Even though my free-writing Sunday posts took a backseat, the sky photography and tree love posts were up on the blog on a weekly/fortnightly basis and I felt happy to see many old-timers from the blogosphere resume blogging and bring the community feeling back. It was something that I had been eagerly looking forward to, so it seemed like the good ol’ times are back.

The mindfulness practice continued through the ups and downs of life—I savoured every bit of the quiet mornings whenever time permitted, alongside journalling and meditation, gradually easing back into my fitness routine, like it used to be. It was thrilling to see the glorious dawns and colourful sunset pictures filling up my phone gallery all over again. There were days when one felt blessed to be alive, to be a witness to the miracle of nature, and realise how the impermanence of our existence makes our experiences with our loved ones so precious and memorable.

It was also our treasured moment as a family, watching the sonny boy (with his gown and cap on!), walk up to the stage to collect his souvenir during his graduation ceremony. I did get misty-eyed and all emotional witnessing this moment—a culmination of the 14 years of schooling, and our journey together, over the years, as memories came flashing one after the other. In three weeks time, our teen readies himself for the Grade 12 board exams and launch himself into the next phase of life! I found myself looking back at the primary and middle school years and wondering—how on earth did it all fly by so quickly?!

C’est la vie!

Among other things, I got back to practising energy management after almost two years. For one of the modules of a course I had signed up for, I had to create an ink sketch that was supposed to represent my interpretation of the space element and my Energy Guru cum facilitator had to interpret each artwork in the group. The assessment had nothing to do with my drawing skills, of course, but it was pretty darn accurate! I gained a lot of knowledge and insight from those seven days, and it got me started on decluttering in a way that I’d never done earlier. Besides this—the sheer act of drawing proved to be a great reminder to get back to creating art on a regular basis and not make it a once-in-a-blue-moon thing as it has currently turned out to be.

The thing about having all those wonderful plans is that it’s easy to create the intent to do something. The real challenge is creating a time block to actually do it. Especially, when one is juggling too many responsibilities! But, then, we need to start somewhere, don’t we?

Talking of cold winter mornings—how do you find them? I know I’m not very fond of the cold so, in all honesty, I have to say that I’m desperately waiting to say goodbye to the dipping mercury levels and embrace warm sunny mornings! This month, we added many new plants to our balcony garden, and most of the afternoons, I’ve spent time with the potted beauties, basking in their lovely company – some days, armed with a book as well.

While January has been a busy time, this year, with too many social events and get-togethers, house-warming parties and the likes, I’ve made it a point to draw my sustenance from my moments of solitude every now and then, preciously picking my ‘me-time’ from the little everyday moments; in between chores; whilst running errands; often also having to gently say ‘no’ to people, events and conversations that have depleted me in more ways than I could count on my fingers.

In review, I must express my gratitude for the countless blessings that have come my way, through the month—in small and big ways—be it for the love and support of the family, the food we’ve put on the table; the roof above our heads that has shielded us from the cold and the resilience with which we offset every turbulence that rocked our boat several times this month. Despite the odds, as a family, we’ve managed to show up every morning, ready to get on with life and do our best. Knowing that the Universe has our back has been very comforting during the trying times.

Finally, January also made me realise that dreams are to be realised with persistence and plenty of hard work. I have so many of dreams tucked away in the nooks and crannies of my mind that are eagerly waiting to spread their wings and fly!

In a world where most things are beyond our control, it’s the thought of radiating possibilities that keeps me going. And that alone has been very empowering for me. Another reason how I managed to publish 8 posts on the blog this month!

So, how has it been for you? How did the month of January turn out to be?

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Written as part of our #SoulfulSunday free writing exercise, along with my friends Vinitha and Shilpa.