Time to Officially Welcome 2018
This roller coaster journey that we call life, has taken me through many ups and downs this year. I’ve grown in many ways and yet the values that I have always held on to, are as close to my heart as they ever were.
Every year, I go through a metamorphosis of sorts; transformations that draw me closer to the butterfly that I eventually want to be. From travelling halfway around the world, to understanding the importance of protecting our own culture, to seeing the very city I live in through a different lens ~ my experiences this year have shaped me into a stronger person.
I’ve also ridden the many waves of emotions in these twelve months. Some days were great, while others not so much. But between the two, there were emotions of happiness, cheerfulness, love, excitement, and passion that made the entire year a brilliant tapestry of experience.
As I move forward into 2018, here’s what I ponder: Will my tapestry have room for more ~ for the experiences that I anticipate in the coming year? But here’s what I realise: This gorgeous tapestry that holds the stitches of my experiences this past year is but a small self-contained square that attaches itself to a bigger more vibrant quilt which puts together the life that I have lived until now! My actions, my thoughts, my words ~ all of them play a role. That is to say: it is me who decides the colours, the quality of the stitches, and whether I want to make my quilt beautiful or not.
Last year I thought deeply about resolutions. Just as much as I wanted to change in many ways, I realised that changes are most beautiful when they are not forced on us. So, I abandoned my list of resolutions in favour of living by “a word” ~ not a promise, not a change ~ just a single word to focus on for a whole year: “Gratitude”
I wanted this word to sum up who I wanted to be and how I wanted to live.
In a world rife with so many negative emotions, I decided to acknowledge good by being grateful. It did not require me to change anything in my daily life, and yet by being grateful for things I had and the things I received ~ I have experienced a transformation where I am more aware of the kindness and thoughtfulness of others.
For the upcoming year, I have decided to continue my journey of gratitude, and add mindfulness to it. “Mindfulness” is actually a very simple ideology; it requires us to be attentive to life as it unfolds before us. There are no special procedures or requirements for being mindful, and the thing I like about mindfulness is that it is more of an intention than an action.
Since early childhood, I have had this uncanny ability of being able to disassociate. It helped me control my anxieties but it eventually grew into a habit. And, I realised how quickly I would grow bored if things did not provide some sort of stimulus, or challenge me. This restlessness in me made me dislike the idea of living an ordinary life.
However, the truth is that life is majorly summed up in the ordinary moments that we live in. In my need to explore more, to find a new challenge, or to push away the ordinary ~ I feel that I have failed to take note of the things that have actually moulded me into who I am.
With the New Year approaching, I want to be more mindful of the life I lead. I want to pay attention to life as it reveals itself in the present. To think of losing out on life not because I made mistakes but simply because I failed to pay attention to the everyday life that I led ~ would be a sad mistake ~ a mistake that I hope to put right in 2018. This New Year, I want to learn to be present for my own life.
To conclude: It’s time to officially welcome 2018! This year, I want to be more mindful of the smaller, more intricate patterns that are forming the tapestry of my life. I want it to vibrantly represent the unrestrained life I lead and I also want it to beautifully stitch the simpler actions which reflect the ordinary life I live with extraordinary fulfillment!
If you decide to pick a word for the New Year, please leave a comment about it to inspire me, and perhaps many others hoping to be inspired.