".... I never understand, but I believe. Help me hold on to it."
- Anon
Are you one of those people who says, "New Year Resolution'....Nah!!! Despair not, you are not alone.But I was surprised though reading the list of New Year resolutions in the newspaper today and it hit me that, "Some people never give up". I was a naysayer too until a few years ago, but the tricky 30s kick in and alongwith it a sense of restlessness set in. Not just because it struck me that life can be meaningless even when and especially if it is perfect, but also because of the unsavory feeling that the best 30 summers and winters have already whizzed past you. I realized life can get pretty mean and miserly if you are way too complacent and even if you are way too comfortable. Purpose and meaning no longer become cliche`s... they become as potent and palpable as the sugar cravings you have after lunch. Ouch!
The 30s are a hard time - I give you that. The trick is to be forgiving, yet challenge every thing you took for granted about yourself and your relationships. Its about giving yourself a chance knowing full well when and how you will fail. So sail thro' the 30s and I reckon there's light at the end of the tunnel - I am simply saying who knows, the 40s could be kinder.
And every New Year - I give myself another chance. Maybe I will fail in a day, a week or even a month. But the important thing is to be kind - start again, continue... whatever! And the only thing that can scoop you up from massive disappointment is hope - even an ounce of it. The silly things begin to matter - those things you dismissed as juvenile and beneath you. You sigh that you, not your life is your biggest disappointment as well as your biggest redemption. You make peace with the fact that life is not about the large, big stuff - its about the small, almost invisible stuff - about being hopeful and positive and kind and not necessarily about being successful, beautiful and rich. And yes, there's also this distant nagging 'ding-ding' that the clock is ticking and there's so much to do and so little time left.
So don't scoff off New Year resolutions - people who made them never got hurt. They are just foolishly persistent people who invested in themselves every year. They are people who believed in the New Year, just the way we sweat to make our children believe in the Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and even the one eyed demon that would come at night if they did bad things. Now, that's not half so bad. So make a list, write a graffiti across the wall, hang a poster, post it on your fridge - whatever - remind yourself you have another chance and certainly deserve one. More people died of disillusionment than of failure. Maybe you are one of the many who says, I resolve not to make a resolution, but beware the numbers on the other side are certainly going up, year after year. Don't be on the wrong side of hope. So do yourself a favor and make up a New Year wish. And run along with it, as much as you can.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU. MAY YOU ALWAYS BELIEVE!
- Anon
Are you one of those people who says, "New Year Resolution'....Nah!!! Despair not, you are not alone.But I was surprised though reading the list of New Year resolutions in the newspaper today and it hit me that, "Some people never give up". I was a naysayer too until a few years ago, but the tricky 30s kick in and alongwith it a sense of restlessness set in. Not just because it struck me that life can be meaningless even when and especially if it is perfect, but also because of the unsavory feeling that the best 30 summers and winters have already whizzed past you. I realized life can get pretty mean and miserly if you are way too complacent and even if you are way too comfortable. Purpose and meaning no longer become cliche`s... they become as potent and palpable as the sugar cravings you have after lunch. Ouch!
The 30s are a hard time - I give you that. The trick is to be forgiving, yet challenge every thing you took for granted about yourself and your relationships. Its about giving yourself a chance knowing full well when and how you will fail. So sail thro' the 30s and I reckon there's light at the end of the tunnel - I am simply saying who knows, the 40s could be kinder.
And every New Year - I give myself another chance. Maybe I will fail in a day, a week or even a month. But the important thing is to be kind - start again, continue... whatever! And the only thing that can scoop you up from massive disappointment is hope - even an ounce of it. The silly things begin to matter - those things you dismissed as juvenile and beneath you. You sigh that you, not your life is your biggest disappointment as well as your biggest redemption. You make peace with the fact that life is not about the large, big stuff - its about the small, almost invisible stuff - about being hopeful and positive and kind and not necessarily about being successful, beautiful and rich. And yes, there's also this distant nagging 'ding-ding' that the clock is ticking and there's so much to do and so little time left.
So don't scoff off New Year resolutions - people who made them never got hurt. They are just foolishly persistent people who invested in themselves every year. They are people who believed in the New Year, just the way we sweat to make our children believe in the Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and even the one eyed demon that would come at night if they did bad things. Now, that's not half so bad. So make a list, write a graffiti across the wall, hang a poster, post it on your fridge - whatever - remind yourself you have another chance and certainly deserve one. More people died of disillusionment than of failure. Maybe you are one of the many who says, I resolve not to make a resolution, but beware the numbers on the other side are certainly going up, year after year. Don't be on the wrong side of hope. So do yourself a favor and make up a New Year wish. And run along with it, as much as you can.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU. MAY YOU ALWAYS BELIEVE!
4 comments:
Well said Aparna! Hope one of your resolutions in 2014 is to write more often, we all want to read more :)
Thanks Seeta .. you have been an inspiration to write as well... Your stories and writing technique is simply addictive!
Very well written Aparna :-)
Thanks dear!
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