365 Days. 93 Books. 14 Cities.

2019 steps out the door

and I am thinking of events that happened this year. I’ve known people to calibrate their year based on the good and bad times. I feel that is rather depressing because psychologically, in the end you are left pondering about everything that turned out different from your expectations. I don’t know how much of it is really true but it is a known human behavior to pine long for things that aren’t than be happy about those which we have. Either way, one is free to look at the year gone by the way they like.

It has been sometime now that I have started to look at things from a different lens. And that did not happen on an impulse. I really had to train my mind. Because like every other person, I was only ruminating over things I lost, relations that fizzed out, dreams that died of neglect or apathy.

And this happened in the end of 2018. The year dad passed away. The year everything changed.

The start of 2019; when I was still grieving for dad, thus was totally unexpected when I scurried off on an unplanned trip to Gujarat. I told myself I needed it to get away from my thoughts. And then on, I began to be a different person. I was no more calculating life on the scale of best and worst. Before I realised, nature was training me to be positive once again. That’s when I decided to take things a day at a time.

When I look back at 2019, I no more get teary-eyed over lost opportunities or broken dreams or over people who chose to move away. The old me would contemplate and blame herself for all of it. The new me knows she is not that reckless and that if things didn’t turn out the way she expected there was a better reason for them to not to.

From that lens, life turned over a new leaf and I managed to achieve many things I never thought I would, like finishing my reading challenge with 92 books. Most of these books I picked on an impulse and how delighted I was for most of them I truly enjoyed. And I learnt,

Not everything has to be planned. Sometimes, instincts are better.

I also travelled to 13 new cities this year and oh, what a blazing experience each one of them turned out to be! From Bhuj in Gujarat to the Capital City of Delhi, from the hilly beauty Mussoorie to the eye-soothing tea estates in Coonoor, a perfect blend of perfection played by nature in its truest essence no matter where I went and a zillion stories etched in my mind in the form of stories I packed from everywhere. And I realised,

More than fame or riches, one needs experiences that would make you feel alive.

So in books and travel, is where most of my year was devoted. I had purposely not made a resolutions list because I know I am bad with commitments. And yet today, on this last day, I am happy knowing I have a lot more than I had at the start of this year. And with that I welcome the new year hoping it would be generous enough again and bring me more such opportunities so I can continue doing what I love most.

What was your year like? What were some of your top achievements? Any resolutions for 2020?

Do tell!

Wishing you a very happy new year. May it be a harbinger of happiness for you and your loved ones.

~~~~~

P. S.: I shall be doing separate posts on the books read and places travelled in 2019. Stay tuned.