Approaching the final days of the year, I find myself nostalgic about the past; not just the year that went by, but years previously as well. For reasons known best to my higher self or perhaps due to years of unconscious programming, the mind kept replaying events that still carry a significant emotional charge.

“Why did I act the way I did?”

“Had I been a little more patient, things may have turned out differently..”

“I wish I could get another chance…”

“Wonder what direction life would have taken had I taken that route..”

Such thematic statements might ring a bell for some of you and resonate as well. I’d like to think I have company is this bitter-sweet misery of replaying events that are long gone. I sadistically hope it is not just me who keeps them alive within the realms of mind.

Usually, year ends bring joy, renewed hope, excitement and wonder. Life sends another milestone your way. No matter how good or bad the journey from the last milestone to the imminent one turned out, you can make new plans for the journey ahead. You can choose to pull your socks up and play with renewed zest this great play of life.

As the year-end approaches, I also find myself contemplative of my death and mortality. The year has been full of news of people dying. Death was an essential topic of the year’s news and overall conversation. People dying all around and I miraculously survived to type this blog out, and you’re reading it! If this doesn’t make us feel grateful, I don’t know what else can.

Death was so close and yet, this year we got lucky. Some year though death will come knocking. And when death knocks, I will have to answer. When death calls, you can’t hide, delay, feign occupation with work or trick it.

I would love to live more because no matter the challenges living may give death is unknown territory. Wisdom tells me not to make bets about unknown territories. I have felt scared and anxious about the inevitability of the death milestone. However, what has to happen will happen. Why fret now? I’m sure I wouldn’t have to work hard to attain this milestone, it’ll come to find me. A better question to reflect for all of us is how to live while we can. 🙂

Enough of philosophising life. Let me first thank you for being here and giving your time to my ideas 🙂 Thank you for continuously supporting and inspiring me to write and share. I’ll leave with some things that made an impact on me in 2020.

Gyaan

1. There is so much value in saving.
2. Many phone calls can be texts; meetings can be calls. Though when you want to connect an in-person meeting indeed cannot ever be replaced 🙂
3. Home cooked meals are the best. Eating out is over-rated.
4. Exercising (movement of the body) is a sure-shot way to make you feel good.
5. Reading is one of the best investments of your limited time on earth.
6. You feel happier when you choose the idea that you do not know it all and you can’t, and that’s alright.
7. It is entirely A-okay to be apolitical. There are always ‘sharper’ and ‘compassionate’ minds who know it all and are sure about their definite opinions. 🙂
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
9. Don’t hesitate to change if the chance presents itself.
10. Humility and kindness make others, and most importantly, you feel good.
11. You gain a lot of power when you speak sweetly to people. 🙂
12. Use Youtube Premium 😎
13. Less sugar is (sadly) good for the body. 😞

My Favourite Films and TV series from 2020 (not necessarily the ones that had their release in 2020)

1. It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
2. 1917
3. Bombshell
4. Eat, Pray, Love
5. Up in the Air
6. Begin Again (Best soundtrack as well)
7. Modern Love (Tv series on Prime)
8. This is Us (highly recommend)

P.S. If someone can help decode TENET for me, I am sure that would make the list as well.

Favourite Reads: Fiction

1. Midnight Library, The Humans by Matt Haig (Highly recommended)
2. Anxious People by Frederik Backman
3. Graveyard Book, Ocean at the end of the lane and Coraline by Neil Gaiman
4. Flatshare by Beth O’ leary
5. Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
6. Mahasweta by Sudha Murty
7. The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
8. Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

Favourite Reads: Non-Fiction

1. Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Highly recommended)
4. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
5. On Writing by Stephen King
6. The Incredible History of the Indian Ocean by Sanjeev Sanyal

Favourite Reads: Self Help/Spiritual

1. Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer
2. Mahaviri by Nityananda Misra
3. Life of Ramanujacharya by Naimisaranya Das
4. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
5. Death an inside story by Sadhguru
6. Vishnu and His 1000 Names by Eknath Easwaran

I’d always fondly remember this year as a time when I got an opportunity to read more than ever. My Goodreads tells me I surpassed by reading goals by 142% ! Better yet, I enjoyed it a lot. 🙂 Prioritising reading time helped me immensely. Why and how I could read so much, I’ll share soon either through a blog, podcast or IGTV 😁

If you feel so, please do share your best parts of 2020– lessons, recommendations and anything else that you would like 🙂

I wish you joy, growth, peace and harmony for the next year of your life.

Hope to meet you with another blog,
Kushagra