2024 has come to an end and it is time to welcome the new year in. Random scrolling of Instagram, and all I saw are the reels of the whole wide world attesting to the wonderful year they had what with the trips, vacations, families, loving moments spent with their partners and other such beautiful memories. I too, naturally, reflected back on my entire year as well. Amongst the umpteen number of back and forth travel for work, major overhaul of my personal life and a chosen deep solitude from my social circle, I realised I have had one big achievement, consistently, throughout the year- and that would be – ‘Letting Go’. In the truest, most essential and basic form – just let go.
I consciously let go of-
- Negativity and toxicity
- Anger and Resentment
- Fear
- Lost dreams
- Physical possessions
- Need for everyone’s approval
- Expectations that everyone should understand my perspective
- Over-explaining myself
It was like a Diwali pre-cleaning drive of the entire house, only the house this time was my mind. I now realise the importance of some of these teeny tiny rituals and traditions we have been taught over the years by our elders. By letting go of all the clutter that was filled in my mind, I finally made space for-
- Peace of mind
- Positive thoughts with healing practices
- New experiences
- Finding new dreams – I am still working on this one 😉
- Minimalistic possessions more in line with my needs
- Self confidence in my ability to take right decisions for myself
- Realisations that everyone will have their own narrative about me
- Being content in my own skin
Was it easy? Hell, no! I had to keep reminding myself every single step, every single situation and every single instance when I felt like holding on to the thread of my old patterns. Consistently. For instance, like Ayesha from ‘Wake up Sid’ I am extremely uncomfortable getting my pictures clicked unless I am in the company of my closest people. And yet, I am now learning to not only make reels (with my face in focus), but also to boldly put them up on social media for the world to see. It’s both extremely uncomfortable and yet wildly exhilarating – not worrying what anybody would think, but rather doing what I need to do in the moment, only for myself. And being a self proclaimed introvert as well as a perfectionist, that is saying something.
When I did start to get the hang of this new mindset, what a wonderful and liberating feeling it was! As they say, you have to lose yourself to find yourself. I have started to reconnect with my factory default setting after the reset and reboot of my system. This approach towards life has enabled me to step outside of my comfort zone and explore new parts of me that I never knew existed! Am I an expert and done with this practice? Absolutely not!
While I am leaving behind all the parts of myself that do not serve the purpose anymore, I am carrying forward a box full of cherished memories and moments of happiness from my past with only love in my heart. So while I say Goodbye to the toughest year of my life, here’s three cheers to welcoming new learnings, experiences and adventures in 2025, paving the way for new memories.
Happy New Year everyone!
Simple joys of life 