Tso Moriri, Ladakh

Tso Moriri, Ladakh

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Accepting 2020

Dec 31st, 2020

It’s finally December 31st, 2020. A year that has created a lot of havoc in our lives. The kind of havoc that has consumed us every single day and quite obviously something that I don’t need to get into. A year that all of humanity has wanted to end so desperately, as if it was the year that has caused this turmoil and not us humans. 


Several months ago when the virus made an appearance and we were under ‘lockdown’ (definitely a word that has never been used as much in all my living years collectively as it has in 2020), social media began getting filled with very creative videos and posts where people in the future talked about how, after the pandemic, humans became a kinder, more loving and caring breed, how they realised what their real priorities in life were etc. None of that has happened of course - we are still greedy for money, power/fame hungry and as racist and sexist as ever. Sorry to disappoint you, future humans!


As most of you are aware, travel is what I live for and 2020 has obviously been the year of least travel. I did manage to sneak in a couple of small trips to places that were within driving distance, even made it to the beach for a few hours. However, I don’t consider any of it real travel and accepted that I wasn’t going anywhere for a while. Acceptance is important as it calms you down considerably. I stopped fantasising about my future trips, as while we need something to look forward to, it also makes us frustrated, anxious and impatient about them not turning into reality as the days go by. 


If I could pick one learning from this year, it would have to be ‘acceptance’. This pandemic has proved to us that we can make all the plans we want but there is only so much that is within our control. 2020 showed us that a much larger plan was in the works that eventually affected all of us, leaving us with no option but to accept. It was up to us to whine and bitch and complain all through the acceptance. Or make peace and go along with it. 


Yesterday I was speaking to a dear friend who is a lot more social than I am (yes it’s possible) and wants his old life back of hanging out with his hundreds of close friends! On the other hand, I feel like I’ve got into this groove where I meet my friends and family a lot less than I used to, but still enough to feel energised and satisfied. And while I’m not a lover of routine, I feel fortunate to be someone with enough interests that make each day different from the previous one, even if it is in a small way. A lot of this has happened because I accepted the situation and focussed on today without thinking about tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. We’ve heard about the present being our present enough times. It’s only lately that I’ve truly begun experiencing it and realising that living in the present can actually be pretty damn cool, even within the confines of our current limitations. 


Yes this year has been extremely harsh with death, disease, job losses and many more struggles. So for those of us that have made it this far, we really do have much to be thankful for and to keep ourselves going. If we think about it, each one of us can come up with a list of blessings that were favoured upon us. As the calendar year changes, let the previous year be a reminder of the many lessons that we’ve learned and how they will help us become stronger and hopefully better people in the future. Let us not forget, even for a moment, how fortunate each one of us is in so many ways.


So as I sign out, wishing every one of you health and peace in all the coming years, I’ll end with a little quote that I made up about how it’s eventually up to us to make our lives better.


Let the Past make you smile 

Let the Future keep you excited 

And most importantly

Let the Present make you shine


Each one of us can do our bit to make the world, our world a better place. Happy 2021 and much love!

12 comments:

Sujata said...

Very true and very well said

Naresh said...

Very nice. Yes, that part about staying in the present is so tough, yet so fulfilling when one can.
Wish you the very best for 2021 and let us hope that we all can start our travel sometime pretty soon. Cheers and best wishes

Anonymous said...

Very well written, offering a lot of positivity that we all need at this point of time. Wish you all a happy 2021.

Raj ganapathy said...

as usual am lost for words.
profound and hope this changes a few lives for the better

Unknown said...

Well written.. Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year.. See you soon buddy..

Unknown said...

Very well written u are super

Carol Rice said...

Love your “quote” .. I’m going to make it my daily Mantra. Best wishes for the coming year, Ratan.

Vinod said...

Very true Ratan, this year came with a lots of lessons. Never ever in anyone's living memory has nature taught a lesson so powerful and at a scale as this, that encompassed the whole world "to slow down". It has helped the nations to be cleansed of the pollution. It has forced people to spend time with their near and dear ones. And last but not the least it has shown the humankind how frail the life can be. Stay safe and healthy. Happy 2021!

Rashmi kacker said...

So well and simply written as always. While I understand and appreciate all that u have written, I would like to add a bit of my experience too. Though I have grumbled and complained about this pandemic but in reality I have actually gained a lot. Actually I have reached the age and stage in life where in little is enough.In 2020 i got the biggest gift of life.... Moving closer to my family. This has given me strength to accept life in totality. I want to say thank you to 2020 for this wonderful gift.

Ajay Kumar said...

Khub bhalo lekha hoyeche.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see your new post on a new year beginning. This year has been indeed a blessing in disguise for each one of us every which way though covid-19 has created havoc in the world. But like how you mentioned, it’s up to us to overcome this by creating a better life out of this mess and move on than remaining a victim to this unfortunate state of 2020. We shall overcome this too :)
And we hope many more interesting posts are waiting to be penned this year too by you.
Stay safe. Cheers.

Regards,
Shibin

JME said...

Aww... What a fantastic tribute and summary of the year that was 2020. Your words always spot on! You always know just how to find the poetic, meaningful message in everything without emphasizing on the negative. It definitely was a year of acceptance, but also problem solving in finding ways to work with what you've got. It was messy and painful at times, but we are all fortunate to be on the other side of it all! Things are improving and sooooo looking forward to what 2021 brings us all!

Happy New Year to you!

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