Alvin Toffler said that the older you are, the faster will seem the pace of time to you!

This is because the human mind measures time relatively. We compare the elapsed period against the total time we have lived. An hour does not mean the same to a forty year old as it means to a seven year old.  He illustrates the concept with an example:

A mother of twenty-four tells her toddler of two that she will give him a slice of cake after two hours.

To the mother, the two hours as compared to her twenty-four years of life, is an insignificant sliver of time. It represents merely 1/105120th part of her life (hope my math is right). To the child, two hours is HUGE (1/ 8760 part of her life) in comparison to her mere two years of existence (assuming that she was consciously counting the minutes from the moment she popped out!) That’s 12 times the duration for the child!

It’s as if the mother asked her to wait 24 hours to be given a piece of cake! Obviously the child would be peeved!

But that’s not really the point I was trying to make.

My purpose in taking you through that excruciatingly elaborate bit of profundity is to create a sort of mood. So that I can exclaim, “But has a year gone by already?! Surely you’re joking? Why, I just saw 2014 slip out of that door a moment ago!!”

Applying the above comparative, that would naturally make me as old as the hills. I’m not saying I am, but I’m not saying I am not, either.

Be that as it may, the inescapable fact is that one year has indeed slipped by in a moment. It is time to wrap 2015 in warm and cozy folds of nostalgia and pack it away for posterity. Before I wrap it up, let me savor the sweetness of this beautiful  year for the last time.

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The year was amazingly full of newness in every possible way. I met people I had waited to meet for long. I reconnected with childhood buddies. I spent ten amazing days with my kids wandering over Chhatisgarh and Odhisha, road tripping. And today, the last day of this fulfilling year, I hugged my childhood again when he came to meet me all the way from the US of A. I have amassed wondrous treasures  from all the experiences the year brought me. I am blessed and very grateful!

Since some rain must fall into each life, some duly fell into mine as well. Greedy as any, I too wished certain things had not turned out the way they did. A sense of loss, the disappointment sharp, the pain deep. The ache has settled into a corner where it shall remain, like a living, breathing wound, forever.

My phrase for 2015 was Enrich and Thrive and I am happy to say that I lived by it in everything I did.  I promised myself that I will no longer stop myself from going forward and doing all I could to live a more alive life… and I have done just that!

I find myself immensely enriched by stepping forward in deep gratitude, to embrace all that was given to me. Where possible, I have tried to be the conduit for others so that they too may be enriched. I hope I succeeded sometimes, if not all.

I have thrived- most decidedly so- in every possible way this year, not only financially. I am amazed how gratifying life becomes when one approaches her with serenity and acceptance instead of always declaring war from her ramparts.

The year gave me some incredible and marvelous opportunities to connect with people whom I knew just as names on the web. Though I am yet to meet many of them (Yo 2016!), they are a lot more than just names for me now. They have a voice, I have heard them laugh and gasp in outrage. I wonder which of these have connected me more with these beautiful souls.

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.

~ Maya Angelou

You were good to me 2015. Of course you did gave me a couple of nasty thumps. In a way those thumps are a relief. One no longer needs to wait, with frayed nerves, for the shoe to drop. The shoe has dropped with a dismaying finality. Though a part of me is relieved the rattling suspense is over, the other part of me does mourn the death of the hope which assured me that the shoe would never drop. And yet another part of me wonders why the shoe had to drop at all. I mean, why didn’t A SHOE THAT WOULD NEVER DROP become my experience? It might so easily have, mightn’t it?

But that’s unreasonable, of course. Everyone has shoes dropping all over their lives. And some of those shoes are pretty awful too, with their spikes and steel toe caps. I really haven’t any business being a brat about it. I shall shrug my shoulders, therefore, and be of good cheer again.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

~ Epicurus

Those thumps aside though, you were absolutely magnificent. I don’t remember a year I’ve enjoyed more, truth be told.

I am grateful for your generous bounty, 2015. Thank you for giving me the chance to connect, learn and be inspired by so many astounding people. Thank you for opening the doors you opened for me and shutting those which were never meant for me at all. Thank you for the torch bearers you sent to guide me during the darkest stretches. Thank you for opening my eyes and expanding my consciousness wider than they were before. I assure you, I am drinking in life as eagerly  and greedily as I can! It would be insulting to you if I didn’t!

As for the year ahead, I am certain I will love it as much as I loved you. I will bless all that it brings me, victories and setbacks alike. I have finally learned (at last, yes!) that the things that become a part of my life mosaic are exactly the things that I was meant to experience all along. How simple it has made everything! All I need to do now is to happily embrace all that life gives me and blessedness will ever be mine!

Farewell 2015! Thank you!

Farewell 2015
Picture Mine

Farewell 2015