HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year.  For a while, It's been quiet on this blog. The silence has been intentional. Every once in a while it's important to let silence speak for itself.  

2013 was blessed and yet a very solemn year. The year brought forward altered relationships, changed friendships and life.  Life, a four letter word, that encompasses everything from our friends to our being, and yet we almost always take it for granted.  We assume that as long as we follow the rules and do good deeds, all will be well, but the year showed me how in a minute life changes its course and suddenly every little prized possession becomes meaningless. 

As I moved along in 2013, amongst all the chaos, I then saw those tiny toes and fingers.  The innocent smile, the random twitch of a nose and the blink of an eye, all reassuring me of the fact that life thrives. 

I would be a robot if the contrast of experiences did not force me to think of what really matters.  As the year ended, and the world shared the year in review with celebrations across the globe, I made my new year resolution - More humility and more optimism.  Humility for all the blessings that have been showered on me and my dear ones, optimism so I can forget the bitterness and learn to forgive.  

On a more personal front, besides the usual eat healthy, be a good parent, etc...my primary goal will be to work with myself and the family to not waste. Be it electricity or food, the goal is to reduce squandering. There is way too much being wasted in this world.  We talk about reducing our carbon footprint and yet we keep buying. Tangential to this is the task of de-cluttering. De-clutter both my home and FB wall :) Yes, 250+ friends on FB and there are a handful who visit, so de-clutter. The gamut of ideas brewing in my head about blogging, painting, cookbooks and so much more need some direction and I know I can take them to their destination, just need to figure out how ;) 

New Year's eve: time to romance, time to indulge, time to make resolutions and underlying all these modern day celebration traditions lie ancient spiritual resolutions. In Haridwar, India you will find folks jumping into the Ganges so they can wash off a year's worth of sins and take permission to repeat those sins in the new year. Parts of Italy, the locals are busy cleaning their houses to welcome the new year, while the Vienna folks are running after the pig, because if they can touch it, the new year will bring good luck.  

However you may choose to celebrate the new year, the underlying sentiment is the same, welcome the new year with happiness and positivity.  

Only the first 8 pages of the Book 2014 have been written, write the others so when the world reads them, it smiles. 

I wish that all your wishes are fulfilled this year. Happy New Year.