Its been a while since I posted something here. The last few months have been crazy; I have been busy with so many new things and some that were already there. Life just gets in the way sometimes. And I think thats quite normal. There is nothing wrong with it. Happens to everyone.

Today, life moves so fast that sometimes it really hard to keep up with it. At least for me. Things come and go and sometimes stuff happens so quickly that there’s not even enough time to comprehend it. I have been experiencing something similar. The past few months have been life altering to say the least. New things emerged along with new opportunities for growth and progress. On the contrary, I had to let go of a few old things and relationships, whether I liked it or not. I took the month of May to really slow down and review what has been happening. Are these changes what I really want? Do I look forward or do I look behind? I was confused.

I write this post to just share what I have felt in the past month. I feel inspired to write this because I don’t think I am the only one going through this 🙂 Change is a part of life, whether we like it or not. We can’t control our future and the changes that come along, nor can we stay in denial and cling on to the past (Trust me I have tried it and it really is exhausting!)

I am reminded of the beautiful quote from Life of Pi. It goes something like this, “In the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go. But what hurts is not taking a moment to say goodbye.”

This one really hit hard. As I look back at the moments from my past, I realise how I took them from granted. Life moves fast, changes are inevitable and some moments never came back. And I never got to say goodbye. I never realised that these things, these moments are going to pass and I must make the most out of them, live them and experience them fully. And thats heavy.

Do we want to live a life which is just a slideshow of different moments not fully experienced in the present? Moments which are missed opportunities to explore something deeper? I personally wouldn’t want to live such a life. And I don’t think you should either. 

If you don’t, then what comes next might be of interest to you. I am going to share one small thing that has helped me a lot. Maybe it might just do the trick for you too 🙂

Gratitude

I said this in my one of my sessions, “Gratitude is often talked about in good times, and usually forgotten about in bad times.” This word is casually thrown around nowadays, but how often do we really take time to look back at our lives and express gratitude about the little things that make everyday better? Its a question worth asking.

Like I said, I found that I too have been quite ungrateful about the things in my life, and it is one of the biggest regrets that I have today. “I should have done this”, “I could have done that” are a few things that come to my mind everyday. And trust me, they are not worth the energy they consume! These are signs that I am clinging to my past, and not really embracing the change that has already happened.

Hence, I am trying out a new approach, and it has worked wonders for me. I just try to say “Thank you” and move forward. Doesn’t matter whether the change is a pleasant one or an unpleasant one. Just say “Thank you” and move on. I once casually wrote in one of my exam papers, “Every season has a reason.”. Once I went home I really started to explore the depth of my statement.

Sometimes I ask people to remember the toughest time of their life. We all have that one. We look at it as a bad memory. Then I ask them, “If given a chance, would you delete that event from your memory and life?”. And most of them say NO. They say that these events made them the way they are today, and they wouldn’t want to change that. And thats understandable. So, if every event bad or good, is having a positive impact on our life in the long run, shouldn’t we be grateful for it?

Of course it’s difficult to express that gratitude while actually being in that situation. Thats the real challenge.  Thats where our own dedication and willpower comes in. We can’t move all the pieces of our lives. Things may look like they are moving too fast and not even in the direction you want. But thats when we say “Thank you” and sincerely hope that the dots somehow connect in the future. Steve Jobs himself says so in his Stanford speech.

Things around you won’t change after you read this. They will keep moving at their speed. But I would encourage you to just take a moment to say thank you to those little things which are always around us but often ignored. Try it, it feels really good. I will do the same after finishing writing this.

Talk to your closest person and thank them for being there for you. Don’t be shy, I am sure they would appreciate your gesture. Look at your bed and just thank it for providing you with the rest that you need to get up everyday. Look outside your window at the world, which has created you, which has shaped your life. Things that dserve your gratitude are endless. But most importantly, in the end, find a mirror and look at yourself. You’re the one who has persevered and gone through the toughest times to be here. You’re the one that has the power. Appreciate yourself. Just say, “Thank you” and keep moving forward.

Love, Ninad.