Staying in the Moment - 2019 Takeaway

Now I am making a habit out of this! For the second consecutive year I am reviewing my takeaways for a year gone-by almost a month into the new year. But this is no ordinary review, this is a recollection of everything I've learnt over a grand total of 365 days. Hence the time I have taken to write this blog is extremely warranted (Thou shall all see).

So where do I start, I start off this blog right where I left the last one. The New Year's eve of 2019, while the world was celebrating the New Year I was having a quiet night all by myself and reflecting on a year gone too soon. Fast forward to New Year's eve of 2020, I couldn't believe how fast a year had just passed. If 2018 was a supersonic jet then 2019 proceeded to culminate at rocket speed. Are days flying by too soon? Is time outrunning us? Why does it always seem that happy moments roll by quickly while the dismal ones seem to last a lifetime?

Yours Truly might not have the most accurate answers to any of the questions above. But I do have a theory which I will illustrate with the help of an example. Readers of my blog might remember the 8K run which I took part in the spring of 2019, halfway through the run I was sapped and very close to calling it a day. The physical exertion made my mind wander to every nook and corner of my past. I was the one who had chosen to partake and train for the run yet I wasn't enjoying the rigour that came with it. Isn't this a microcosm of how life unfolds?

You have to roll with it sometimes <Credit: instagram.com/aziz_acharki>

We make a choice and then spend the majority of our time analyzing the merits of our decision. Thus a huge quantity of our life is spent rehashing old experiences and trying to correlate those lessons to our new experiences. So where does all the time go? It goes away in wrestling with our past and trying to come to terms with our present. It seems as though while our bodies are propagating forward in time and aging, our minds and hearts seem heel bent on travelling backwards. That could be the very reason why yesterday always seems better than today.

Now since I've espoused my theory, I will talk a little about what I did to stay in the moment. In the case of the 8K run I just shook myself out of the auto-pilot mode I was on by forcing myself to observe the surroundings. The flora and fauna of High Park, the efforts of fellow participants and all the other stories that were unfolding around me suddenly became as visible as daylight to me. I was no more floating through the moment, I was adding to the occasion with my effort and my presence. The result, the 8K run is just not a remembrance it's a memory that wills me to create several more.

The end of 2019 brought yet another stimulating 'Staying in the Moment' takeaway for me. I had just finished a long flight which had me severely jet lagged and the very next day I had to drive my family through the streets of Hyderabad to finish some important errands. The indiscipline of the Hyderabadi Traffic was driving me crazy and I was once again all set to put myself on auto-pilot when I caught a glimpse of my mother. Her bliss and pure joy at the fact that she was seeing me after a long time melted away all my stress. The trip was for my family and the moment belonged to my family. I immediately joined in their conversation and the traffic didn't matter, the arduous trip morphed itself into a pleasant memory.

Remember what you are here for. Remember what you are doing. Remember to immerse yourself in this moment as the next moment is not in your hands. Remember to give it your all. If you remember all of this you will by default remember to stay in the moment. Time will always pass by quicker than you think but by staying in the moment you will savor more of it. You will also leave a quality impression on the people you interact with. As years roll by the only thing that matters is the marks we gain and the marks we leave behind which is only possible if we stay in the moment. Thank you 2019 for bestowing this truth on me.

Until Next Time,

Your Life Guru,
Chaitanya J.J.

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