22 Plucked Out Of 2022
It all started with the redoubtable Rohini Kejriwal writing a post in her The Alipore Post called “22 Lessons from 2022”:
It started a deluge of poignant and lovely memoirs of a year gone by. Several wrote their own versions. One of the best came from Riya Roy, in her ethereal “The Nook”:
And then the poetess Shivani, made her own list!
I sat down to write my version. It was a good way to delve into the more trying, some beautiful and some somber learnings which 2022 left in its wake. Each one of these learnings have a story attached to them - maybe one for each edition of a future newsletter! - and they deeply impacted me in powerful ways.
Like everything good which I encounter, I share this list here - for you to read, and maybe to encourage you to make one yourself! Here goes!
Everyone - everyone! - in our lives has come into our lives for a reason.
Grace is everywhere. We have it inside us too. Just shutting up when the urge is to say something hurtful is also grace.
Cynicism is easy. Believing is not. But we have to believe, in the good of people, in believing what they say. Often it will hurt, but more often than not, the riches are unparalleled.
No passion for anything will take you far without unflinching discipline.
A compulsive liar lies continuously such that he soon starts believing his own lies. Beware.
Most things which don’t make sense, do. But only after a distance is covered. But how much distance? Time will tell.
Kindness has to always triumph over candour.
99.9% of hurtful things said to you have to be heard and then unheard. Peace of mind is often a conscious decision.
A bad memory which forgets good things is always better than a good memory which remembers hurts.
More I age, more I fret over loved ones.
Always have something in your life which keeps you off-balance. It’s important to have a regular diet of adrenaline rush.
Everything passes. Moments, people, good times. What it should always leave in its wake is gratitude.
There are always the unanswered questions, which roll in from one year to another. The one for me is - Can we take full charge of the course of our lives without causing pain to others?
There’s no price to experience. Don’t let one go by because it has a huge price-tag attached to it. If you can afford it, pay it.
Receiving compliments gracefully is one of the toughest things possible. Even tougher is to then not think - now what does he want of me?
Time is finite. With parents it’s even more finite. Think of number of hours you spend with your parents daily. Think they will live until the age of 90. Multiply the two numbers. Now divide the figure you’ve got with the number of hours which make a waking day (say 10 ). The number you now get is the number of days you’ve got left with them. At any age, it is a sobering number.
Always spend time with someone much younger than you are. You will see the world in the most charming ways possible.
Be coruscating and clear in your dislikes. Let people know where you stand on your opinions, feelings. To hide these things fills us up with too much needless tension. It’s always better to get it off your chest!
Never forget that money is merely a means. Use it for getting more out of life, for what is unforgettable.
Spend time with the underprivileged. Even if you don’t feel like it, push yourself to identify a NGO you can go to. You don’t have to give anything. But, because of that time you’ll spend, I promise you - you will not be the same person again.
A person who shows off one’s humility is as irritating as an arrogant prick. Make sure you are neither of them. Just be real. Proud of your accomplishments, humble in your achievements.
The worst thing you can do is to have a talent and not do something about it. Imagine if your favourite singer hadn’t sang, your favourite writer hadn’t written, your favourite cook hadn’t cooked? How do you know your talent won’t touch or change somebody’s life?
Woman at the Window, Salvador Dali
Last Words
We were in Phuket as a family, celebrating my dad’s 90th - which he brought in by para-sailing and going into the sea on a turbo motor-scooter!! - and spent the 31st December night watching the gorgeous fireworks from a 22nd floor apartment right on Patong Beach. It’s a blessing to still have the warmth, arms and care of the ones I love more than anything I do in this world.
I wish you, my dearest friend, the same circle of love. May it never cease keeping you in its embrace.
A gentle poem of gratitude to fill some moments of your new year.
STOP Press!
I am reading my poetry in two places on Saturday 14th January 2023!
at 430 pm at Srijan, 176, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata
at 745 pm at Poetry Cafe, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2023, at Alliance française du Bengale, Park Mansions, Park Street.
Do be there, if you are in Kolkata!!!
Good Luck Sir for your poetry sessions! I wish I was there.
What fun to see this :) Thank you for sharing, Sunil. And good luck for the poetry readings. Wish I was there too.