Why 2023 Is One Of The Best Years Of My Life

2023 is going to go down as one of the best years of my life. If you ask me why, I won’t be able to give you a definite answer. There have been no major changes in my life. I live in the same city, in the same house, with the same person, work at the same job, same salary, same title. And yet, I was the happiest in 2023. I wonder why.

Let’s find out.

READING:

I rediscovered the joy of reading. If you read like it’s a task, it’s of no use. You should read only if you enjoy it. Read what you like, read for only 10 minutes if that’s your attention span, but read. Every day. Cumulatively, I gained a lot of pleasure in reading this year.

EXERCISE:

I had stopped working out in 2022. With the help of my cousins, I started to work out again. And again, it’s not about working out for hours. I could work out for only 30 minutes in the morning, so I did 30 minutes. But cumulatively those 30 minutes every day has yielded great results. There is a beautiful lake park in my neighborhood. I would find excuses not to go there. But this year, I went there at least three times a week on average. The sound of water, the floating and flying birds, the flowers, the lush green hills, the fellow joggers – they gave me immense joy this year.  Walking by yourself is like meditation. You go inward while appreciating the outward. So much joy!

 WRITING:

I accomplished my resolution for 2023. I completed my first feature film screenplay. For the last three years, every year I would resolve to complete it but couldn’t. This year, I finally did it. Writing makes you a writer. I am a writer now. I can call myself a writer, among other things. Writing this story was extremely stressful and rewarding at the same time. Writing is one of the most difficult art forms. To be able to write consistently every day, fighting the writer’s block, find the courage to write after realizing your writing is no good, just keep writing and deal with self-loathing for writing such shit. But I did it. It was very rewarding when I wrote the last page. And now I am working on rewriting the first draft.

BAKING:

This year, I wanted to do things just for the sake of it. Not to upgrade myself or not to boast about it. I love cakes. Not the regular birthday cakes with lots of sugar and icing. The homemade banana bread, brownies etc. so I got myself a gift of an oven and started baking. It didn’t always turn out good, but my success rate was good. Shreesha and I enjoyed eating homemade, whole wheat, raw sugar, cakes and brownies. Brought a lot of joy.

GARDENING:

Gardening is another thing I have always wanted to learn and do. I wanted to break this notion I had about myself that I kill plants. I can never keep a plant alive. Last year, I got a jade plant for Christmas from one of my team members and I made it a point to take care of it. When the plant survived after a few months, I decided to take it up a notch and started a balcony garden. It turned into an obsession and I had to stop myself from spending too much money on gardening. But it was very rewarding and satisfying. It is a difficult skill, especially in the limited space of balcony where there isn’t enough sunlight. My success rate is not very good but the point is I was doing it for the sake of it, not to be successful. And I derive a lot of joy from watching the plants grow. Shreesha says – my heart becomes full of joy when I see a new leaf sprouting out of the soil.

RELATIONSHIPS:

During COVID, if there is one thing that I have appreciated the most is people. Human touch. This year, I had some qualitative, not quantitative, relationships. My relationship with my family, friends, cousins got more intimate. I found a lot of joy in their company. We went to trips together, had long conversations with them, had a lot of fun together. Didn’t make any new friends, that is something I want to work on but don’t know how. I am happy with my existing set of friends and loved ones. Don’t really feel the need for a new one. I understood the value and importance of these people in my life. This year, I appreciated them and celebrated them.

MONEY:

In my four decades of life, I had money problems only during the three years as a grad student in the US. Before and after that, I always had sufficient money. Not a lot but enough. For the last year and a half, I have been struggling with money. I make decent amount of money to feed two people and yet I run out of money in the middle of the month. Ridiculous! I started keeping books for every rupee spent. I have understood money management a little better this year. I have understood the value of money. Money can’t buy you everything, but it buys you most of the important things.

ME-TIME:

Shreesha is growing up fast and with that, she is more and more independent and mature. This year, I was able to spend some time for myself, away from her. A few hours a week, just for myself. Those few hours every Saturday go a long way and it has helped me become a better mother, a better friend, a better professional, a better writer, a better human being. It’s like a reboot, like a reset button for me. I rejuvenate during these few hours and ready myself for a new productive week. The entire credit goes to Shreesha and her maturity. We have our mother-daughter time and then she says – now it’s me-time. And we both have our respective me-time where we spend a few hours away from one another.  

So yea, these are the factors that made 2023 one of the best years of my life. It doesn’t sound like much but that’s the whole point. The greatest reassurance I got this year was that joy lies in little things. In the present moment. Instead of chasing something big in the future, just sit back, observe. Live the moment. Be engrossed in the task you are performing in the moment, regardless of how important or how menial the task is. Be one with your surrounding and you’ll see that it’s a wonderful world!