2023 has already come to an end. It feels like I walked into January literally yesterday - how!?
For me, 2023 was the year of seeking peace above everything else, even if that meant keeping my aspirations & ambitions secondary. Not always do they go together I guess? Ultimately, what matters isn’t the number of goals I achieved or tasks I completed, but how I feel about it all - am I happy & content with what I did? 2023 was the year I often asked this question to myself. It was a year of transitions, interesting journeys, and deep gratitude. As I reflect back on the year, I’m overwhelmed by the places I’ve visited, the experiences I’ve had, and the people I’ve met along the way.
Spending time with family
This year I’m glad I spent a generous amount of time with my family & friends - the people who care for me & the people I care for.
My grandmother has been complaining that since school & college ended, I haven’t stayed for more than a day at their place. I think that’s because the concept of summer vacations doesn’t exist anymore - the time the time school breaks for summer & we run away to our granparents places. So, this year I decided to spend a mini summer vacation with my grandmother in Solapur. She was the happiest. That’s when I realized - that is all our granparents want from us, to be a part of our lives & spend some time together. Let’s do it while we still can. I also visited my cousins. I ran around the farm with them, while they’d still want to. Once teenage hits, I bet they won’t even talk to me, let alone running around plucking fruits.
I feel particularly this year, again after 2021, tested my love for myself & my family. Mom injured her knee & was on bed rest for months and that single handedly taught me how to be a functional adult. I learnt to cook for myself & mom. I learnt to take care of other things at home. I learnt how to take good precautionary care of our health.
Once mom was a little better & could start walking, although slowly, we decide to start the work for renovating our house. The experience completely change me - it taught me patience - more about it later. Well since we renovated, this was also the year we spent Diwali at home, for the first time, after Pappa. It felt incomplete, but I was content the 3 of us were together.
Travelling & interacting with all ages
Is it just me or do we all usually only make friends our age? As I travelled to new places & met new people - I realized that you don’t necessarily need to be of the same age to bond.
Travelling to places which showcase the real beauty of our planet brings out the inner child in me. I go flower plucking, fruit picking & just run around like I’ve been set free out of a cage. Travelling solo, in a group (the patal bhuvneshwar trip) was by far my favourite.
I officially learnt yoga this year. My parents have been teaching me yoga since I can remember but you know we don’t value it unless we learn from outsiders. It was good to learn that we can do so much if we remove mental constraints of “I can’t”. I never thought that I could do a head stand / shirshasana or the crow pose / kakasana. But just after a couple of days, I could! And I could, only when the teacher said “The body is not you, you’re so much more than your body - you can feel the pain only if you decide to feel the pain”
Friends, feasts, farmhouses & fun
In the end of May this year, a close friend of mine Anushka (check her page out at your own risk 😝) planned a mini getaway to her farmhouse with me & a couple other friends. It was peak summer, the place was close to where I grew up, sea was just around & the farmhouse was all about wilderness. I was in absolute awe throughout the whole trip. How could one property have so many trees on it!?
Needless to say, I had the best time. I think even her parents felt that I had the best time of all her friends! We plucked so many fruits - mangoes, bananas, jackfruits, black karwande (local wild berries). Then we drove down to the beach, had a relaxing dinner, watched trees glow up with fireflies at night & slept on the terrace. The happiest 2 days I spent.
Did I enjoy? Yes. Do I want to go back again? Absolutely. Have I mentioned it to her? Ofcourse.
And then in Dec, another friend of mine - Niyati invited me to her grandparents’ farmhouse in Mangalore. Did I say No? No. Could I say No? No.
Mangalore was a completely new experience for me, the cuisine, the temples around, the food, the vibe - everything was new. But there was a calming undertone to the whole experience. We visited 3 temples & had temple food at each - it was wholesome. We also went to the beach to watch the sunset. The next day we strolled around the property, had a relaxing breakfast, roamed around Mangalore city & said goodbye to her grandmother :)
The first ever big fat Indian Wedding that I attended!
One of my friends, Jasleen, got married this year. It came as a surprise for me, but I’m glad she gave me time to prepare & plan my outfits. 3 elaborate days, with beautiful cermonies & rituals in a city new to me - Hyderabad. And the best oart of it all? The group of friends - we’d all grown up together, staying in the same society. We were all together for 3 days, it was like a full fledged getaway with feast for every meal, dance, fun & celebration.
Can I end this without mentioning the tough times I’ve had this year? Yes I can. Will I? No.
Tough times - what I learnt & ending on a calmer note
The travel stories & fun times that I wrote about above are the times I’m really really grateful for. But how many days out of 365 can they be, if summed up together? Hardly 25/365. What about the other 340 days, Mrunal? Yes, most of them were tough. But I’m grateful for these, too. for they’ve taught me a lesson I won’t ever forget - endurance.
I cannot even imagine going back in time & feeling how it felt when mom severely injured her knee (& what ensued). I do not ever want to re-live the tough 3.5 months of renovating our house, while staying in it. I cannot imagine feeling helpless & worn out again. I cannot imagine sleeping in dust again & waking up to broken stuff inching closer to me, every single day. Moving to a new city & the thought of mom staying alone at home - it is very comforting? Not at all. Finding a new place to stay, managing daily needs & deciding to stay with complete strangers - is it easy? Not for me. But I did it anyway.
And guess what - I learnt so much. I won’t dwell much in the tough times, but they’re worth mentioning too. These days make the other days brigher, chirpier & fun. Because once you’ve experienced this, you know how it feels when nothing’s fun, so you naturally enjoy & soak in all the calm, peace & joy whenever there is, wherever there is.
Tough times taught me to cook really good food too! Ofcourse my mom doesn’t think it’s tasty but she ate it without hesitation so I take it as an approval! The top right picture shows all that I cooked a couple of days ago - vegetable Biryani & raita!
2023 - let’s wrap!