As we are getting closer to the new year, it’s time for year-end reflections. What a year this has been, unforgettable in many ways. Since we all are stuck at home with minimal distractions, I tried to take advantage of it.
Listed below are some projects I worked on this year:
- Published Get Motivated coloring book – Volume 5 of The Art of Now – Color Me series.
- Took part in #The100DayProject – Looking ahead to sharing details in an upcoming project with all the artwork created.
- Started sharing reflections from experiences and learnings in the Reflections Along The Way podcast.
- Completed studying the book Self-Unfoldment with a great group of people.
I reflected on the most important lesson this year. I always came back to the thought—We are all connected.
For most of my life, I believed I was the creator of my destiny. I thought I can achieve whatever I set as my goal. I never realized that everything is not in my control. Many things depend on nature, other people, etc., besides my effort. That attitude motivated me to work hard to achieve whatever I set my mind to. It also made me feel incomplete.
That changed for me somewhere along the way this year. I probably started paying attention to how interdependent and connected we are at the start of the pandemic. As the year passed by, this realization strengthened with every experience. After all, we are driven by our actions and reactions as a collective unit. The illustration above is a reflection of that thought process. Our thoughts become our actions propelling others’ reactions via thoughts and actions. This made me realize the importance of sharing and the importance of wishing for everyone’s well-being. Our happiness is dependent on the happiness of everyone around us.
I used to argue with people whenever they used the word “lucky” because I never really believed in luck. Now I realize the context in which they were using the word. They probably meant it in a way that the environment was also conducive to making stuff happen. We can argue that we are responsible for the environment. It becomes a certain way through our thoughts and actions. It works vice versa and it is a clear illustration of how connected we are.
Sometimes, I feel a simple thing that is crystal clear now takes a long time to sink in. It causes a shift in our thinking. And it feels like duh, how did I not see this before.
I am thankful this year for all the kind words and encouragement from several people. I connected with some of them after many years.
Wishing you all a joyous holiday season. Have a wonderful 2021!
Bluishmuse 