Wednesday, January 6, 2016

After a hiatus

The past few months went by in such a speed that it was a bit of shock for me when I realised that the year is almost over now and my last blog post was in April. I think that ever since I took to active blogging there has never been such a huge gap in my blogging career. Of course, there are many reasons for my not blogging as frequently as I would have loved to. But, heart in heart I was conscious of the fact that my blog was neglected. So, here I am at the start of another year, trying to keep up with the pace of time.

Life during these past months was hectic and full of happenings. I finally realised my dream of trekking in the Himalayas, visited many places, saw and did many new things, actively pursued my long forgotten hobby of birdwatching - all the while trying hard to balance work and family. Sometimes life was tough, but thankfully, I never buckled under pressure for long. No matter what the challenges were, I was able to overcome them eventually.

The greatest challenge was to stay away from social media - especially Facebook. Until a few months ago, I was a very active member of some literary groups and for me, it was a tough choice to log out and remain offline. But, after a couple of weeks, it was easier for me to remain offline than be online on the social media. For one, I could devote all those time to finally try and build my business. Secondly, and more importantly, I was fed up with the extent of negativity and polarisation happening in there. These months spent away from the social media gave me the opportunity to concentrate more on positive things. Now I feel refreshed and positive about things around me.

The only concern perhaps was that most of the so-called friends there seemed to have forgotten me once I logged out of the virtual world. A couple of them did reach out via phone and I was thrilled to hear from them. A few I tried to reach out but found their response rather lukewarm. I did miss the heated discussions and leg pulling and all the fun I used to have out there. But, these were amply compensated by the travels and other outdoor activities. I knew that the real life is out there...

As I look back at these months, I feel happy for all that I could achieve. I think I have become wiser from the experiences I had. There are a few ever-cherishable moments and a few forgettable moments. But then, what is life without ups and downs?

So, here I am - trying to do what I enjoy most. The new year is already almost a week old. I seem to have started it on the right note, by doing things that matter to me and my dear ones. I have decided to concentrate on the positives and try not to be affected by the negativities around. There is more to life in reality - let me get going...


Of Little Trips and Great Learnings

The other day, we (some staff, volunteers and service users of Mary Seacole House, Liverpool) went on a day trip to Llangollen. This wasn&#...