As I get older.

Every 1st Jan, marks a day when our age increases by a year, irrespective of the month you are born. We all plan to do something differently ( eat, play, exercise, drink, family, friends etc. ) Some of these are but a reflection of what we need to do right now to get our life in the right direction or sometimes it could be to fix some sins of omission and commission of the past.

When you are a child, you are completely dependent on your parents until you become rebellious teenagers/youth and then basically earn your keep. Somewhere along the way nature and nurture conspire to make us what we are and forces us to constantly evolve (like the COVID virus does). Those who don't evolve end up as followers or critics.

However, I have realised a few things about myself and these are more generalised and not a confession. So here are 20 points and 2 quotes:

1. Food biases which tend to creep in your early days tend to stay with you for life.
2. Friends at school and college who were carefree and ideology free are now secular, sickular and what not. It is difficult to be part of actual and virtual groups where ideology upstages everything else. So much for the Metaverse
3. Recently minted NRI's (over 8 lakh have renounced Indian citizenship in the last 8 years) are far more critical of the country than local residents. Quite often they forget is that this country made them what they are.
4. Affluence brings with it some bad habits such as food indiscipline and lack of exercise. The Neo-rich also have a sense of entitlement and very poor road manners.
5. COVID may become endemic but polarisation across the world seems to be the larger problem. Politicians now tend to rely more on criticism than vision and capability to win votes
6. We have seen the rich get richer during the pandemic and the rest becoming poorer. Stock Market indices do not reflect the true nature of an economy but a select few believe its a good barometer
7. Women are increasingly getting into leadership positions and the pace is getting accelerated but we still have a long way to go.
8. It is easier to click on icons, smileys etc. than to make a phone call even when WhatsApp now has a calling button.
9. Binge watching is now a cure for solitude and will likely have long term effects. I have personally experienced my memory getting affected or perhaps I am just getting older
10. When nothing else works we turn to GOD , until that time, we are happy not to bother him/her. Religion is not be confused with spirituality and religion is now a multinational organization
11. People are getting more apprehensive and fearful partly due to covid and its impact on their financial and physical well being, but could do well to remember this Maxim Gorky (quote from Mother) “This fear is what is the ruin of us all. And some dominate us; they take advantage of our fear and frighten us still more. Mark this: as long as people are afraid, they will rot like the birches in the marsh. We must grow bold; it is time!”
12. All the social media networks in the world cannot make you soup when you are sick. Online pharmacies cannot diagnose your illness and insurance companies are unlikely to attend your funeral.
13. Growing old is a physical and mental challenge and spirituality can perhaps help you manage this better.
14. Don't lose sight of what you want to do and excel at what you are doing. The rest (awards, increments, promotions , money etc.) become irrelevant over a period of time.
15. Resume writing and communication is a skill as well as an art. I see so many stupid grammatical and typographical errors that I wonder whether spell/grammar check is used at all. We now have more features and options that decisions are now made based on optics rather than value.
16. Received several HNY greetings, half of which were forwards.
17. Marriages can get better over time if both partners understand each other without letting the ego coming in the way. Always find time for your spouse/family, they will always be there.
18. Indian boys are still pampered and have a long way to go before they get out of their mother's shadow. It is an immense loss to civil society when mothers favour sons over daughters.
19. Relationship is not the same thing as friendship. The former requires two people to remain both involved and committed.
20. Grass is never greener on the other side. It's the gardener who makes the difference.

Here's another quote to end this blog: “Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.”
― Maxim Gorky, The Lower Depths and Other Plays

HAPPY NEW YEAR and yes... you are getting older.