New Year, New Adventures, A New Resolution

Is it just me, or did 2016 just fly right by? I still remember last New Year’s Eve so clearly, like it was yesterday! I decided then that I was done with repeating the same mistakes of always complaining about life but never actually doing anything about it. Hence, in 2016 I set out to work on my blog, my freelance business, really focus on self-growth and just live. This is exactly what I did, which is why 2016 will always have a special place in my heart.

Naturally, this New Year I want to take things up a notch. I want to elevate my goals and do more than just ticking things off of a check-list. Last night, I was just reflecting on life in general and stumbled upon an epiphany (I do that a lot, btw). I realized how blessed I am and yet I fail to truly optimize all that I have. I have amazing parents who always made sure that nothing stood in the way of my freedom and I am always going to be so thankful for that. I have amazing friends who have always been such big contributors to my self-growth and are such an amazing support system. I have worked hard and achieved so much in terms of academics and career goals. Thus, it would be stupid, considering all of the good that I have in my life, to not fully take advantage of it all.

Therefore… my ongoing resolution, not just 2017, would be to eliminate the myth of having constraints and to live life boundlessly. I have the advantage of having all kinds of freedom, I just never saw it that way. I have personal freedom, considering I am the master of my own life and I get to do whatever I deem fit. I worked hard to build my career and so I have the financial freedom to make decisions that help me get closer to my goals. Thanks to my amazing friends and family, I have the social support system and the freedom of knowing I have people who care if shit ever hits the fan. Being a citizen of such an amazing country like Canada that continues to support human rights and gives its citizens the privileges that many fail to give is a form of freedom none of us should ever take for granted. Hence, considering all of this, it is my duty to ensure that I live my life optimally and not waste the blessings that have been bestowed upon me.

I had this neat analogy that I was sharing with my mom the other day. Many people, in this case fish, live their lives in constraints, aka, aquariums. Hence, they try their best to live the best they can by making such aquariums their homes, exploring it, familiarizing themselves with it, and simply being happy with what they have. Now, if you’re the gang of fish from the movie Finding Nemo, are successful at escaping the aquarium and manage to dive into the ocean, you’re one of the very few, unique souls on the planet. However, if we just continue living in the same manner that we did when we were in the aquarium by just circling around the same, limited radius without ever venturing in to the unknown, what was the point of escaping in the first place? Sure, maybe you’re doing more than what you did when you were trapped, but are you still doing all that you can? That is the question I am going keep asking myself henceforth.

Yes, I have a job but is it the the job? Yes, I like traveling but am I truly exploring? Yes, I read but am I comprehending? Yes, I am practicing my creativity but am I experimenting fearlessly? Am I? No, I am not! And I need to change that. My resolution for 2017 is to live more. It is to truly rejoice, to really breathe and take in the wonderful phenomenon of living. It is to genuinely and curiously explore, not only places but myself and the culture that surrounds me. The culture of music, the culture of literature, the culture of love. My resolution is to explore life and all of its wondrous beauty without the fear and the doubt we often construct around it. To truly discover living in all its forms, both the ugly and the good.

And that is my resolution that I will continue to improvise over the years, not just 2017.