The Ride of 2016

Yep, one more year ticked off the chart.

How did it go? Did I like it? Was this year better than the last? Did I learn new lessons?

Questions reflexively burst forth from your conscience onto yourself as you look over your shoulder at the year and assess everything that went on with you. And to be honest, this wasn’t a good year. I won’t say it was bad, since a couple of great things happened, but it wasn’t good either if I take a general survey. Every single year is universally relative. What is great for some people won’t be that great for other people. It’s shaded in different colours, like the image I’ve featured for the post. You must have enjoyed 2016 yourself and may wish another year like this should come but in my opinion, I’m hoping I don’t go through bad years like this again.

Too many problems issued between my family and arguments have been hollering around the walls so much that my reaction to a fresh continuation of where they left off has been rendered neutral at this point. A lot of happiness has been burned, but I’m praying these are phoenixes. Phoenixes are reborn from the ashes after they die. Happiness will come back, I pray, back the way it was before. It can’t be destroyed permanently. No, no way. Krishna can’t do this to us. This is just a phase and we’ll get through it.

A part of my dissatisfaction is contributed by myself. The reason: I have not finished the fourth part of my fantasy series, even though I started it way back in October 2015. It only took six months each to finish off the previous three but with this one, I lost the fire to push myself into binge writing mode. I still don’t know how that happened and to assure myself, I’ve been telling myself to look upon it as a needed break and that once 2017 is born, I can square my shoulders and come back to the avatar I love of myself. Focused, dedicated and swift. A strong dose of OCD overcame me like a tide, drenching me in it with it’s mean paranoia and poisoning my concentration to my book. I’ve just recently got over it and it’s a good sign I’m coming back to normal.

Death rattled my family this year as well, which though was painless, natural and quick , therefore blessed, for the soul that passed away, it was a little traumatic for the rest of us. The second eldest brother of my maternal grandfather was snatched from us a fortnight ago, while he was on a business trip to Northern India. The last time any of us, including his wife, saw him was one and half months before it and to see him come back in this state was a terrible experience, shattering every single person.

My paternal grandmother got diagnosed with severe health problems recently and all I can say is:

Don’t take food or water for granted.

Don’t you ever.

Every time you begin a meal, pray to the Goddess of Food that you should be blessed to eat delicious meals like this until your very last breath. Nothing is worse than being restricted of certain nutrients due to damages in your physiology. And each time you drink a glass of water, pray to Mother Ganga to always bless you with the ability to drink her to your heart’s content till the end. Don’t ever waste her in any way and shrug her off for anything in the world. It’s a harsh curse you’ll be inflicting upon yourself.

Don’t you ever take anything for granted.

Just a couple of days ago me and my bestie were talking about 2016 and since I wasn’t the only one to have had an unpleasant year, we more or less resembled Rachel, Monica and Phoebe from the episode of George Stephanopoulos.

 

Do you have a plan? I don’t have a pleh …

Didn’t you have anything good to have happened to you at all, Deepika?

The answer is Oh, yes!

Now that the depressing part of my 2016 ride is over, I’m going to brighten up the mood with everything good that happened.

First off was the amazing and unexpected holy pilgrimage to Char Dham at Uttarakhand – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. I wrote this fantastic experience episode by episode on my blog the moment I returned. You can check it out if you wish to by clicking here. It was so wonderful that any time I felt down or stressed, I’d read all the episodes and fuel my energy again. F.R.I.E.N.D.S became my source of refuge this year as well. I’d watch a series of chosen episodes and an hour later, I’ll forget about what worried me so much and I’m prepared to do something constructive and stop moping around like an idiot.

Second, the publication of Ethereal: The Dawn of the Blue. 

After fighting with the publishing world for so long, Leadstart Publishing of Mumbai, India, took up the first book of my fantasy series and published it on October 6. With everything happening in my family, this book was really the only light to keep us going and the publishing process and release blessed us all with a huge smile. Reviews from my friends brought out the real me out of my gloom and I’m hoping for more of them to come my way.

Let’s see what 2017 has in store for us. I really hope it will be a good and happy year. We’re going back to our house in our hometown for New Year, where it always gives us a beautiful start and keeps its word, protecting us in its blessed bubble. We didn’t go there for 2016, which wasn’t actually a good idea.

A very happy New Year 2017 to each and every one of you, guys. Always stay blessed, safe and healthy and keep that smile intact.

Jai Shree Krishna ❤