March:2014 summary

If february was the month of groping the dark and struggling to find the door to freedom, march was all about being inundated with the new found freedom and being overwhelmed by it. Like a bird freed from a familiar cage, flying into the blue sky with no limits and above all trying to make sense of the new found freedom makes you wonder if the familiar cage was a better companion than this new, unknown surroundings. Still, the heart has taken a decision and so, the mind has to make amends for it and find a way to live with it.

Goal indicators:
1) Being a vegan was hard, but i survived!
2) Donated money to a stranger with kids on the sidewalk.
3) Went to a park in mountain view with some friends, which i have never been to.
4) Went to baba temple early morning and participated in morning seva.

April goals:
1) Avoid rice.
2) Meditate in morning for a few minutes, not touching the smart phone before reaching office.
3) Visit a new place.
4) Do some charity.
5) Give a gift to someone.

Feb 2014 summary

Granted, the blog is late, but i hope i can retroactively feel what happened without giving out much of the later news. The month started with a terrible news of me losing a very valuable opportunity, that i thought was in my kitty and then lost hope gradually as nothing seemed to materialize for my new role aspirations. The frustration and anxiety increased throughout the month and 2010 seemed to linger back again, wondering if i will revert back to old ways? Luckily i did not and as i mentioned in the last month blog, i took the blame upon myself and was looking for ways to improve myself as well as maximizing on referrals through my contact support base. So, overall, even when things didn;t seem to go astray, i did not revert back, which is indeed a significant achievement.

Coming back to resolutions and their progress, here is the update:

a) Avoid coffee: Substitute with green tea + honey.[avoided coffee]

b) Continue with giving a gift to a dear one: gave it to a relative, with whom i shared interesting chemistry. 

c) See a new place: Went to yosemite with some friends.

d) Volunteer in a new place: No progress here. 

Resolutions for the month of the march:

a) Become a vegan: avoid all dairy and egg products. 

b) See a new place. 

c) Give a gift to someone. 

d) Go to saibaba temple for morning seva.

Jan 2014: Summary

January was an interesting month for me. It started with a lot of action and activity, but is ending with a bit of inactivity. So, it is kind of bitter-sweet or sweet-bitter experience, but to term it as a disappointing month would be unfair.

Life goes around in circles and events that have already occurred in life can occur again. What is the purpose, you may ask? And i say, to see if you can choose right answer this time. This has happened to me this time. The memories and events of 2010 unfolded again, with me being in touch with high level managers and their lofty promises, that i with an unsuspecting mind assumed will happen. And when they did not, i smiled away, cracked a few jokes with my colleagues, meditated a bit, played tennis and moved on, thanking god for making the decision for me. I believe that some times god optimizes your choices for you and in this case, he saved me the trouble of choosing. I'm proud,a little bit, that i have moved away from indignation and anger to a different plane of just laughing it off. The anxiety is still there about whether the other options will materialize, but still, the anger and resentment are no longer there. May be meditation does change people? I wish the anxiety and frustration go away with their other cousins, but i will patient with my changes, after all, transformation takes time. Thank you god is all i can say.

With respect to the resolutions, the progress has been good, but not great. Here is the report:

Avoid one food item: Went off well. I decided to leave carbonated drinks and i have stuck to my resolution. I used to have the belief that i need to have soda during the presentation, but it was not needed.

Express gratitude to one person each month: Decided to buy a chrome-cast to some close friends. we really like them and they are very sweet and gentle to us.

See one new place every month: I kinda of faked it, but perhaps i can consider this as done for this month. Went to Tahoe for a company visit and stayed at a ski resort lodge that i have never been to.

Volunteer once each month: Went to the morning seva at the local saibaba temple.

Write the blog at beginning of each month: DONE.

Alright, here come the resolutions for the next month:

a) Avoid coffee: Substitute with green tea + honey.

b) Continue with giving a gift to a dear one.

c) See a new place.

d) Volunteer in a new place.

2014 and resolutions

Welcome 2014! And yes, it was a great to welcome it in all the different ways, my heart would have wanted. Going to the temple and participating in the om namah shivaya chanting and then later enjoying with friends by playing taboo, pictionary and other crazy games...yes, 2014 opening scene was really awesome. Plus going to the temple on the new year's day braving the crowd and a 3 hour wait (that we never really felt), was all pretty awesome. But, now comes the interesting part: resolutions.

Each year, we expect new things and new beginnings, but are they really new? Or have we allowed us to fool ourselves into thinking that they are new, as we are oblivious to our past and too rigid to change our thought patterns? I'm thinking of using my new year resolutions to bring genuine changes in me or at least continue the good changes that have happened in the last year. So,  here is the list:

a) Avoid one food item that i like each month, obviously for health reasons. Some possible suspects are: coffee, coco-cola & soda, white rice et al.

b) Express gratitude to one person each month. These could be anyone, but preferably someone who you would not usually get a chance to do such.

c) Volunteer at least once each month.

d) See one new place every month. Not far, not close...it should not matter. You should visit a place you have not visited before.

e) Write a blog on the beginning weekend of each month. This should high light the previous month summary, any resolutions that were under taken, progress tracker for some daily ongoing resolutions (like meditation, pooja and spiritual book reading)  and anything else that you might find interesting.

Alright, this list is not final and will perhaps be edited in the coming days. But, this looks like a good start.  Other ideas are always welcome (incl. any apps that are being used). Please post them in the comments section.

Looking forward to a great 2014 for everyone.