Skip to main content

What the New Year Means to Me

 What does the new year mean to me?

I don't know. 

I think it just means that I can give myself another chance to try, fail, succeed.  

I think it means that I can spend time with family, differently this time.

I think it means that I can connect with people and with myself, in new ways. 

I also think that it gives me a chance to see things with a different lens. The kaleidoscope becomes a periscope.

I don't know what else. Every year, I put on a new pair of goggles. Every year, I grow, whether I try, or not.

Some things may work as I had expected them to, some may not.

But who knows? 

I will allow myself to be Novak Djokovic in my arena, who hears his name when the crowd cheers for Nadal or Federer.

I will allow myself to be Rafael Nadal, who always has a plan, no matter how bleak or bright things may seem, and sticks to it.

I will allow myself to be Roger Federer, who glides in, serves, plays and walks out, all in grace and style.

I will allow myself to be the Naomi Osaka that sets boundaries for herself and is not ashamed to lay them out.

I will allow myself to be the Serena Williams who shows up and carries the match with dignity, determination and swagger.

I'll volley the ball. It might hit the net. I might sprain an ankle, I might break. 

But the ball will soon be replaced, and a new one will be thrown to me. 

I think I'll take it, thank you. I've fallen before; it hurts less each time.

The ball is now in my court. And ladies and gentlemen, I enjoy it. 

Comments

  1. Raji Satyamurthy1 January 2024 at 06:44

    Wonderfully expressed Aparna..such positive words. Happy New Year

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nut and Shell

 Coconut Tender as a coconut. Hard as a coconut. Light as a coconut. Heavy as a coconut. I wish I was a coconut Today... A double-shelled, strange coconut. They call those people coconuts Whom they cannot understand, Like tapping on hard rock but not getting hurt- Like knocking against the hollow And shaking a bowl of jingling water That is cushioned by tender walls. Well, maybe people could be coconuts They could have hard shells and tender interiors, A hard crunch but a sweet essence- I would like to believe so. I want to know why I'm fascinated by the coconut. It can't be solely because of its duality. It can't be its beguiling double facedness. What is it, then? I feel like maybe a shaft of light A hollow for each hard tap- Tears through the hard door. An intriguing belt of  adventurous light Wriggles out from apparent darkness. Mystery, mystery. That's what it is. The mysterious coconut.  It has a shell But it has a soul- Shell protects soul, Soul preserves shell I...
Post a Comment
Read more

(How I Wish) People Were Like Poems

Today, I wish people were more like poems.  A sad truth is dawning on me.  I can't just be. Most things just are. No proof required. No justification. Here I feel like an instance Of a class. Some kind of template  With some methods Instantiated. Many of my methods are public. Others comment on them. If I encapsulate, They pry. If I am abstract, They talk. What's going on? I'm not going to plead any more. I'll just shut all the doors. Make all the methods and variables private. Too many people tampering with the balance of it all. Our lives are not portraits or leaflets to hand out. Media often makes us feel so, but existence is way older, Authentic and organic- than the glitzy hood of social media. Human beings, like plants, need space, nourishment and nurturing To thrive. Are plants dependent on these things? Can they not stand on their own roots? They can, and they do. But you cannot neglect  The environmental variables that make them happen. So don't comment on ...
Post a Comment
Read more