Hurry less, live more

Here's a simple post on 'slowing down' from Zen Habits that I enjoyed:

How Not to Hurry.

No ground-breaking theories in there but if you're currently mired up in a crazy crazy world, consider it a reminder.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Life is short

A former colleague of mine passed away from cancer today. He was 30 and is survived by his wife and 3 little children under the age of 5. Although we worked together, I didn't really know him personally except that he was heavily into DJ-ing, fantasy football and loved big houses. But I still feel a heaviness and my heart goes out to his family, especially his little kids who will have no memory of him when they grow up, except from pictures and stories told to them. I feel a void inside and can't help thinking what if it happened to myself or someone I knew closely. I really don't know how I would handle something like this.

I am reminded that life can be every bit as fragile as it is resilient. Every bit as empty as it is full. Every bit as ephemeral as long-lasting. And we must never take it for granted. It reinforces my belief that we must follow our dreams and passions and live every day like it's the last one. It also reinforces my belief that we must expand our mental boundaries and get rid of pettiness from our hearts. In the grand scheme of things, the time and effort spent on pettiness is entirely wasteful. I am truly thankful for the wonderful life I've had so far and for my family and friends.

And always remember - Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around. (Vanilla Sky)

So long and thanks for all the fish

It's been an interesting year and decade on the personal front. In a nutshell, the 'boring' part can be summarized as - completed undergrad, grad school and found a job. The interesting parts however: many friendships made, some lost, lifestyles changes, outlook and attitude changes, new opinions and ideas, self-discovery, new interests and passions, new curiosities everyday etc.....in short, that's been the passing of the third decade of my life! One in which I did my 'growing up' from a child to an adult. :-) 

At the cost of sounding cheesy however, I have to mention that the highlight of my decade has been Ashwin. I am fortunate enough to be among those people who can truly say that I've found my soul mate. I had imagined up this perfect relationship and marriage in my mind and was starting to get disillusioned halfway through my 20s that I was going to give up eventually and settle for some guy after succumbing to the pressures to get married. In fact, I had given up on anything magical happening and was terrified of marrying some guy who wouldn't "get" me ....that my life would become mundane and routine and be devoid of passion. That's when I met Ashwin. We almost didn't happen ...and yet we did. Six years later, we're still magical together and still perfect for each other. I got my fairy-tale marriage after all. I hope he did too. ;-)

As interesting as the past decade has been and as much as I'd like to freeze time right about....now, I'm all eyes and ears for the coming years. I've lived in 7 cities across 2 countries in the first 3 decades of my life and it has been quite a ride. Thanks to my parents, they've made some amazing opportunities and experiences possible for me, several of which have changed my outlook forever. They taught me to view every move, every change with a positive attitude and make the most of them. I'm excited about further new experiences and adventures in the coming years. Where will we be ten years from now? Hmm.....