Resolutions

It’s that time of the year again…

Since moving to Mumbai nearly 4 years ago, every year come December, I start feeling gloomy. Most of the year, I am thankful for all that happens in my life (and also all that doesn’t). But as the year ends and people around me start writing on or discussing the year that was, I realize I have not stuck to a single resolution I had made the previous year (sigh!). That makes me quite sad L

For me, the word ‘resolution’ looks more like ‘re – solution’, to realize that you are back at square one at the beginning or rather than at the end of 12 months of thinking … “This year I will really get rid of these things/ men/ junk/ job”. So, its time to make one more solution – re-solution in (futile) hope that the coming year will magically do away with all the things that I want but what may not be good for me.

I am thinking about what Oscar Wilde said in Lady Windermere’s Fan that we are all in gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars (gutter takes a very relevant meaning in Mumbai). A quick round asking for resolutions quickly confirmed that some of us do have resolves to reach the stars (or alternatively, go for vacations), eat less, come on time, try not to murder their in-laws, have babies…. Since the list is pretty long, I thought why not share the top 3 resolutions that everyone aspires to keep (and towards the year end we can always say ‘it is the effort that counts’)

“I will loose weight” – contrary to the articles I read almost daily in lifestyle sections of newspapers accusing models and actresses of anorexia, most of the people around me (including me) complain of excess weight. We spend whatever time we get day dreaming (sometimes even night dreaming) of how nice it would be if we could fit into all the fancy clothing that looks like it would have fitted my 10 years younger clone (and I am not old). If only exercise was a pill!

“I will go to….” – Bora Bora, Singapore, Dubai, USA, London, Turkey or Titwala… we all resolve that in the year ahead, we will strike a balance in our lives. That means going on vacations, visiting friends, spending more time with pets, family, boyfriend, husband, wife (not necessarily in that order), doing the personal bit of CSR (we always get inspired to do when we read about someone making a difference). But how much of it will we actually achieve? Ofcourse, there is always the phrase we fall back on … “I wish my day had 36 hours!”

“I will learn to say NO…” – No is a very powerful word. I learnt it when in my primary classes I always confused it with ‘know’ and that had serious repercussions (serious according to my mom) in my report card with red mark. It can have different connotations. It can be a powerful and emphatic ‘no’ or a soft ‘no’ or a ‘no’ when we actually mean ‘yes’. Frequently it means ‘No’ to extra work coming your way, veggies you are forced to eat, endless follow-ups that never seem to end, to parents, in-laws, nuclear weapons, pollution, acne… without feeling the sense of discomfort we always do!

For those, who are still to make their lists, let me leave some food for thought for the year ahead… When was the last you did something for the first time?