My birthday month is always busy and always lit. It is also the birthday month of my best friend and my son making it extra special. It was busy but I am so grateful for the love surrounding me. When you are busy with joyful things, it means that you are loved. And I feel that way everyday.
Every year I retrospect and look at myself, a year older and a year wiser. Now that I am past 50 and know that I have less time on this earth than I have spent on it, I brood over life and the remaining years. With the world in strife and relationships being more about collecting than nurturing, I ponder over the ways for next generation.
They say Gen Z is smart and I hope they are but do they understand about relationships? For a generation that has grown on Facebook friends, do they cherish friendships where you can sit and talk for hours over a cup of chai. How do we teach them that while it is important to look after yourself and individualism, world is better when we learn to coexist. You do not lose control when you let a comment from a friend slide or let your partner have their way. Can we teach them that relationship is about nurturing and investment and is like a slow cooked dal, not instant noodles?
Social media has made everything about numbers – how many friends you have collected, how many people you know, how many likes you have had. But this is not life. Life is about those moments – the memory of that incessant laughter with your friends over a silly joke, the unspoken words with your husband across the table in a family setting, the dance with your parents at the holi function or the memories created with your siblings on a train ride.
I know I have started sounding like an old woman but my life is rich because I have fond memories to look back at and people who love me for who I am – flaws and all. I love that I have relationships that are real and authentic. There are few people who I call friends but then they are my friends, with loyal relationships rather than a metric on social media.
Here’s a snapshot of my August with lots of joy!