Hello there,
Let me start off by wishing you a very happy new year!
But, Aparna, it's February already!
I know, but let's glance once again at the title of this issue. Yep, February will indeed be my January.
I did not start the year on a great note at all. I share spare you the details but believe me when I say that January left me feeling like I had been turned inside out and I was left to my own devices to find my way back to myself.
A lot of learning and unlearning to do.
In this process, which is still very much ongoing, I discovered that you don't really go 'back' to yourself, you make a new you. A few parts of that are what you used to be, a few parts are totally new, built from scratch, but essentially, you are upgrading, forming a new version of yourself.
And February is going to be the time when I'll start trying to build myself up again. I don't want to imply in any way that February is going to be 'my' month or that everything will finally fall into place, because honestly, that's not within my control. It's foolish of me to even put out a statement like that since that would boomerang right back at me.
What I'm saying instead is that this past January, I let myself be. I let myself lay in the pile of ashes and dust that I had been turning into. I let myself be, I let myself feel, I let myself survive. And now, having done exactly that, a small flame is beginning to rekindle which is lending me the energy to begin. That's it. When I say February will be my January, I'm saying that I will begin.
During my period of quiet existence this past month, I came face to face with a lot of conditioned notions that I've held on to, which have been quite a shocking revelation to realise and then to unlearn.
Through these unlearnings, I'm being introduced to newer, healthier, long-lasting approaches to look at life. And that's what my February will be spent in. To try and place these approaches in my life, to slowly and steadily pick up the pieces and start moulding this newer version of myself.
What will she turn out like? I have no clue. I'm as clueless as you are, but even more curious.
On that note, let's come to how you spent your 2022. Now that we've closed one month of the new year, here are a few questions I prompt you to ask yourself. Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts, ponderings and answers. I look forward to having a dialogue with you.
1. How did you start your 2022?
2. Describe your January in a few words, what was the underlying theme of your month?
3. What are your takeaways from the last month?
4. How are you approaching February?
5. What are some of the tips you've picked along the way that make you feel like you're truly living your life?
