Monday Musings 276: Year Later..
The
good thing about the end of a year is that it happens every year – and that is
also the bad thing about it. One gets the annual chance to make it different
and meaningful. Many take that chance and many do not.
Last
year I had decided to take a tongue in cheek look at this boisterous exercise
with a rather short shelf life – called resolutions. I thought I shall revisit all
ten of them again and see what happened to them – did they survive the test of
the real world or did they perish prematurely, as is their wont! Needless to
say, just as they were tongue in cheek a year earlier, the tongue continues to
be resolutely and firmly lodged in the cheek. Enjoy!
Here
they go.
1. I will not suffer fools easily – this has turned out to be trickier than I had thought. I suffered them quite benevolently for I realised that for every one person whom I thought to be a fool and quite unworthy of my indulgences, there were at least two who thought I was a fool too. Since they suffered me in silence, I decided to pass on the favour.
2. I will not say yes when I want to say no – This is work in progress, however miles to go. The greater tragedy is those moments when it is assumed to I shall say yes, instead of at least going through the motions of giving me a choice.
3. I will not attend get- together’s and parties – I think I did remarkable well on this one given that I was not invited to many.
4. I will not eat out – I should have articulated this resolution a little differently; I should have also barred myself from eating out during official lunch/dinners. The whole point was to adopt culinary simplicity and not just on my own account.
5. I will not watch TV – I must give myself a pat on my back on this one. I think I can claim with reasonable degree of accuracy that I must not have watched TV (minus of movies) for more than 5 hours in the entire year. I am also happy to report that I have not missed much and feel pretty much on top of my craft and trade.
6. I will not advise or try to motivate people – I wish I had known how difficult this will turn out to be. The urge to add ‘value’ is so deep rooted that I am its first unsuspecting victim. I am trying very hard is all I can say.
7. I will not haggle or bargain with the rickshawwallah, vegetable vendor and other people who make a living on the street. – Absolute success. The fact that I stuck to this even during the demonetisation phase must be its absolute litmus test.
8. I will stay away from technology – as much as I can. I have been miserable failure on this. The virus has only entrenched itself more.
9. I will not fall for brands – refer to the answer in the next point.
10. I will not shop. – I am the most proud of this one. With the notable and very explainable exception of buying a running shoe, I am happy that I did not shop at all – I mean at all!! Not a thread of clothing, electronics, accessory, or any other item of consumption – branded or otherwise. This has been by far the best detox/rehab I have every put myself through. The closets are cleaner and the unused items significantly reduced. There was a moment when I wanted to extend this moratorium on shopping for another year. Thankfully that moment passed.
PS:
I learnt a new word yesterday and that to my mind shall be defining word for
the purpose of bidding the old year a grateful goodbye while I beging to welcome
a brand new one.
Misoniesm - hatred, fear, or
intolerance of innovation or change. (Do we suffer from it
or pretend that we do not suffer from it? I have a full year ahead to answer
it.)
Guru
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