The Month that went by... #AtoZReflections

I sense relief within me with a little bit of heavy heart at the same time. The blog hopping, commenting, replying, sharing... it was a phase full of utter madness and it paid off! It always does! And it always leaves you with a sense of pride.

The month was all about managing my time better, the discipline that is required to carry it off and the lessons learned.

As the AtoZ fever was in the air when the year started by, I had made up my mind on participating for the third consecutive year. Though, I did not think anything beyond that.

As February went by, a dear friend was getting all paranoid about the theme and asked me about it at the same time and I was like, dude... it’s Feb! I have a whole month to think and plan and write...

What I did not realize was this month wouldn’t just pass but would run like an Olympic athlete!

Coming up with the theme:

As always, I was confused and finally went with my heart. There was a reason behind choosing the theme I chose.

It often happens when there are certain things that happen around me and I don’t really feel comfortable about it. I am not that articulate when it comes to keeping my perspective in a group (especially family) and that is when I feel the urge to put it somewhere, to show the other side, to think from another angle different from the way everyone has been seeing all their lives, that there is so much more beyond the stereotypes, that whatever everybody does is always for a reason and explaining all of that to a bunch of people who will never come to the point of agreement, it is kind of futile.

It was all these thoughts that inspired me to come up with this theme, where I thought of writing down everything that I think, follow and believe.

I often hear, what I talk is impractical (for example, my stand on divorced women or looking beyond looks for any marriage or having a baby or not is completely one’s choice and the likes), that all of it happens in books, television series or movies. In reality, it is much more complicated. I completely vouch for it being complicated but I also vouch for the fact that it exists, that things are changing around us and that we need to change ourselves if we want the change in our society.

A to Z feelings:

Expressing my thoughts this A to Z Challenge was beyond gratifying. It made me happy because I realized I wasn’t the only one who thinks this way. With like-minded bloggers, I got an immense support and motivation, not to mention wings to my thoughts and confidence to express them loud out there.

The Discipline that came with A to Z:

Initially, I had close to 18 posts scheduled (which is so not me!) and I was doing fine but as they were coming to an end, I was panicking because I was falling out of stories but eventually every day in the evening, I sat down and wrote the post for the next day and scheduled it and started with my blog hopping.

It was the first time I had scheduled these many posts and I was happy that I did. Writing every day became kind of a ritual that I would want to continue with. April is now over and this is just the second blog post this month but I am writing every day without fail. I hope to continue this way.

Lessons Learned:

What I understood this month is when we have a deadline coming up or a challenge that we take up, we make our minds continuously think and ponder over things; we push ourselves (beyond our limits) to the extent that we never do otherwise and feel surprised for the way we perform. I, for one, have countless thoughts in my mind which I feel like writing but I don’t. I just postpone (which I am expert at) and make an excuse to myself. I assume on my own that the topic is not worthy of being written or desirable enough to form a blog post.

But this time, even the slightest or tiniest of the idea took the shape of a complete blog post. It was kind of an eye-opener for me and I’d like to keep my eyes open now.

Contented with the numbers:

I’m not a number person. Yes, I do feel happy when I reach a certain benchmark but I don’t get finicky if I don’t have them. This year, during the A to Z, my blog entered the 6-digit figure and it felt contended and worthy of everything, worthy of investing time in my blog and the peace of mind that comes with it.

Readers Choice:

‘Arranged Marriage’ was one post that caught maximum attention with the highest number of views. Other posts that intrigued the readers and compelled them to think over were Beautiful Bride, Extra Marital Affair, Identity, Quit and Understand.

You can read all the posts here.

Verdict:

All in all, it was fun writing all month and I am happy that I survived!

A big Thank you to everyone who stopped by and encouraged me with their beautiful comments and thank you to the ones who did not stop by (it only pushed me more to improve my content).

So tell me, did you participate this year? How was it? What did you learn? Where did you struggle the most?

Cheers

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Are you the Change?

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” is one quote that resonates with me like none other.

I remember I was a child when I read this, not sure where but it caught my attention and made so much sense. While growing up, I could see the flaws in our society, especially for the girls and it always remained in my heart. What also remained was the desire to bring the change.

There was a time when I was really adamant at making things right around me, prevent things which couldn’t be justified and wanted everyone to change according to my thought process. And I failed... miserably!

It felt like the moment of truth... I realized it is so much simpler to make kids understand things and tell them what is right or wrong. It’s also easier to make them admit their mistake but at the same time, it becomes quite a task when we talk about adults. Everyone thinks they’re right... even if they aren’t they wouldn’t accept that because they think it will make them small in front of the world.

Even if people are ready to accept their mistakes they hardly want to change. Call it their habit or sheer laziness or pure ignorance but they like the system they’re adapted to and don’t want to come out of their comfort zone. And that is why change is so much resisted.

Everyone has a problem with the system yet no one wants to make the first move. Everyone wants to live their lives on their own terms and yet no one comes out publicly and eventually becomes part of the so-called society!

Everyone wants to be a part of the cattle gait and shoo away even the thought of doing things which might sound quirky or bizarre to the society.

It was never easy... to change things around and so I changed myself. I always opted for non-conventional options and wanted to do something that doesn’t follow the typical societal norm.

I did not like the conservatism around me and I became a liberal. I believe if someone wants to do something (which may not follow the usual path) then it is totally up to them to decide, it is simply their prerogative to make a choice of what they want to do with their lives and head forward... It is not our business. Period. And that is the reason why I never question/judge anyone’s decision for that matter. I totally get it if people do things for the way they do.

Source

Also, when I face difficult situations, deep in my heart, I always wish if someone understood me better and that is the reason why I try to be the person who understands people in spite of all the odds against them. I always try to empathize with them and make an effort to do my bit... because I believe the rest shall automatically follow.

Change starts with us... within us... through us... by us... for us!

And it is not just about the thoughts and stuff, it is also about doing your part... simple acts like not wasting water, electricity etc, not loitering around, being kind to others and countless things that we do in our daily lives. This bit by bit would bring a huge change, I sense!

As Dalai Lama quotes, ‘If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”

Tell me which is that one quote that moves you and you live by it? Tell me about the quote that shapes you, that you breathe through day and night?

Cheers 

This post has been selected as the WOW entry by Blogadda.

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