Adieu, 2024

And just like a blink of an eye, 2024 bids goodbye.

This is a moment to pause, almost like a ritual, to say goodbye to what had been and welcome what's to be.

To stay with the 'isness' and just be as it was defined in the Power of Now book by Eckhart Tolle, the last book I have read in 2024.

What do I keep with me as I move to 2025 and what do I leave behind?

What will I take with me?

Yoga

I will take with me the habit of morning yoga. Movement helps with mental agility. We all need a dose of it.

Planner

Planner helps me stay focused on what's important. When I plan my day ahead of time, I am more productive.

Books

Books helps me explore the mind of another. Staying open minded by reading opposing views and learning from both angles. With books, I am able to find a thousand-year-old wisdom shared through those precious pages.

Open-mindedness

Curiosity helps me stay grounded. I'd like to have more of it in 2025.

Giving a gift of time

I will take with me the commitment to continue to give my time to help others. They enrich my soul.

Humility

I will continue to commit to have humility first and foremost. Only through humility that I am able to learn from another.

Kindness

As Aesop said, 'No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.'

What will I leave behind?

Unnecessary Pressure

I am happily leaving behind the manufactured pressure that I sometimes bring to myself -- there's no room for it in 2025.

Busyness

I will leave behind saying 'no' to meeting my friends every week because I am 'busy'. I am never going to be 'not busy'. It's time to wave goodbye to it and start incorporating them to my schedule.

Late Nights

Goodbye late nights, Netflix and phone browsing.

Excessive Work Hours

It's not productive. It's unnecessary. It's not sustainable.

Overdoing Things

Complicating things are not cool. I'll leave it behind too.

And with that, I say Adieu, 2024. Salute.