And just like that we are half a decade past 2019. Five long years since the last “normal” year we may recall. Ode to the time when we weren’t always looking over our shoulders not knowing when the next challenge is going to present itself from.
Even the adage — The more things change, the more they remain the same seems to be having a hard time in these five years. A lot changed, a lot didn’t remain the same. 2024 will also be an year away from being half a decade into the 2020s. To say that these few years have been a blur won’t be entirely appropriate — blurs don’t hurt the way some of the past few years have done.
It is with this midway point of sorts in mind that I sat down to write this end of the year blog or shall I say “wrap” for 2023. The setting to reflect upon was provided by this pristine view of the mist draped hills of the western ghats against the seemingly limitless reservoir of the imposing Koyna Dam.
Looking back on the beginning of 2023, I recall the amazing start to the year that happened on the back of a birding trail to my happy place in my home town of Pune on the very first day of the year. While a lot is written and said about how the first day of the year is merely another flip of the calendar, personally I would agree to disagree with this indifference.
Good starts matter. Be it the calendar or life at large.
What worked better for me was that I made an attempt to understand the idea of unconditional companionship at the very beginning of the year. In Come, Watson! The Game is Afoot! — I wrote at length about how we can be companions on journey that has no future and yet end up making the most of it. This was a new learning for me, a stepping stone towards the “unconditional” part of companionship. A step towards moving on from zero sum games and towards what Rumi would say —
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
From there on the tone was set for the year. February brought with it that feeling of missing a beat but not knowing why. And down the rabbit hole I dived into attempting to understand that thing we call love — in For the Love of it All 💗
While it may be debatable to conclude if I emerged any wiser, what I did make peace with was the difference between amazing chemistry and inalienable compatibility — but most importantly, which one to not chase and which one to seek.
As the year got warmer with the advent of summers in March and then became that bit more unbearable than the last one in April — outdoor trails got replaced with some indoor readings. Leaning in on the Bhagwat Gita brought about some much needed clarity about my purpose and the righteous path to it. What hit home was the need to move on from clinging to comforting facets of the past — however fancied — and embracing the uncertainties that the future has to offer — however frenzied. The Unsubtle Art of Letting Go may interest you if this has bit has caught your attention.
The ensuing couple of months provided a strong degree of validation to these learnings — A birder’s coming of age? was were I wrote about the calm that this newfound self awareness has brought about. Even the physical pain from a botched up dental surgery didn’t seem to have the force to push me off the cliff of personal calm.
But who would have thought that all this calm was waiting for its own storm.
And storm it did in as the rains picked pace. The same set of emotional needs that had wrecked my ship in 2019 resurfaced yet again. Therapy — thy name was put to test. Coping with being pushed away didn’t come easy but this time I had birding to seek refuge in and first a marathon herp trail in the western ghats followed by a series of public trails to my happy place — Vetal Tekdi made sailing through the proverbial rough seas that much easier. The Curious Case of Contentment documents this journey of navigating my inner turmoils to the hilt.
As the rains poured down, an attempt to bring about awareness for the environmental degradation issues around Vetal Tekdi through birding trails soon morphed into a full fledged initiative that saw more than 200 participants joining these trails over the past six months.
Having averted a possible repeat of my inability to process my own emotions we moved on to pushing the limits of our birding sphere through October. Eat. Sleep. Bird. Repeat. documents this journey of birding frenzy bordering on a burnout — albeit a much desired one!
As the last month of the year dawned upon, the urge to makes those birding numbers count set in and a series of trails focused primarily on raptor sightings ensued. Watching these majestic avian lords in their habitat brought about a realization of the puniness of our existence — literally and figuratively.
As we come to the close of both — this blog and the “who would have thought” year that 2023 has been, I can’t help but reflect on how the way of life I took for granted in 2019, turned over its head in the following years. While I had a robust support system in place put together through layers of professional help, mentorship and the warm embrace of those I still call my own, I realize that not everyone is this privileged. It only strengthens my resolve to be available through acts of kindness and more for anyone who asks —while not being bother for them who don’t
Flipping the calendar over to 2024 would entail being cognizant of the understanding that while 2019 was “normal” it was far from being a space I would want to revisit. The personal growth that I have been able to manifest through my birding journeys deserves to be crested upon.
Couldn’t be more excited for what lies ahead.
I believe, I would not need to articulate the journey ahead in any simpler words for Robert Frost has already laid it out so well for us—
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
