Dec 31, 2022

11 min read

Writing | Gratitude

A Tribute To 2022

Thank you for encouraging me to grow!

2022 — also the year I got better at selfies! Photo by Vidya Sury ©

I started writing this post a couple of weeks ago, and even before I finished adjusting the halo around my head, well, the days whizzed by. Not to be fazed, however, I am here, with determination, to reflect on 2022.

Here’s my A to Z of the things I treasure about 2022. Won't you join me?

Alive and kickin' and that’s awesome! I have completed another trip around the sun and am grateful for it. There were scary moments when January began with a nasty fall. As you can see, still here.

Binge-watched a lot of shows. Some of these I probably would never have considered had they not been recommended by my BFFs. Oh well; many pleasant hours vegging out. I will simply chalk it up to self-care.

Collaborated on a book: Holistic Journey Toward Wellness; co-authored with 21 authors and had the pleasure of editing the entire manuscript. Will write a more detailed post about the book soon.

Proudly Presenting Our Printed Book Holistic Journey Toward Wellness by 21 Medium Authors from…

Collaboration at Heart by Medium Authors

medium.com

Diabetes management program — joined one as I seemed to be slacking off on self-care. My blood test reports stank and after whining a little bit, I decided to do something about it. I am happy to say that six months into the program, my reports are looking good.

Enjoyed many things this year, but most of all my son’s visit. It was the longest we’d gone without seeing him after he left for the US last year. I know there are video calls but you know there’s nothing like a tight squishy hug and smoochikins in person.

Editing for 14 publications on Medium — how and when did that happen? I am grateful to the owners of these publications for adding me to their team; the best thing from this is the fun, of interacting on Slack. I have favorites and sneakily will not mention them here.

The Sturg — I treasure our conversations

Katie Michaelson for always leaving me sweet messages

Dr Mehmet Yildiz for his kindness

Celtic Chameleon whom I admire

Diana C. ❤ Ravyne Hawke and jules

Fun has been a big part of my life. Focused on what mattered, what added value to my life, and started letting go of things that did not.

Focused on writing. A lot, thanks to Medium. I just cannot resist a writing prompt — regardless of whether I am tagged. I also believe that prompts foster community and engagement, so much more than anything else can, besides encouraging us to write.

Grateful for friends who always had my back.

Got our garage renovated. This was important and long pending. We missed the round of renovations when the others in our condo were getting it done a few years ago as we were traveling. Well, better late than never. The pandemic had us on lockdown and we were around to supervise. It was a nice experience clearing out stuff and G for giving away stuff we had almost forgotten we owned. So liberating.

Grateful that we got around to checking off something from our list that kept us feeling Guilty!

Health raised major issues but looking back, I think we handled it in our stride,

We dealt with major dental work, shingles, cataract surgeries, the flu, prolonged vertigo, tennis elbows, and several other things.

I am grateful we had the means to seek treatment and a comfortable home to convalesce in, and each other to lean on.

Inspiring, incredible, interesting people in my life who kept me sane . . . with special thanks to Vanita Cyril here for always being there, messaging me every day, and kicking my ass when required. I am indebted to her. She has a fabulous social media planner/tracker on Etsy. It would be great if you could support her. Do visit her Etsy shop for more.

Social Media Planner 2023 Plan Track & Analyze Multiple - Etsy

This social media planner was designed for those who are responsible for any aspects of regular social media marketing…

www.etsy.com

Also, thanks to Dr. Preeti Singh for staying connected with me on the phone. Nancy Blackman, MASF for being my voice of reason. Mary Chang Story Writer and Sandi Parsons for bringing joy to my life.

And a whole bunch of others whom I will not name since they are not bloggers or on Medium. My life would be empty without them.

Joy is the theme here, folks! Read on.

Kindness of strangers is something that I will always treasure, whether in my hometown or when I travel. I think I am lucky that way. My gratitude goes out to the cab drivers, cooks, counter staff, and other random strangers who made a difference in my life. I may never meet them again, but they made a mark on my heart.

Learned the value of disconnecting…. again. Went for three weeks with almost no internet. Oh, I also went one week without my phone because one of the states I visited had security issues which meant prepaid phones did not work and only local SIMs were valid. We were initially worried but decided to go with the flow. And all was just fine.

Grateful that I am a child of the sixties and have lived before and after the internet. Heck, I grew up without ceiling fans, refrigerators, gas stoves, TVs and other home appliances until my 20s. So being offline does not frazzle me.

Love. Oh, so much of it. I am blessed with the presence of so many good things and people in my life — past and present who have showered love on me. I am grateful for a Life with all its ups and downs, delivering its life lessons, making me stronger when I choose to learn from my mistakes 😉 I am okay with being stubborn sometimes and stumbling along. All in good time, eh?

Made meaningful connections on Medium. I met Sujona Chatterjee when she visited me. Isn’t it exciting when you connect with someone online and it only gets better when you meet in person?

Neighbors who became family-like friends. I am blessed with wonderful neighbors who are fun to be with, kind and helpful. I am grateful for the reciprocal relationship I have with them.

Organized — I became more organized thanks to the mega-cleaning up at home. I worked like one possessed. After cleaning out our garage, I packed up stuff, labeled them, and put them there. What? I couldn’t throw away in a few hours what I collected in decades, no? Plus, there’s the sentimental aspect. Anyway, my home’s cleaner than before and it is only a matter of time before it is exactly how I hope for it to be.

Presents — I did receive a few this year that I treasure. Presents were also precious events in the form of our 25th wedding anniversary, our son’s 25th birthday, meeting friends and family we had not seen for a long time, and more.

Quirky moments where I was downright stupid and learned big life lessons. I refuse to detail them here.

Refreshing to see I lost three kilos, thanks to my healthy diet and good habits. With diabetes, shedding extra weight goes a long way in managing blood sugars.

Supported more children than I had planned. Thanks to the publishers I work with for sending me work. Special mention to Barb Dalton who donated her prize money of $50 to my welfare home, where even $10 can feed 20 kids lunch or dinner.

Also:

Shopped responsibly.
Started a newsletter on Substack — offering one-minute motivational tips.
Started my own publication, just for fun.
Spent more time with my BFFs, which is always a good thing!

Traveled to places I’d never been before. After a long and forced hiatus from travel (not counting emergency trips to visit family), December turned out to be absolutely enchanting, taking me to parts of India I haven’t seen before. These include Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Jammu. Delightful!

Travel truly broadens the mind and puts life in perspective. When we see people from other cultures and their lifestyles, it brings home the fact that we are just a dot in the universe. Our troubles are temporary and we’re crazy to dwell on them; also, we don’t need as much as we think we do.

Universe has been on my side, I think. It is true what is said: be careful what you wish for. I wished for many things this year and while not everything happened, I am grateful for those that did. Case in point, my succulent garden. He he he!

Vidya Sury’s fake succulent garden on shelf 2 and 3. The first shelf is real.

I am in the process of unsubscribing from others’ issues, negative vibes, toxic people, etc.

Visited some lovely gardens in our area. It is true that we tend to take for granted what is available and are always seeking something else. I had the opportunity, thanks to my neighbor who is doing her Ph.D., to visit several gardens in our area. Which basically meant serene hours, enjoying our surroundings and appreciating nature, and good conversation. What better way to be mindful?

Writing took the forefront, again, thanks to the pandemic. I rediscovered Medium (which I originally joined in 2016 — I know, right? — and was on and off again.) But this time, I am here to stay. I am grateful for my editing work (I edit manuscripts for publishers and authors). I worked with some fabulous authors this year. I am also grateful to the publications that appreciate me for my regular “columns” which are:

I also contribute regularly to various other publications as well as write on my own six blogs. Wait — don’t ask me how I do it. I just love to write and have this serious issue of too much to say and not enough time to say it. Yes, my drafts folder is overflowing, as are my notebooks at home. Not to mention the messy kitchen shelf paper lining and just about anywhere I can drop some words. Heh.

Xenodochia became a way of life. It means being friendly with strangers (ha ha ha, I did not listen to my mom, eh? But I am sure she meant that advice only for when I was little). Bonded with some of Sury’s associates/students and even made travel plans ahead, because girls’ trips rock! I am close enough with some of my friends on Medium to plan trips with them. I cannot wait for the US visa interviews to open up when I can meet so many of you in person. I have a long list. All lead to great Xperiences, no? (Couldn’t resist that!).

I am grateful that I am blessed with the ability to be xenial — get on with just about anyone and make friends easily. Being good-natured and non-judgmental has its rewards. Oh, add not holding grudges to that.

Grateful to my mom for inculcating optimism and the value of looking forward in me. She had the knack of making me always laugh, coming up with stuff like:

Enjoy the present perfect. Ignore the past continuous. Why be tense?

And that always cracked me up, because I would keep thinking of grammar. Also, very tough to argue with my mom.

And oh, after an interesting chat with my son, I Xperimented with the scary and intriguing world of AI — a free trial on a site just to see how it works. And no, I will not be using AI. I prefer to be my rambly self.

YOLO was my mantra as I stepped into new challenges. And I joined a Yoga class in March that continues to be most enjoyable. Also, the instructor has a sense of humor and is cute. You too can join us, if you wish. Here’s the info:

Here is the link to join

Say yes!

Zoom calls rocked. Thanks to these, and Google Meet, of course, I was able to connect with friends, classmates, my dietician, doctors, and more. It was also the year when I “met” Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Liberty Forrest, Author, Dr. Gabriella Korosi Trista Signe Ainsworth, Sharing Randomly, Dr. Preeti Singh, and many others on video. It is a remarkable experience to see someone and hear their voice after only being enchanted by their writing. I am grateful.

I aspire to be like Hollie Petit, Ph.D., and Toni Greathouse when it comes to interacting/commenting. Thank you for your kindness.

My gratitude to David Perlmutter for always making me feel that I am never alone. He even visits my old posts, the angel!

My A-Team Sandra Pawula, Zeenat Merchant Syal, M.A, M.Sc, Evelyn Lim, Elle Sommer, Debbie Hampton — ever grateful for your support.

Love to Srini, Thief, and David Acaster for always leaving uplifting comments.

BichoDoMato — thank you for the language lessons and for making me laugh!

Beautiful writers and photographers, I have the privilege of reading:

Thank you! I wish you a happy New Year — a 2023 that’s filled with joy and exceeds your expectations 🌻

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles ❤ Did you smile today?

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