You could will be forgiven for thinking I'd fallen off the end of the world, given the relative inactivity of the last few months here.
Millions of words have been written about how 2020 was (it was apparently worse than 2016, which was worse than... you know the drill). I'm not going to add to that potpourri.
I'm grateful. Maybe feeling a little bit guilty.
I have ended up at the other end of this year relatively unscathed, job still in hand, food on the table, no need for much of my wardrobe or shoes, commute reduced to <60 seconds. The people I care about & who care about me have stayed healthy, or recovered from the virus. Many new connections have been formed through the pixels on my screens, while old ones that had not been nourished with the time they need have re-flowered.
I learnt to solve the Rubik's cube, thanks to the encouragement of my colleagues, & can solve one in about 120 seconds. I taught what I learnt to a couple of kids over the Christmas holidays - who picked it up in a day!
I've re-learnt to write with my non-dominant hand for about a month, focusing on flow & movement over form & aesthetics.
I learnt to finger-pick a lot more songs this year, and made a few submissions to the open-mic sessions at work.
I set up a series of talks at work, inviting colleagues to talk about their passions or their areas of expertise, helping build communities bigger than what I could do when I was actually in the office.
I wrote in my journal very frequently (not daily as I would have wanted) - at least 5 times a week. I wrote a reflection for my team every week since August .
My goals this year were to exercise every workday. I joined a gym near work, & even did a public post proclaiming my intent. While the gym membership hasn't particularly been a good investment, I still managed to walk/jog most days with my wife. With fresh air blowing over the worries on our minds, we returned back home refreshed. The added time we have together has been a blessing to us.
As the year comes to an end, with an enforced longer-than-usual holiday, I've had much time to write, reflect, celebrate Christmas appropriately socially distanced, read & philosophize. I will continue this exercise of rejuvenating the mind & soul, while the body gets disproportionately fed.
