To be.

Dear reader folk,

Pause. Take a break. Close your eyes. Feel your heart beat. And listen. Listen to the car horn, somebody's laugh, a dialogue from someone's TV, a collective hoot after a six, or a goal, a distant cry of the train, music from some passing-by 'baaraat', a sibling fight... There. You just heard life. Life around you.

Look back. To whenever you want. To a birth, a death; a function, an accident; a surprise, a shock. The last time you laughed, cried, yelled, fought back an impulse to hit someone. Now, ask yourself, do you feel anything at all? Because you should. You're only human. Let your guard down. Throw your head back and laugh till it hurts. Cry till there's nothing to cry about. Or mourn silently. But don't build walls around yourself. Bring them down if you already have. Let people in.

Now come back to your computer table, office, classroom, terrace, balcony, work desk. Breathe.
Remember, you survived it all. Not everyone does.

Do something. Something you like. Something for yourself. Don't be ashamed.

Learn to cook. Learn Salsa. Learn a new instrument. Learn to tie a tie. Learn to braid your hair.
Learn to communicate. Learn to ask for help. Learn to be at peace with not knowing something. Learn to accept that you can't always make things better, but you can give it a shot. Learn.

Gratitude. Acknowledgement. Celebration. Will. Faith. Experience them all.
Explore new places. Love someone. Fight with someone; and make up for it. Have something, anything, to believe in. Read a good book. Be part of fandoms. Grow out of them. Be part of something else.

If someone tells you that you have changed, you are not yourself anymore, blah blah, tell them to shut up. You are supposed to change. Your priorities are supposed to change - with every day, every trip, every relationship. Otherwise, how are you learning at all?

Push yourself.
Get out there, and be. You make a difference. Remember.

Love, lots of it,
Me