Experiences

At the onset of 2018 ,hundreds of messages were exchanged on all social networking mediums. In a conversation with friend, question popped up that we celebrate so many types of New Year as per our religion/customs but still this change of English calendar holds importance in everyone's life. This made me really wonder. I always associate my memories to particular calendar year. And then I wondered how much our experiences mean to us.

I was not feeling well and was waiting for my appointment at doctor's place. I was feeling very low and at that moment I happened to meet a school friend after around 20 years. We instantly connected. The common exciting school memories instantly removed the gap. It seemed nothing had changed. The depressing moment in waiting area became a wonderful reunion time.

One of my close friends don’t stay in Mumbai .We rarely get time to talk. But whenever we converse ,we are in the same zone. The happy-bad times spent together have created assurance of being there always.This happens specially with all our near and dear ones. Our family, soulmate, children -we all are connected by series of same experiences in life. Strength of any relation is built over years because of these experiences.The experience of falling in love,being married,giving birth,having sibling and so on..

In fact ,daily we meet and create moments with so many people in personal and professional life. Our mentors, trainers, colleagues, assistants, helpers, neighbors, social groups. We all are effecting interpersonal influences on each other because of the time spent and experiences gathered

Friends, what really matters is experience in a moment. If we look back around 20-25 years, we may not be able to recall name/face of a specific person but are able to recall the event/ memory or experience.

I always liked to write everything while studying. Consequently my stationary consumption used to be quite huge. There was a stationary shop wherein the shopkeeper used to give me registers with new design cover and all kinds of stationary at some discount. The shopkeeper always welcomed with a smile and enthusiasm (very good sales strategy indeed).For over 8-9 years that shop was my favorite. Over the years ,the shop disappeared. But till date whenever I pass by that lane, the memory brings a smile on my face. I don’t remember the person anymore but yes that experience is in store.

Same happens with places we visit over years.Many years back, we visited Vivekananda rock memorial at Kanyakumari. It had a meditation room with a beautiful Aum symbol .That image remained in my subconscious mind and even today when I look for some peaceful moment that image instantly flashes across.In another incident I was very small and we had gone to see a very famous place of worship. Me and my sister were very excited to see the huge and beautiful structure and without even waiting for our parents to accompany us we ran to go inside .We were unaware that girls were not allowed inside the premises. And somebody shouted at the peak of voice on us. Everyone started staring at us. That created a very deep impact on my mind and till date I check the rules for entry before planning visit to any religious place

Friends ,I feel our experiences shape our thought process and this is a continuous phenomenon going on with each second passing.I find this very beautiful.

Our upbringing,pampering, small to remarkable achievements, mistakes in schools,punishments,our first night out at friend’s house, first campfire ,vacations, first crush, first heartbreak all are childhood and teenage experiences which have shaped foundation of our latter years.Each day we move ahead in time. We adapt to new places, people, circumstances. We keep on moving irrespective of good and bad times. And suddenly some day if we look back we have a whole bundle of bitter and sweet experiences which we have treasured over the years. Deep down the memory lane the events, the people, the places go to a background but our experiences remain alive.

Our past experiences play a pivotal role in shaping our day to day behavior. If we have been cheated, we will always be cautious. If we have cheated ,we will always have guilt. If we are deeply in love ,we will always be peaceful. If we have worked hard, we will have confidence and faith. So ultimately all that matters is our experience in life. What we are and how we act all depends upon what we have derived from each and every event.

I love being in love and I can pursue only what I am passionate/obsessed about. When I’m busy with my passion, I can ignore/let go any negative event in life. Life is bound to be filled with some ups and downs .Tough phase in life shows real character of all. But I have realized that it depends on us to create positive or negative storage points from them. Lessons learnt without any attachment to specific person are our real life positive guides. Negative storage points will keep us always in state of hatred and despair.We all love to click and see photographs because they remind us of beautiful times.We try to capture our experience by way of photos.

Rule of nature says people, places; situations are bound to change .Our experiences remain constantly with us .I believe that we should constantly try to create and seek something wonderful and positive in each moment.Life is short and journey can be vast. It all depends upon us how we want to fill it. Refilling with good exciting experiences can make journey healthy and beautiful. So at the last stage, we get to see beautiful picture of garden full of vibrant colours.