In this article, before getting into my version of 2022, I may want to burden you with some questions, “What has 2022 meant for you? What did it teach you? What have you learned along the way? And what’s changing at the end of this year?”. Do you love 2022? Does it bring you happiness, peace, freedom, or abundance? Or instead, do you hate it ‘cause it just brings too many painful memories for you? Did you manage to reach your dream and live your life, become the person you wanted to be, or are you still on the journey of becoming the authentic you? Whatever it is, I hope in the end, we discover and learn even if it’s only one thing, something positive. I hope that this year, with all its ups and downs, its beautiful and tough moments, or the unexpected and mundane journeys, may they all lead us closer to our goals, our purpose, and who we are meant to be – our better and truest self.
In this year of 2022, I feel like it is mainly about me learning to listen more to my intuitions, of what my heart is saying and telling me, in whatever circumstances I was in, and to be more confident in the decisions I took, whatever the result may be. Well, the most visible is in the aspect of career, especially when I’m in (almost, a few months left of) my mid-twenties, you know, quarter-life crisis. It is a process of trial error, not only on finding a job, but also finding myself. And unfortunately, but not regretting of the way things happened, I learned it the hard way. It took quite a lot in me if I may be honest, but in the end, I’m glad I get to listen to my heart and prioritize myself. Not only that, I also learned how to really take a moment to rest, to think on what I want in life, and what my definition or version of “life goals” is for me. And I actually wrote it down. It all seemed so dreamy and all in my head, I have no idea whether I will get there or not, or how to, but it doesn’t mean that it is not possible. A lyrics from a song called “Daydream” by Lily Meola say that,
“It ain’t big enough, if it doesn’t scare the hell out of you.
If it makes you nervous, it’s probably worth it.”
Well, to be honest, I’m so hell-scared right now. But that is another story that I will probably share in another post next time.
The year of 2022 also taught me to have more faith not only in my capabilities, of what I can do, what I can achieve, and of what I deserve, but also to have faith to the universe, God, or whatever you may call it. To trust that there is greater force of nature, the universe, that is always and constantly guiding me every step of the way, in every decision I took, in every moment of lost, despair, confusion. And that covers most aspects of my life, maybe all of it – career, relationship, self-growth, how I learned to not only heal as I did in the previous year, but also keep on learning how to be kinder to myself and discover other parts of myself that I didn’t get to uncover and recognized before.
It was a pretty messy journey, but looking back, I think I handled it pretty well, much better than the two-previous years which was the lowest point of my life that I am grateful to be able to went through it, thanks to divine interventions. And by that, now I may need to learn to give myself more credits and pats in the back for keep on moving forward and put another foot in front of the other, no matter how hard it was. And I think you should too.
I think that, whatever circumstances we all have faced, it is crucial to take a moment to pause and just appreciate for everything that have happened, including ourselves, our strength, our bravery, our faith, or merely and simply, which is obviously not and should not be overlooked, accepting everything, for it is surely easier for us when we have come to the point where we just accept things and surrender to the universe, which is I know, it is not easy to do. But the good thing is, we are learning, we are growing, and we will keep on developing, evolving, and shaping ourselves into someone better, just like a butterfly.
Another thing that may not be overlooked on is that so often we tend to focus too much on the end goals, end results of who we want to be, who we want to become, what we want to achieve and have in life, that we forget that life is now. Yes, life is now. I may need to stress that again to you. Life is in the present, whether we like or not. It is not something I have quite mastered yet, but I have learned to be more present and live life in this year of 2022. To truly understand what life is about, although I haven’t found all the answers yet, but thrilled to hear what life teaches me. And so, with most of my time this year is spent at home with my family, I learned to feel comfortable more and find peace here at home, something that on the year of 2020 wouldn’t have imagined I’ll manage to do. To spend more time with myself thinking on what I think is the most important aspects in life that I would never trade of. What are the things that I wish to have, if not now, then in the future. And after doing some “work”, I realize that some of those are the things that are not practical, something that are not worldly things, but the intangible ones – joy, gratefulness, peace, love, fulfilment.
One thing that I haven’t quite accepted yet, is the fact that those things are the ones that came from God. It is not something that I can find with my power alone, yet it is something that is given to us, for free, as the sign of His love and what He wishes of us to have. No it doesn’t mean that I will not pursue materiality or other worldly things, which I don’t quite know what they are. It is not a bad thing to chase money or wanting to achieve certain level of wealth. It is what we are doing with it that is important. And to know when is enough is also something that we should figure out on.
And so, with all of that, I have come to a realization that we, human, cannot live by relying on our own strength, for we have limits. But instead, one thing that I still need to learn in the upcoming years is that knowing when to give my best and bring the best to the table, but also when to let things be and entrusting our life to God. It is a life-long journey indeed, but there is no rush in things, especially in things that need divine interventions. May we all continuously grow and strive in a better person each day, even if the path is like a tangled-thread. And may we all learn to find joy and peace in every little things and moments in life, and not overlook them. With this closing, I am wishing a sincere congratulation for all that we went through in this year or the years before, and a heartfelt wishes of happiness, peace, health, wealth, and wisdom in the upcoming year of 2023. Thank you so much for staying until the end, and I’ll see you in the next post! See you all in the year of 2023, and happy new year!
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1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit
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“I am here. I am here.
I am life. Eternal life.”
(book pg. 71)
But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness.
No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful.
Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?
On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.
2. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit
“I am here. I am here.
I am life. Eternal life.”
The standard chunk of Lorem Ipsum used since the 1500s is reproduced below for those interested. Sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 from “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum” by Cicero are also reproduced in their exact original form, accompanied by English versions from the 1914 translation by H. Rackham.
These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided.
But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.
