One more calendar year is about to end. The winter has set in, chill outside, you don't want to get out of bed in the morning, less Sun outside and yeah less sunny inside our mind too. While some are preparing for the year-end event with vacation, parties, planning to catch up with family and friends, a lot of people would be feeling low too at this time of the year.
Whether we are aware of it or not many people tend to take stock of their lives twice a year. Once when the calendar year ends and the other when the Birthday is about to come. In December we begin to look at the year gone by, the dreams we did not achieve, the places we did not visit, the people we did not meet, the prosperity that many of our friends had wished for us at the beginning of the year that did not materialize, the peace wished for us was elusive. The weather does not help us and adds to our sombre mood. We mark one more year down with unfulfilled expectations. The same thing occurs when we approach our Birthdays too. That is even more personal. It also marks one more year off our lifespan.
People will tell us that we should count our blessings, look at things achieved, goals scored, relationships built etc. Yes, we look at them and feel good about it but the gnawing feeling comes back, life could have been better. Like the song from Khatta Meeta says, “thoda hai thode ki zaroorat hai” You can distract yourselves with work, music, company but when you are alone, the feeling is again highlighted. It's just in the air.
Rather than deny the feeling, and work unsuccessfully to make it go away, maybe it is good to accept that feeling and stay with it. We know that it is a passing phase, like the changing seasons of the year and as the New Year rolls in, winter gives way, and the Sun starts shining brighter, our moods too will change. It has happened every year and it will happen again too.
One point makes me wonder, those who have their Birthdays near the Calendar year-end, are they lucky that they suffer the yearly blues only once or does the intensity of both (year-end and Birthday) coming together makes it the same?
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