January's Artful Reflection.

I was supposed to be writing this last night, yet my fingers were enormously cold and it was an aching situation to tap repetitively at a screen. Now, the morning has come and January’s still here, but ending.

t h e  c o l d

It’s been quite cold— so cold in fact, that the air smelled like snow. The mornings were extremely hostile and home was even colder than outside. To make it more bizarre, a wave of flu (or omicron, who knows) smothered almost everyone I know, including myself. I never had a cold that lasted more than seven days, but this one lingered for almost two weeks, blocking my nose and making me feel uneasy with lassitude. Still, it was a lesson to be patient for recovery, to take it easy and to sleep well. Sleep is such a blessing in winter. Most days, I was already in bed at 7.30 pm, and honestly, I love it that way. There is nothing more harmonious than waking before dawn and sleeping as the night settles in.

c r e a t i v e   s i l e n c e

January was silent and artful. I began the year with an indescribable softness that engulfed me with a beautiful lake of creativity. Words found me more easily and I wrote on and on— poems and reflections. I drew and painted when I needed to. Perhaps the most enchanting thing is that I was connected to God, and I remembered my essence. I was connected to the source of all things and it bewitched my life with an understanding so profound that there was no chance to be bothered by things, no matter how lousy and fearful they became.

e a s e

In January, I was at ease. Situations arose that would have filled me with fear and frustration. I watched my father struggling to control certain things in our family, and instead of wanting to control them even further, I trusted the universe for taking its course in healing. I received some insights somehow, rather miraculously, regarding the necessity of certain patterns in my family. I knew for sure they were blessings within the temptations to seal my heart with dishonesty and manipulation. I dropped the control. I stayed in the present, navigating my sister’s fears and anxieties, and my father’s pain and sadness. Midst all this, I had a sense of the truth, and I accepted it.

Perhaps this year will be different from any other year, and it shall shine with more honest and healing hues. I accept that it might be different, and trust will take its course. I do pray to have the courage to face it with ease and most essentially, love.

s i m p l i c i t y

I knew that using my visualisation would be fruitful, and it has bestowed my working life with simplicity. Instead of fretting over ways to make lessons more engaging and coherent, I simply visualised. I visualised what my learners would need and I was amazed at how simple things, in essence, are when we are connected to the virtue behind our actions and deeds. Perhaps I am luckier, for my work revolves around human beings and it takes a slightly deeper kind of empathy to uncover the needs and a series of mistakes that are eventually understood. I wouldn’t imagine this being as simple if I worked with numbers or data or insensate processes. I am grateful for my work, for it leaves me with a permanent signature— the signature of my soul.

My heart is quite rapturous, for the coming months are my favourite. February, March, April, May and June— how sweet they sound to my ears. February always fills me with love, and my intention is to love it like a blossoming dream. May dreams abound, and may they blossom while rooted in reverent love.