Stop. Take a Pause. Because Life Doesn’t.

Life Flows Faster,…

Especially when you are 24 (And people often round it off to 25)

I had a great childhood. I wouldn’t say I missed anything. It was exactly the “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it” type. Not just with materialistic things but with Love, Affection, seeing new places, having new experiences trying new food, etc. etc.

As I entered my Teen, life continued to be good with a few constraints. Dress neat, avoid glances that aren’t comfortable, be extra cautious of how I present myself, etc. But it was pretty much like childhood. No chaos, no big thoughts.

The major thoughts in mind would evolve from what to eat today to what to watch or where to go In the evening. It was all about — what can we do to make it the best day.

And slowly, like really slowly. Out of nowhere came the age “20”. Does it ring a bell?

I think it did because I felt the same way too.

It as Mind had a new department. A department of “responsibilities”.

No one imposed it. My parents didn’t act. Differently, my friends didn’t act differently, and the world didn’t change; I still rate my day in terms of the best experiences I had. But still, something changed. It’s as if you have grown an extra limb, and now you must care for it too.

I became self-aware. Ohhhwwww, so many things to do. Why am I not doing it on my own? Why am I not having a name for myself? What am I or Who am I without my parents or family’s identity? Who am I without anyone’s influence?

A Path of self-discovery, and that led to a lot of things.

In my case, a new career, a busy business, a lot of designations, labels, and ‘specialist’ tags.

And personally, a more insightful discovery into what is ‘My ways.’ Spiritually who am I? How do I look physically? Emotionally what are my alignments? Who do I wanna become? What are my goals? What is my purpose? How do I want my life to be? What I wanna do?

Eeeeerrrrrrrrrr, the questions were never-ending.

And as I wandered in search of answers, I found a lot of them. In some places, my questions got redrafted with discoveries; I made mistakes, rectified them, learned from them, fell down, rose up again, did things I am proud of, I am ashamed of, Have a lot of interests, multi-passionate, too many things to do, too busy with I don’t know what, every day feels like 24hours aren’t enough.

But ultimately, just like a swift wind passing by, days, weeks, months, and years passed.

Oh, wait! It didn’t pass too much. I am just 24 now.

But…

You get the point. It’s like I LIVED TOO MANY YEARS BETWEEN 20 AND 24 than I lived from 1 to 20.

And now, if I look around, everything seems to be different. Friends getting married, some having kids. People are moving to different countries; It even occurred that I said a final goodbye to people I never thought I would say goodbye to so soon. People Move to new countries; people take up their life with different people; people try something new, some just discover their new identities, and some are too different even to recognize. Some drank with Joy, and some were too drunk to know what they were going through.

But ultimately, I am unsure if I recognize the group of people I grew up knowing. The environment changed swiftly. My Mom just said she is waiting for me to get married soon. My Dad just said I should focus on growing my business 24/7 and take it to great heights. My sister, my little sister, LITERALLY little sister, is stepping into college.

And the most fascinating thing is: She knows what she wanted to study, and she actually did everything in her power to make herself worthy of it.

I could barely remember the time when I completed 12th. I was literally thinking of HOW my college life has to be in terms of environment, experiences, and having fun. For her, it’s all about education, getting skills, meeting interesting and respectful people, and so on.

My dad used to ask me what I wanted to become when I was 17 (just completing 12th), and I remember saying, I wanna be a Pilot. And another time, I said I wanna be an oncologist, and the other time my answer was, “Daddy, I wanted to do a bachelor’s degree, then a Master, then an MBA, then work in a company for 5 years, then shift to another company for 5 years and then start a Business.”

Whooooooooo Buuuuooooyyy!

If I did according to that plan, currently I would be in my MBA and wait for another 10 years to work in a corporate company and start my Business when I was 35.

Uffff!!!

I am glad nothing went as per my plan. But yeah, I had too many plans, so I wouldn’t say it’s a plan exactly. Maybe one of my plans is ABCDEF…..

If I traced the curve of what happened, I joined Btech Fashion Technology, Had 4 years of ALL fun! Honestly, I couldn’t stitch even a kurta finely now. (But I most certainly had a good design and unique fashion sense, which I realized), started my own business right at 20! I dropped out of my MBA, scaled my business, and now I am helping business owners who are starting their business at 35 do better!

What a life, isn’t it?

If I take my personal life, I would say similar, or better “Wow” stories too. A story where I would seriously date the boy I had a crush on when I was in class 7. From serious chasing to heavily serious life promises, we had a sweet journey getting aligned with each other’s goals and life patterns. It’s ironic how we had our own INDEPENDENT plans of settling abroad, being billionaires, having super cozy lifestyles but yet staying natural, inclined towards our own natural instincts and more than everything — not trying to have ‘our version’ of each other but accepting each other for who we are uninfluenced.

It’s strange, and yet it looked naturally aligned, giving energy as if soulmates reconcile. They say, “Life prepares you for your journey.” When I remet him, after trapping my butterflies all into him, when I remet him for real after dreaming about him for soo many years, all I could see was, ‘How the World Made the Man perfectly as I would have ever needed’ that too, from the man who I had butterflies with.

It’s astounding.

A few months back, the friend with whom I had silly fights with got Married. And on the stage, she said, “Would we ever thought we would be here 10 years back?”

That gushed in a lot of thoughts inside me.

Now that we are 25, oops, 24. Things are different. People take different turns in life, and the movement is rapid. But today, as I sit here in the middle of our hall. I just think and feel one thing.

Life is dynamic, and it keeps moving. So the best thing you can do is: Cherish what we have right now.

I, personally, keep thinking about the next goal always.

If I have what I wanted yesterday, now I have to work towards what I want for tomorrow.

Relishing between yesterday and dreaming of tomorrow, I often miss today. But NOW, as I sit here, realizing life’s journey, I am grateful.

Grateful for the conversations filled with laughter that I had with my Dad last night, the pillow fights with my sister, going shopping with Mum and coming home with soft toys, eating roadside paani poori with Dad, the sweet, charming, and yet responsible conversations with my Man, and what not — the amazing level of self-realization that the world bestowed me with.

Grateful and Blessed. Today, this Sunday — I wish you feel this moment of goodwill the way I do.

Wishing you a life of Gratitude and Blessings as well.

Love,

$aranya Narayana Moorthy