Two more days, and it is 2022! One can already smell an exciting brand new year ahead. New resolutions, new promises to stick to those, new vows… We get the drift.

Before you step on the gas, hit pause. This is the perfect time for stocktaking. Inventory your life for clarity. 

  • What are some things you did in 2021 you are proud of?
  • What are you not proud of?
  • What are you grateful for?
  • What are the things you should have done differently? 
  • Did you grow in any way — spiritually, career-wise, personally, attitude-wise, skill set, relationships?
  • What areas need work?

What makes you, you? Reflect inwardly. Some of these answers will help you figure out how close or far you are to your ideal life. You will, perhaps, see the route you need to take to create the life of your dreams. In March, Swamiji had emphasised the importance of the act. Kaivalya Lal has captured the gist well in his blog here (PDF too). There is no better time than year-end to stocktake so that you start the New Year all prepared. 

Speaking of which, how about we look at the year at os.me?

It’s time for stats! 

  • We earned more than 9 million Karma Points
  • About 6000 pieces of brilliant content were published this year 
  • In 2021, 500 new authors joined us! 
  • Several big-ticket writers wrote on os.me: Ikigai author Francesc Miralles, Medium author Amardeep Parmar, Film writer Mahendra Jakhar, Medium blogger Ash Jurnberg, Keyur Seta, author Vibha Batra, et al —  but to name a few 
  • Sandeep Sibs wrote the maximum number of posts (113); a close second comes Sri Devi Om (106)
  • Meera Om received the maximum number of comments (10513); followed by Sushree Diya Om (4494); and Sadhvi Shraddha Om (4158)
  • Meera Om also said the most encouraging things as she made 10484 comments; followed by Sushree Diya Om (6503); and Shalini Pandey (6278)
  • Talking of popular articles, Dear os.me Family by Sushree Diya Om has 194 comments; Divya Manoharan’s My Truth — 3 the Pleasures of Sex got 170; and so did Narayani Krishne’s Are Parents Really God (170 comments). Meera Om’s The Only Truth got 169 comments. 

Here’s a shout-out to the os.me family that keeps making life OSME (awesome, by now, you should know). 

In anticipation of fresh beginnings, let me offer you an arsenal of tools to equip you for a great start. Here’s our weekly pick of life-altering wisdom and os.me reads, after this quote: 

Quote for the Week

Spend wisely…

 

Transformative Ideas

5 Lessons About Living Well from the World’s Happiest Man: This title was awarded to Ricard based on a twelve-year brain study on meditation and compassion led by a neuroscientist from the University of Wisconsin. Popular Medium blogger Ash Jurberg draws five lessons for everyone. 

What is Gita Jayanti and Why it’s Celebrated?: There is a reason why Keyur Set is hailed as one of the most popular spiritual bloggers in India, his knowledge. In this blog, he answers questions such as: What is Gita Jayanti? Why is it celebrated? Also, where exactly did Lord Krishna narrate the Gita to Arjuna? Ok, where in Kurukshetra?

My Writing Journey: Would she slap me? — That’s how Chandrika Shubham Saini reels in the reader right from the word go. This blog traces her writing journey. From not being able to form a tense sound sentence to this heart-warming piece, Chandrika has surely traversed a long way. Here’s her secret to becoming a talented writer, you can take notes.  

The Five Elements – Earth: One of the youngest participants of the 5-day Write Choice Challenge, Rishi Sridhar, came up with an exciting idea. He wrote 5 posts based on the 5 elements. This is about an Ox who wonders, ‘Why me?’ A lesson for all. 

Bottled Thoughts: Hemanya Vashishtha paints an evocative picture and makes one ponder over the construct of beauty. Being beautiful is not a quality one has. It is not a degree one achieves by putting makeup on the features so lovingly crafted by the lord… She writes. 

2 States…A White Coat Romance: Early bird catches the prey… Early groom? The bride. Divya Pai celebrates 14 years of marriage and shares her filmy love story. A boy from Bihar, a girl from Kerala… there’s wooing, seeing, denying and agreeing. 

The Tree Of Joy: The school peon was assigned to bring a dried branch and plant it at the entrance that looked remarkably dull now. And then, magic happened! Suchali Lotlikar takes us down memory lane to a fantastic Christmas celebration in her school. 

And We Drove On: This one hits you right in the feels. You can’t look away anymore. 
I saw this man lying/ Half on the street, half on the footpath/ Broken eggs lay around him/ (I am not sure/ Maybe it was something else/ I didn’t wait to see.)

Rejuvenate

YouTube video
How do you like it? I love it!

Wisdom from Swamiji

Using Attention to Get Over Hurt: The whirlpool of negative thoughts pulls the best of us to the vortex. However, when stepping into the New Year, leave all that behind. Learn the art of directing your attention from hurtful and negative thoughts to happy and positive ones by spiritual master Om Swami himself. 

How to Forgive: Forgiveness is letting go, it’s a gift. It is as much about the recipient as the giver. But it ain’t easy… Unless there is someone who can make you see sense in it and show you how to do it. Someone like spiritual master Om Swami.  

The Winners

Truth Be Told, I am still savouring The Write Choice challenge posts. This time, the os.me family chose the winner. We all agree that every post was excellent, had many takeaways, and was relatable. A big thank you to everyone who participated. You are all so amazing! 

Now time for the drumroll, please! You all voted for Hemanya Vashishtha, Rishi Sridhar, Chandrika Shubham Saini, and Sandeep Sibs. Congratulations! We will contact you in the coming week for your gifts.

We will make a few changes to the newsletter in the coming year. I’d love to hear your suggestions. Please pour in.

Here’s wishing you the Happiest New Year! Shine brighter, grow happier, be kinder.

Until next…