Endings, and Beginnings

A quick dispatch from the sea as the year ends.

¹

Maybe it has to do with the fact that I grew up in a landlocked city, but I love the sea. I am endlessly fascinated with it, dream about moving to a house by the beach, and after just fifteen minutes of gazing at the waves will spout life wisdom like I am Socrates’ true successor.

So, of course, a few days filled with walks to the beach and napping in the seaside air, like I am currently, has caused me to look at the end of the year with more fondness than I usually do. (My earlier rant about how I do hate new years’ can be found here.) This dispatch then, is one looking at the glass half-full — or whatever beverage you are drinking in the last few days of the year.

Year ends are defined by two things, endings and beginnings. The introspection of what went right and wrong, is accompanied by hope. It is this summoning of hope, this formulation of plans, this resolve to have a better time of this living business than before, that underlies the parties, the messages, and the “wrapped” post.

This is who we were, this is who we think we can be, and this is the time we will become. It is no coincidence that most new year resolutions have the verb “becoming” somewhere or the other — if living is defined by what’s next, then the end of the year is your reset button to answer that question.

But before you begin, you must end.

Years ago, I heard someone say, “clean endings make for great beginnings” and that has stuck with me. So if a new year signals “new you,” then that can only happen once you take a beat to sit with the old you and bid it an affectionate goodbye — thank you very much, you were great, this is where we part, wish you luck. It’s hard, it’s often brutal, but sometimes in order to become, we must say our farewells and say them firmly.

Both endings and beginnings, however you might define them, are in debt and often incomplete without one very crucial factor.

Gratitude.

Over the last few days, I have felt waves and waves of gratitude — pun fully intended. Feeling loved by family and friends, doing work that’s fulfilling, good food and good sleep, the excitement and possibility of the new, and the comfort of the old; tell me, what more could a girl ask for? Slowing down in a small seaside town, which often makes me feel like I am a protagonist in a British murder mystery (!), has helped gratitude along. But my bet is that wherever you are, if you take a minute to count your blessings (like the old and the wise say), you will find the dissatisfactions of the year fade a little. Or at least, your shoulders will unclench a little.

So, what to look forward to in the new year? As a born-and-bred big city person, I don’t always realise how the fabric of time is loosely held. In cities like Mumbai/Delhi, you always feel the fabric stretching itself to accommodate your life, your ambitions, and your desires. In contrast — today I read the papers, ate breakfast, napped for a bit, and it was still one in the afternoon, so I spent some time in the balcony watching kids play snakes-and-ladders. I don’t have many resolutions (or any actually) for 2025. All I want though, is to try and take some bits in a day of carpe diem-ing, to unclench my shoulders, loosen up the fabric of time, and wave it about — aimlessly and playfully.

Even if I have to find the sea to do that.

Happy new years, everyone. Hug your loved ones tight.

1. Photo clicked by me, in Pondicherry, India. Look at this view and tell me you don’t want to move by the sea and become a philosopher, go on, I dare you.

Thank you as always for reading. I would love to hear from you, so hit “Reply” to say hi. If you liked reading this, send it to that one person who you want to spend all your time with in the new year. If you didn’t like reading this, send it to that one person who is driving you up the wall with NYE plans.

Have fun! I’ll write again, soon.