There is nothing like a near death experience that makes you appreciate life. In a historic CA rainstorm night, our family of four was on a plane heading back home from a holiday vacation. The plane just refueled at an additional stopover, and the rest of my family were all asleep, exhausted. It was almost midnight after all. As the plane approached the destination, it struggled to keep steady. The pilot announced that wind is really strong, and will attempt landing. Passengers gasped and held tight to their seatbelts as the plane suddenly dropped a few feet. I felt sick to my stomach. The flight attendant announced if anyone’s feeling nauseous and can’t locate a small paper bag in the front packet, to ask the person in the next seat. Are you kidding me? Then, another unexpected big drop. Oh my. When will this end? What’s going on? I looked at my husband and the two kids who were still passed out sleeping. I closed my eyes and held on to my daughter to make sure she’s buckled up. Will we be able to get home safely or could this be it? At least we’re all together. Another sharp drop. I started saying prayers. I put my head down on the little fold-out table, trying to not barf. After what felt like the longest ten minutes, the pilot’s voice came back. She said the plane attempted to land twice and couldn’t. We were going to detour to a different city 400 miles away and have another stopover.
Twelve hours since the failed attempts at landing, we finally made it back home. What a long nightmare. Yet, my mind felt clear. Everything was put in perspective. All of us were home safely, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I felt like I was given a second chance to live. Felt immensely grateful. This scary experience made it clear for me on what new mindsets I should live with in the New Year.
Being present. Celine Dion, in her tearful Instagram post, announced last month that she is diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS). It is a rare neurological disease that is characterized by progressive muscle stiffness and spasms. She shared she’ll have to cancel all her concerts and she wasn’t sure if she can keep singing. Lisa Marie Presley passed away at 54 due to cardiac arrest, two days after attending the Golden Globes to support Elvis, the movie. There are so many examples like these where things that we thought would last don’t. Things evolve. Health, especially, is fragile and can change everything in a second. This really hit home when we learned that our daughter’s superintendent also had a cardiac arrest on Christmas Eve and was discharged with a pacemaker. The only thing we know for sure is now. This very present moment is a gift.
Five months ago, I made a conscious decision to resign from my demanding corporate job to focus on what’s most important in my life and do what I love. Sure, I miss the fancy sushi dinners and travels I had with corporate account but I absolutely cherish every little moments I have with my family as a result of it. I am aware that such peaceful moments are not guaranteed to last. Hence, I am making a choice every moment to fully accept the present, enjoy, and really live. By living the moment with integrity and gratitude, I feel at peace. My hope is for more people to also experience this, despite all the uncertainties and challenges that life throws at us. Let’s embrace the present and be here, now.
Being fearless. I acknowledge that fear will always be there. What I will do more of this year, is to not let fear stop me from being who I’m meant to be. I wholeheartedly agree on Arianna Huffington’s take on being fearless:
Fearlessness is about getting up one more time than we fall down. The more comfortable we are with the possibility of falling down, the less worried we are of what people will think if and when we do, the less judgmental of ourselves we are every time we make a mistake, the more fearless we will be, and the easier our journey will become.
I will take bold risks. I may fall but will keep coming back up. I will not let people’s judgment influence me. I will act on truth and will keep pursuing my dreams. This is a promise I make to myself.
Loving more. If we all loved a little more, wouldn’t there be less hatred, anger, jealousy, and selfishness? With a bit more love, wouldn’t we have more reasons to celebrate together and heal so much of our society’s malfunctions? Sounds easy, but very difficult to do in real life.
Just reflecting on this past holiday vacation, our family went through much challenges that led to lots of angry arguments, disappointments, and frustrations. We all have certain expectations of our family members, and when they fail to meet these, we get into the stress zone. Eckhart Tolle said, “Stress is wanting something to be the way that it isn’t”. Our family members are imperfect, just like how we all are imperfect. I will make a conscious decision to accept them as who they are now and choose love over resentment. Funny but I learned this from my kids’ favorite Disney movie, Encanto. Love is the biggest magical gift of all. Choose love whenever we can, starting with our very own family members.
At the end of 2023, I hope to look back and say I was able to be more present, be more fearless, and love more. I hope that these small but important mindset shifts will help bring me one step closer to the spreading of peace, health, and love to people I interact with. Wishing everyone a good, balanced year ahead!
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