A Little Perspective Goes A Long Way

Ever felt in the doldrums? Like nothing's going your way or nothing's happening, everyone's having it better, you're lost, frustrated, going in circle, caught in webs/poison ivy/vines/thorns? 

Maybe it's time to get some perspective. 

A little perspective goes a long way (in getting clarity).

One of the best ways to gain perspective, I find, is to leave my usual comfort zone and to take a little trip - even  a work trip. Packing is not fun, but taking off into the air/ hopping into the car for a long drive somewhere is fun. As the plane takes off, i feel like i'm zooming out of my life - into space - and gaining a different perspective. Literally. 

The runway and the airport start to shrink, then you see more and more patches of green. Light leafy green, dark musky green, super dark chlorophyll green. Houses become rows of concrete, you start to see long stretches of road with lines of cars resembling streaming lines of little dots (so small you can't see the colour of the cars). Then you see large bodies of water - could be a reservoir, could be a lake, a meandering river... then you don't see the houses anymore but just a large swathe of green.

Then the OCEAN (yes, i live pretty near the ocean).

Then you rise above the clouds, and are above everything else. Literally.

Then you feel like you're above everything. Figuratively. 

It's a good feeling (unless, of course, you are afraid of heights or small spaces. Then you'd probably be very freaked out by now.)

Perspective makes me a bit heady, then it makes everything look and feel so clear. Suddenly, it's not so hard to figure out what's important, and what's not. What makes me tick, and what gives me dread. What matters, and what doesn't. Then if by many strokes of luck, you meet some randomly wonderful people who have led random and wonderful lives, it makes you wonder about the things you sweat about in your life, the impact (real or imagined) of your decisions, and if your worries are justified at all.

And now, as I sit here alone by the bar at Ansara (www.ansarahotel.com), a small but very cute boutique hotel in Vientiane, Laos; sipping a glass of Baileys on the rocks and sharing my thoughts here, while 4 young Laotian hotel staff stand around the hotel front desk watching some video and chuckling to themselves, I wonder...

... when did some perspective hurt anybody?

The First REAL Post of 2011

My last blog post was a little strange, a little funny. I remember thinking I had the perfect thought and the perfect blog entry in mind to kick off 2011. But after those few paragraphs, I thought I could do with a short rest. I stood up, walked to the couch, and didn't get up till 2 hours later!!!

Now, you may think, okay, here's an alcoholic... but no. That was the most amount of alcohol i consumed this year so far. Oh wait a minute, then there was the hen party, and there was some serious drinking there too (and too many accidents involving half a dozen champagne glasses, a stool and bandages...)

The year has been relatively eventful so far, and in more good ways than bad. 2011 is going to be a big year of changes, I can feel it - for me and for a lot of people around me. Besides turning the big 3-0 (which seems to scare everyone, i'm not sure how terrified i am yet), Koks and I are planning a huge party, our friends are planning huge parties, new family members etc. It's all happening.

So amidst all that preparation, all that pinot noir, and all the celebrations, we are now in March, and almost done with the first quarter of 2011. Where did all the time go???

I have, however, put in a lot of thought into what 2011 will be, for me. 2011, I hope, will be the year of:

- Ballroom Dancing, more specifically Waltz

- Diving (but we will realistically only have time in the second half of the year.)

- Baking (this is a tricky one, because i'm also trying to watch my weight, don't know how i'm going to marry the two!)

- Europe (2 visits to Austria and 1 visit to Greece planned!)

- Newspaper Reading

- Jazz songs on the Sax

Hmm, that doesn't look so bad does it?

What will this year have in store for you?

Downsizing

As I walked home in my 4-inch (thankfully comfortable) purple heels, I decided that it is time to downsize.

Downsize?

Why downsize?

What am I going to downsize?

On the contrary, it is now increasingly easy to upsize. 50 cents more for a bigger pack of fries and a larger cup of coke (on that note, I hate fastfood with a passion), 2 dollars more for an extra 100ml of fabric softener, 1.50 more for that little extra of something, anything, everything. The environment of the blessed encourages us to consume more and more and more and more.

Buy more to save more, doesn't matter if you don't need more.

You never know when you're going to need some.

So where shall i begin to downsize? I have a few ideas.

1) Eat Less

I'm not 18 anymore, and I am no longer doing 40 laps at the swimming pool every alternate day and showing off a lithe and svelte body. Fact is, my metabolism has slowed, and I'm sitting on my ass all day only working my lungs and my fingers. I shouldn't be eating as much as I used to, and it is time for me to start watching what I feed my body. I shouldn't be skipping breakfast, gorging at lunch, and indulging at dinnertime. I don't really need the appetizer to tease my palate or the dessert at the end to clear my palate. And I definitely don't need to be paying an arm and a leg for meals that often.

Eat less and eat healthy.

2) Buy Less

Okay, there are many reasons a woman can come up with to justify a new pair of shoes, a new dress, a new belt and so on. Fact is, no matter how many new pieces we buy, there is NEVER enough clothes to wear, never the right coloured shoes and bags to match, never the right outfit for the mood of the day. If I had been more disciplined, and acquired classic pieces that never go out of style which can be mixed and matched, I would not have needed to buy more. I don't really need to have a new dress for every party, every event and every wedding (which recently, are as frequent as every break up, so why spend all that money?). I don't need to be constantly buying gifts for family and friends just because they could like it or that it could be a nice thing to do. I also don't need to be sponsoring or paying for stuff for others that often. I am sure people won't hold it against me.

Buy less and buy good.

3) Procrastinate Less

End of year is always a time to reflect, a time for melancholy, but is not an excuse to get lazy. I have been too comfortable and so, have been procrastinating more and more, and getting lazy, finding excuses. Oblivious to myself, I am wasting my life when I get lazy, and the laziness seeps into many aspects of my every day. And when I sleep less, I get up earlier, and I then will have time for breakfast and won't gorge at lunch or indulge at dinner.

This also cascades down to: Sleep Less and Laze Less.

4) Dream Less

I am a dreamer, and my dreams motivate me. But dreaming should not distract me from focusing on what's at hand. If I don't focus on what's at hand, I don't move forward, then the dreams remain as dreams. So with dream less, I don't mean stop dreaming... but focus more as I keep a check on the dreaming.

Focus more, and make the dreams happen, so the nett dreaming becomes less.

5) Talk Less

Last (for the moment) but not the least, it won't hurt to talk less and listen more. When I talk less, I will also be less visible, and maybe then, a little less expectations and responsibilities, and more time to focus on what's at hand (see above). Maybe I have been missing out people, things, and changing situations. Talking less will help me to be more aware of my surroundings, get off the radar a little, and turn my attention inwards (which is what we all love to do at the end of the year)

Talk less, listen more and be more aware.

People don't always need to know what you're thinking and you don't always need to get the answers right away.

There, by top 5 downsizing plans that shall start tomorrow. I'm excited about them!