What Breaks your Heart?

Images of starving children in 

Not- so-far off Africa or India ? 

Corporate slaves toiling in a 

9-5 humdrum ? 

Terrorist attacks, suicide bombs 

Car bombs 

Random shooting by not-so-random guns? 

Women being attacked for no other reason than they're women? 

Is it a lack of control or a lack of education? 

But what education? Purely academic suppressing emotion and ethics? 

Priding physical prowess with no thought of the Divine within? 

Golden cages masquerading as Comfort zones 

Couches and sofas 

Surfing channels and the aimless searching 

Mental, emotional and spiritual poverty 

Or just apathy 

Empty eyes 

Devoid of laughter 

Dying a living death of boredom 

Suffering in man-made pain 

Or diseases of unbroken habits 

Battles with monsters in the mind 

The sporadic emergence of Jekyll and Hyde 

The mad dash to be First at the 

Top of the Ladder 

Only to find the Soul left behind 

Robots marching to an external beat

Instead of pulsating to 

The steady beat of the Heart 

That never stops 

So what breaks your heart? 

And what would mend it again? 

Expectations

Rampant thoughts 

My mind whispered 

"Shouldn't she?"

"Shouldn't he?"

"Why did she?" 

"Why didn't she?" 

"But I thought..."

"I hurt." 

"She knew but she did it anyway" 

"He said but he didn't" 

So many whys 

No reason no rhyme

Anger, rage, sadness, jealousy 

Marched across my furrowed brow 

Demons battling before my eyes 

Always asking why 

Tossing and turning 

Twisted bedsheets 

Strangled pillows 

Tears streaking silver down the planes of my cheeks 

Gentle floods 

The Stars beckoned 

While the dawn whispered 

After a torrid night of ill-rest 

Light as a feather 

Dust mites streamed across 

My mussed hair 

My eyes refused to open 

Even as my mind revved with hope 

But why hope

With no answers 

Or were the answers within me 

All along 

Was I the cause and the solution 

Right from the start 

Perhaps 

That was the hope 

I was my hope 

Three things you shouldn't let go of from 2015 that you can use to make your 2016 your best yet.

Letting go isn't easy. 

And I don't know about you but sometimes the more I keep hearing about it, the more I feel a sort of guilt when I don't or can't let go- for whatever reason. 

I was sitting in church last Sunday and it was the last Sunday of the year, so the pastor had decided to focus on the topic of letting go. I thought it was rather appropriate too since we all want to move into the new year without holding on to past baggage. All those things that have weighed us down the whole year. 

Relationships that didn't quite rise to our expectations and that may have soured our spirits. 

People that you feel might have failed you. 

A business idea that didn't quite pan out the way you saw it in your mind. 

An illness that doesn't seem to be going away no matter how much you try to be positive. Regardless of the number of prayers you make. 

Let's call all these experiences Life. 

So I was mulling over the message while the pastor was speaking, and one of the thoughts that flew into my mind was that letting go is just downright scary. 

And the second thought or rather a question that popped up was what should I let go of? 

We can't just let go of every single experience that we went through; it would be like cutting off a part of who we are. A slice of our psyche. You might not agree with this but we needed every single experience we went through this year to bring us to this moment. 

So I believe that there are some things that we not only shouldn't let go of, but that we should hold on tightly to. At least three that I can think of. 

Number one: your faith. 

It's not just about what religious beliefs you subscribe to. It goes deeper into a fundamental belief in yourself. 

What do you believe about yourself, that you have put into practice the last year and seen it blossom? What was the strength of that belief in yourself? What went wrong and could the things that went wrong be traced back to a faulty belief in yourself, or can you confidently sit back and congratulate yourself that you did your absolute best no matter the result? 

Only you can answer these questions best, and the good news is your faith and belief in yourself can be increased. By doing more or by trying out new things you discover new capabilities that you might have never believed to have existed in you. Trust yourself. 

Number two: Don't let go of the people who've stood with you. 

We're not islands. We need people around us. The good kind of people; the ones that support us through the dips, the ones that hang on. Even if you don't speak with them on a regular basis you know in your heart and mind that you can trust them to be truthful, and yet loving. Keep them close. 

Number three: Your achievements and your disappointments. 

It's easy to remember what you did good- all those proud moments when you set your own personal best. And you should remember these always and let them seven as a humble reminder that as human as you are, you can make miracles happen by getting into action and by focussing on your task. 

Disappointments are what we'd rather forget. They don't leave a sweet taste in our tongues, unlike our accomplishments. But we need them to teach us valuable lessons on who we are. Go through your list of disappointments and -keeping the pain on the side- do a little reflection. 

Get glimpses into yourself. Figure out what went wrong and why. And then make it a point not to repeat them. Carry the lessons over, not the pain. 

We don't have to start on a completely blank slate every year, especially not when we come to realize that there are some things that we don't need to let go of. Things that can actually give us a boost this 2016. Make this a year of your personal bests.