Untangled

Days after I landed in India for the third time in the past year, I untangled. 

To untangle: to free from a twisted, knotted state, to be free from perplexity, from confusion. 

All those circumstances that seemed so distressing, so confusing, so pressing, so important, only days ago, weeks ago, months ago, slid through my mind, dissolving into nothingness. Knots of anxiety untangled themselves, tightly knitted problems woven into my mind, unraveled. 

In their place, a lightness, a void, a clear path.

We awoke just before midnight and ran to the rooftop to watch the fireworks over the backwaters of Kochi. Aside from a handful of noteworthy and beautiful moments and accomplishments, I was glad to see 2024 behind me. A year of navigating stress and loss. A year of feeling too much. 

Somewhere between stillness and movement life got blurry. 

Blurry: not clearly or distinctly visible or audible, unable to perceive what is real and what is not, unfocused.

During these darkest days of the year, a surge of new energy rises. A time to recalibrate and refocus. Focus harnesses creative power, something tangible and real. An ability to create. To actualize. 

The word maya is often translated as illusion, something to rise above or see beyond. But a better, more accurate translation is artistic power. 

When I stop moving through the world and life as though it's an illusion, it becomes more vibrant, more real. I see it as a creation I can work with and immerse in. I stop making every experience something other than what it is. I stop projecting meaning onto everything and simply live. 

Early weeks of the new year were punctuated by southern Indian sunsets and meandering beach walks. Feverishly reading Han Kang and Mona Awad, afternoon writing frenzies, and endless cups of masala chai. 

Untangled, I am fearless, focused, and clear. Unrushed, with eyes wide open. 

Move through the world like you are walking a labyrinth, slow and mindful, winding your way through landscapes and colors and enchantment.

How did you navigate through 2024? What strengths did you find? What will you do differently this year?