Hey there,
How's 2024 been treating you? I know it's only been a month, but I'm sure that many of you have been up to all sorts of exciting stuff.
As for me, I've mainly spent this first month in the company of friends (and one particularly feisty cat), lamenting about my country's fast and furious descent into total and complete darkness.
I'm also trying not to think too much about all the things I need to accomplish in the coming months. The word to note here is "trying". Trying not to think about something and actually not thinking about it are two very distinct states of being - a bit too distinct if you ask me.
But I shall keep trying, because my wish for this year is to become a patient person.
My history with patience is....not great. One of the sentences I heard again and again as a kid was, "Patience is the mother of all virtues" (another was "stop kicking your little brother). I confess I didn't really internalise the lesson. And then, with the advent of smartphones and computers, patience became even more of an unattainable skill.
Anyway, my mid-twenties have taught me that patience is absolutely crucial if you want to experience any sort of peace and calm in your life. Instant gratification is a farce and nothing meaningful ever happens overnight.
So here goes my first thing for 2024: a web app called rrrelax that helps you take slow and deep breaths. It's nothing fancy, but most useful things aren't. But if you're patient with them, they can bring enduring joy.Â
Happy 2024, everybody.Â