Finding Salt

"A grain of salt, without its saltiness, is just another grain of mineral," said my wise man of the decade. 

So here I am, at the desk, some four hours before the old calendar gets thrown out and replaced with a brand new one. For a year where I had hardly written anything, the pressure of doing the 2010 capping blog is intense. Yet, some 10 days ago, the title for this closing reflection was already decided. So it really shouldn't be all that difficult, right? Or should it be even tougher?

Salt ~ noun :  

1. A crystalline compound, sodium chloride, occurring as a mineral, a constituent of seawater.
2. A product formed by the neutralization of an acid by a base.
3. An element that gives liveliness, piquancy, or pungency.

In the last day or so, I have been trying very hard to recall what transpired this year. A momentous 365 days, no doubt about it. Yet, nothing really significant comes to mind when it is called. A strange occurrence indeed, except that it is not when I really sit down and think about the whys and the how-could-this-be.

I have been so wrapped up and warped by fears and trepidations that it had pushed everything else aside. Have I really lived in 2010? Or did I let the better part of it pass me by?

Life is all about experiencing. And I did not do much of it the earlier part of the year. But as we flip another page, open another chapter, I am grateful and glad that I was awaken from it soon enough to be able to still savour what was left of it.

 

And that is what I want to remember today, the last day of the the year 2010: all the lessons I have learnt this year. Yes - the lessons, not the accomplishments. 

For it is the lessons that will see me through the rest of the days and years to come. For it is the lessons that will shape me to be a better person. And I could not have acquired such knowledge if not for the guiding hands of the Almighty and the persons He put in my path.

As I googled the definition of salt, I could not be more blown away to see one of its scientific definitions come up as a product formed by the neutralization of an acid by a base. As Paulo Coelho writes in his closing blog for the year - Stop being who you were, and change into who you are. It could not be more apt as I look forward to the future.

And it is a future that shines bright, with some possibilities of bad thunderstorms along the way. But I am ready to weather it through, even if I come out of it slightly less intact than before. Because I am reminded yet again, that it is the experience of it that is of most important. And not what I am left with (or without) at the end of the journey.

If I had to write a resolution for next year tonight, it would be to always find salt. For wasn't it also said, "So be like salt: stay true to who you are!" 

Happy New Year 2011 one and all.... I hope your year has been as fruitful and rewarding as mine has been. If you had to suffer some form of hardship, feel some heartache, sit through some very dark nights - I hope you'll be able to see it like I do. If you had nothing but endless days of joys, I wish you the same for the days to come and that you'll wake up each day thanking the heavens for your continuous blessing. And that you also start the day thanking the heavens for the blessing of the day itself. 

As the LegalBeagle rightfully said it earlier: Did you realise nothing is really ending? We'll see you tomorrow!

Author's Note:

I am thankful for each and every day that you have filled my days with. Yes, it is not perfect but it is simple enough for me to see it as it is, and appreciate it for what it is.