The Roller-coaster that was 2016.

It’s funny how a day can go from a ‘good day’ to a ‘bad day’ in a matter of seconds.
It’s funny how a person can go from ‘perfectly healthy’ to ‘in hospital’ in an instant.
It’s funny how our entire world can be turned upside down before we know it.

Personally, I get comfortable in certain routines and keep forgetting just how fragile everything is.
I get comfortable waking up every morning, taking a train, going to work, coming back, chilling with the family and going to sleep. I get comfortable going for gigs every second week, going to church every weekend. I get comfortable with a certain group of friends, with certain people who I assume will always be around; I find comfort in my routines.
What I forget is that all it takes for everything to change is one mistake. One slip while on the train, one errant car driver, one bad decision, one bad choice.
Everything I’ve grown to love could be gone in an instant, and there’s nothing I can do to change that.

Looking back, 2016 will always go down for me as one of ‘those’ years where everything changed. From not knowing what a Tech rider was, to managing tech riders for an entire festival. From playing my first gig in February, to co-coordinating and playing on gigs with 300 times the budget. From eating vada pav’s for lunch to eating at fancy places (that’s only because of demonetization and no change – I still prefer vada pav).
2016 was a year where I was suddenly thrown into the thick of things, and somehow managed to get through.
I’m not a very ‘Holy’ person and I hate when people over-spiritualize everything, but this I’ve got to say.
Some people call it good fortune, some people say it’s good luck, but I know it’s nothing but God’s favor on my life. There’s only ‘that much’ that being in the right place at the right time can get you, and this last year has just been surprise after surprise.
2016 has been a roller-coaster with more ups than downs and words can’t fully express how amazed I am at that. I don’t know what 2017 holds, but I happened to stumble upon something I wrote 2 years ago and this is what it said –

Life isn’t messed up, it is beautiful.
Life in all its imperfections, is a beautiful mess.
Tragedy strikes; people die.
Thousands are wiped out, but from the ashes a new generation will rise.
We fall, we fail
We get back up, and live to fight another day.
We learn from the past,
We try to make a better future.
We never stop trying.

That right there, is the beauty of life. No matter how hard we’re hit and no matter how long we’re down, we will always get back up. We will always get back up because we have this intrinsic, almost intrusive sense of hope. That sense of warmth that even the coldest of hearts feel. That feeling that maybe ‘next time’ will be different. That ray of sunshine that brings joy even in the darkest of times. THAT is what pulls us through when it feels like all hope is lost; THAT is what makes us fight and THAT is what makes us want to wake up every morning.

I have no idea what 2017 holds; I have no idea what the next week holds, but I know no matter what happens, it’ll all turn out for the best, and I’ll walk out of it a better person, so bring it on!

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” 
― Corrie ten Boom.