Hello dear reader,
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
After spending a wonderful week at home and celebrating New Year’s Eve with family, I’m back at my workplace.
But on the 3rd of January, we received some bad news. One of my relatives passed away. He was an influential person in the place where he lived, and my mother went to his funeral. He had a heart attack, and by the time the family members took him to the hospital, he had already passed away.
I had very few encounters with him, but I remember him as someone who helped me during a difficult moment in my life.
Once, when my phone and belongings were stolen on a train while returning from a solo trip, I reached my destination at 3 a.m., feeling completely stranded. I went to the police station, but they were of no help.
My mother then called this uncle of mine, who lived in Guwahati. He immediately came to pick me up, dropped me safely at the airport, and even gave me his credit card in case I needed to buy something. He kept insisting that I buy a phone too.
That kindness is what stays with me.
When my mother reached his place for the funeral, she learned that he had already been dealing with heart problems. He had undergone heart surgery and had experienced several near-death moments over the past year.
He was a devoted follower of Goddess Durga. His wife shared with my mother how he would pray to the Goddess, saying, “Maa, you are trying hard to take me from this life. But let me live a little longer. I still have some things to complete. Let me finish them before you take me away.”
Life is uncertain. Death is certain.
So what remains?
Your actions remain. They are not wasted. You carry your good deeds and your bad deeds with you even after leaving this earth. The account of your habits and actions does not close. You carry them forward.
Most of all, kindness remains.
It may not feel big to the one offering it, but it becomes everything to the one receiving it.
This reflection also brought back another incident that made me feel deeply loved and supported.
Last month, after returning from Bodhgaya, I fell really sick.
I usually recover within a day, so I thought one paracetamol would be enough. But it wasn’t. I was alone at home all day, too unwell to even visit a doctor.
That night, my colleague, who is more like a friend, called to check on me. When I told her I was still sick, she took the next day off from work and came to see me. She doesn’t live close by; she lives in another part of Kolkata. Yet she came.
She brought home-cooked meals prepared by her mother, took me to the doctor, and stayed with me the whole day.
In the evening, before leaving, she went downstairs again to buy ORS and muri-batasa—something Bengalis often take when they are sick.
She continued checking on me morning, afternoon, and night, asking if I needed her to come again.
This kindness of hers touched my heart, and it will always remain with me.
So the question I find myself returning to is this:
How do you want to be remembered?
Also, I don’t know whether my uncle’s work was finished before leaving this earth.
But it reminds me not to leave anything unfinished.
Finish the task you have set for yourself.
Say what needs to be said.
Do what needs to be done.
At the very least, let today feel complete. Finish today’s task today.
Many of us, including me, have the habit of delaying things, of saying “later.”
But this year, let’s try our best not to leave anything for later.
There is a quote that captures this beautifully:
Don’t leave anything for later. Later, the coffee gets cold. Later, you lose interest. Later, the day turns into night. Later, people grow up. Later, people grow old. Later, life goes by. Later, you regret not doing something when you had the chance. — Toshikazu Kawaguchi
May we not leave our most important works unfinished.
May we live with a feeling of completeness.
So that even if life asks us to leave unexpectedly, there are no regrets.
And we are able to say,
“I lived well. I loved well. I did what I needed to. It was a wonderful trip of life on Earth.”
xx
P.S This was a part from my Mindful Monday Newsletter. To receive my newsletter directly to your inbox, subscribe below. It would be wonderful to have you ❤️
Journal Prompt of the Week
Table of Contents
- How do I want people to remember me—not for my achievements, but for how I made them feel?
- If today had to feel complete, what one thing would I do before the day ends?
New Year Blog Posts
- How to Plan 2026 gently without overwhelm
- How to Plan your months for a joyful and fulfilled life
- Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Goals the Right Way
- How to Start Taking Responsibility for Your Life
Quote of the Week
One from Others
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel
— Maya Angelou
One from me
Learn to trust in the impermanent nature of things.
This much for today!
I wish you a wonderful week ahead
Past Newsletters You might Like:
- On Expanding our Joy Span: Let Joy Stretch
- God must be an audience and other reflections
- On Travelling and Things that Travel beyond us
- Notes from Hills: On Change and Impermanence
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