Midlife Crisis or Midlife Awakening?


Ø  Is it nearing 30s?
Ø  Is it reading quite a bit of spiritual literature?
Ø  Is it mostly to do with how I have started viewing my thoughts?
Ø  Is it finally maturing or having grown up?
Ø  Or is it simply too much procrastination on a temporary phase? J

Whatever it is, suddenly the term midlife crisis starts making a lot of sense, even though nearing 30 might be too soon as per usual definitions of the term. But then, have I ever cared for ‘aisa hi hota aaya hai’ (this is how it has been). And it’s more of an awakening and not a crisis actually. So, what do I mean by when I say something(s) have changed. What does a shift actually feel like?

1.       Converting from a hard-core non vegetarian glutton to a vegetarian disciplined diet – 4 meals a day, almost nil processed food, all meals preferably home made, no packaged drinks!

2.       From an insomniac and a night owl to sleeping max by 11:30 (still late but nothing comparable to an average of 2:30 earlier J) and getting up by 7 – sleep quality is much better infact!

3.       From a party animal and a borderline drunkard – clubs, pubs, cafes and anything to do with loud music & booze to becoming somebody who gets a hangover after 2 large pegs of scotch.. the ‘high’ is more of a ‘low’ these days, even the fucking taste has changed from awesome to awful so much so that I have started finding ways of avoiding alcohol altogether.

4.    From a super extrovert to an introvert – prefer spending time alone, travelling alone, chilling with close friends is the new definition of fun. Silence has started playing a major role in my life – this is one of the biggest changes – from an incessant talkative person to somebody who easily gets bored of everyday conversations.

5.    From running behind happiness to seeking inner peace! Happiness seems to be transitory and fleeting while inner peace is more sustainable – it has more to do with how you manage yourself internally rather than getting excited with positive external stimuli.

I could list down many more such changes but probably I have made my point. I am still figuring out what this is – am pretty amazed myself but it’s a welcome change. Some of the things I consciously started doing within the last couple of years which might have brought or at-least expedited this change are listed below.

ü  Stopped watching news and uninstalled all news apps. 99% is mostly negativity and noise
ü  Stopped discussing politics – it started becoming too polarizing and is mostly inconsequential
ü  Started travelling to the mountains and spending a lot of time in nature
ü  Re-kindled the love for reading – Kindle is my fav. Companion these days
ü  Avoided watching TV – Ads are designed to promote consumerism and materialistic tendencies
ü  Trying to follow minimalism and/or essentialism
ü  Started following a few spiritual speakers and read quite a bit of spiritual literature

There is so much more that I want & plan to do. Will write more about that a few years later probably when I have actually experienced the consequences of my choices but it’s been a fun ride – being consciously lost (that’s why the name of the instagram profile!

Would love to hear if you have experienced something similar or your thoughts on this!

Cheers,
Aman

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