2022

2021 was a tough year. Not just for me but for everyone in the country and around the world. My prayers go out to the people of Myanmar and the world. Months ago I had ideas about what 2022 would be like. Now it seems like the new year is no different from the last. Nothing seems to have changed.

As the new year rolled in I decided to focus on myself. I started reading self-help books: The Four Agreements, The Gifts of Imperfection, Atomic Habits, When Things Fall Apart, What the Buddha Taught, The Voice of Knowledge, and The Alchemist. You can see that I looked into Buddhism, mainly to study meditation. I meditate everyday now.

I can tell you with confidence that after reading all these books, the problems didn’t go away. The anxiety, the stress, the depression, the pain and suffering, anger, disappointments. They’re all still here. The books, the knowledge, and the meditation didn’t even lessen the problems. Instead, what I gained were tools to tackle with whatever arises in life. You can’t change what happens around you and you can’t change the people around you. Not even the ones closest to you. But what you can do is change yourself. It all starts with being aware of what’s happening around you and accepting things as they are. Acceptance starts with yourself, accept yourself. Stop judging and criticizing yourself. Love yourself. Be true to yourself. Be kind. Then the way you see the problems and the people around you start to change.

Guess things did change in 2022. I grew and the millions in Myanmar and the billlions around the world have grown. Not just a year older, obviously, but in resolve. I’m still struggling with myself everyday, life is not easy. Don’t give up on yourself, then you won’t give up on the world.

“Did those ideas ever really come to life?

Make it all come to life

Make it all come to life

Prayin’ for a change in your life

Well, maybe it’s gon’ come tonight” — Come to Life (Kanye West)