Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it. — Goethe

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues. — Duke Ellington

No matter how arbitrary it may seem, the new year is a time to set things right, re-assess energies and re-direct focus. I’ve never been one to make resolutions, instead choosing to work on myself daily, watching myself unfailingly. But this is a new year and I wanted to try it out, especially in light of some new projects I’m working on which need a different approach. So I’m trying to be practical in my resolve.

I was curious about the origin of this word, and the related one, to solve. It turns out to be rather interesting:

Origin of resolve: 1325-75; Middle English resolven  (v.) < Latin resolvere  to unfasten, loosen, release, equivalent to re- re-  + solvere  to loosen;

Origin of solve: 1400–50; late Middle English solven  < Latin solvere  to loosen, free, release, dissolve

In this context, I’m seeking solutions to certain nagging problems, to set free my creative impulses and dissolve obstacles in my path. It’s time to release my fears and start building my life.

1. Manage time more carefully: plan better and be more focused. Less distractions. (Yes, as I’m writing this I’m aware of the several distractions I’ve allowed in this short span of time!)
2. Be more physically active: dance more.
3. Laugh & have more fun.
4. Appreciate more, complain less.
5. Be open to surprises.

2011 New Year in Varanasi

We spent last New Year’s in the holy city of Varanasi, India with a friend from college and his friend. It was truly a magical way to welcome 2011–we got a fire ceremony/puja at one of the most powerful temples in India called Kashi Vishwanath, as well as rooftop fireworks from the hotel next door!

After returning, I completed a consultancy with Jaipur Rugs Foundation. It was one of my first professional projects after being a full-time volunteer, and they put their trust in me although I had little in myself. I explored new territory of rural Rajasthan while learning about how the organization operated and made suggestions for improvements in communications.

After expressing interest in launching NetSquared in Jaipur, I was invited to attend the TechSoup Global Contributors’ Summit in Santa Clara, California in February. It was a total game-changer for me. Not only did I get to meet great people that I had admired online for years, like Beth Kanter and Peggy Duvette, but it provided me the inspiration and motivation to finally make a leap and decide to return to the US. I was able to develop those relationships further and make contributions to the work they are doing.

The spring and summer went by in a blurry dream. Or should I say the summer and summer. In Jaipur, it started getting hot in March. It was hard to believe we’d finally be going to the US! Fittingly, I attended an International Organization of Migration conference locally. I started organizing meetings for NetSquared Jaipur. And updating my resume for job-hunting in the US.

We had a lot of preparations to make. I started packing two months early, so excited was I. By May we just had one month left to go, and my husband finally decided he’d come on the same flight. Up until that point, he thought he might go later. So once again we were rushing to get everything done, especially with the bank accounts. I went to the Isha Yoga Center to have one last look, enjoyed myself but got terribly ill and barely made it back in one piece. It was a good reminder of why I wanted to return to the US, as if I needed another one…

For us, the new year started back in June. New country, new rules. Learning how to play the game in New York city, or at least pretending. Had one apartment, then moved to another before the hurricane struck. Submitted my husband’s immigration paperwork. Went to Mashable’s Social Good Summit finally, which I’d longed to attend since the year before. Had an internship in the fall and a couple interesting consulting projects which followed.

Instead of a New Year’s post, this actually feels like one for Thanksgiving. I have so much to be grateful for! Even though I sometimes feel like things are not working out, looking back helps me to see that actually I have gotten or achieved most of what I wanted. And while it has taken time to adjust to my new surroundings, slowly I’m getting the hang of being here.

“Desire, ask, believe, receive.” –Stella Terrill Mann

Permaculture flourishing in the Amazon:

“I saw poverty all my life” Carla tells me. Carla Noain Park comes from a city called Iquitos in Peru located on the Amazon river where she once studied to be a teacher. “I always wanted to help my people” she tells me. However, it wasn’t until she married her husband and moved to the US, that this dream became a reality.

When anthropology and film making brings cultural understanding to your village:

“I don’t believe in giving people a voice as people already have a voice. I believe in giving them a microphone to tell their story” says Martha M. Foster the founder, President and CEO of Living Earth Television and member of WiserEarth.org. A lifelong documentary curator and anthropologist, Martha’s work focuses on helping people understand each other across cultural borders.

Climate change activist focuses on empowering others in Zambia

“My ambition is to empower the local community. When we empower people, they are more likely to want to create their own businesses. It is only when we do this that they will start to take care of the environment around them.” ~Auldridge Chibbwalu 

It’s OK to be against growth!

Dave Gardner is the producer of GrowthBusters, a controversial new film which seeks to de-bunk the myth that growth leads to progress. “I am suggesting that there may be another way of living. True sustainability is progress, yet many people believe that limits to growth go against progress. I am embracing the end of growth,” he says.

1. There’s no going back.  While I had secretly hoped the transition would be smooth and I’d jump back into the mainstream (was I ever even there?), that obviously hasn’t been the case. Even though part of me resisted returning for so long, somehow I thought that I’d resume being my old self once back in familiar territory. A lot has changed in that space of nearly eight years that I was living abroad. It’s more than just that my horizons have broadened; my perspective on life has been dramatically altered. I naively thought I might be able to pick up right where I left off when I’d left the US. I’m more aware of aspects of my former self that haunt me and it’s like I’ve entered a perpetual time warp. I’m struck by the high schooler inside me, and the nostalgic nagging of ancient memories. It’s like a nonstop exercise in taming the “lizard brain.”

2. Nothing is normal. Although I want to get back to some normalcy and stability, I’m also starkly aware that those concepts are pretty irrelevant to my life, which refuses to conform to some standards that I’ve set for it. What is normal is relative, and depends from person to person. Yet, when living in India, I was constantly struck by things that were way too different for my personal set of likes and dislikes.

3. Bumps in the road are not just part of life, they are life. We have a very strong belief that someday, life will go smoothly and everything will be just right. Even if things do eventually work out, the process is usually messy. The more I realize this, the less I struggle against how things are now. For example, the picture below was taken in late August, when we sent off some of my husband’s documentation. We were prematurely  joyous, since there have been delays and we’re still waiting for his papers. They should be arriving soon, though.

4. Get out and meet people. When I first arrived, I was constantly running around to different meetups. This has slowed down somewhat, but it was a good way to force myself to get back out into the social scene and to hear about what was going on. I learned about a lot of interesting new projects and got inspired. I’m also looking for more sustainable, long-term means of interaction in my local neighborhood though. I recently attended a local writer’s group and am trying to help organize another meeting. Although the timing is pretty bad I’m still interested in the community garden which I totally spaced on during the warmer months.

5. Stay in and hibernate. In this city of bright lights, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the hustle bustle and huge skyscrapers towering overhead. I actually overheard a tourist in a restaurant bathroom say that she felt nauseated by the constant, overstimulating sensory onslaught. Yes, it can be exhilarating and thrilling, but also tiring after a time. Everything in moderation: it’s good to be out, but so is having quiet time at home, too.

6. Laugh and love. Partially because I was running out of ideas, and because I badly need the reminder! When it all begins to feel overwhelming, it’s a good sign that I’m taking things too seriously. Some hugs and some laughs are the perfect antidote. Trite, but true.

 Behance’s 99% blog shares “8 Counter-Intuitive Ways to Improve Your Well-Being & Creativity.“ As if we didn’t know it already, they remind us that sadness is a prime catalyst for creativity, though I would also argue it’s probably the main reason that creative ideas don’t come to fruition. After writing my last post on feeling like an outsider, my mom sent me something on “The Upside of Being an Outsider.” It’s interesting how Lisa explains that these feelings often begin in childhood, asking the so-called deep questions and pondering life’s big mysteries, while most kids are riding their bikes, blissfully unaware.

On the Harvard Business Review Blog, Tony Schwartz explains ”How to Think Creatively,” which to me conjures amusing imagery of CEOs in gray suits doing modern dance to a prompt like “feel the space around you.” Nonetheless, he presents (quite logically) the stages of creative thinking–slightly removing the sexiness from any ideas you may have about the creative process.

But I quite prefer Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s deep exploration of the creative process, where she shows that it’s not all that one imagines it to be. I was particularly struck when I realized that even hit songs don’t just magically appear, and that master artists and writers hone their skills through relentless activity. I guess the “practice makes perfect” lesson is only just beginning to hit me.

 Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the so-called “creative process,” thanks to a couple books I’ve been reading: Gail McMeekin’s “12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women” and Oriah Mountain Dreamer’s “What We Ache For.” Some people, and I might be one of them, claim that humans are innately creative beings. But I’m haunted by questions: why must we try so hard to complete creative acts if the creative impulse is supposed to come so naturally? And why are only some things recognized as creative while others are not?

Innovation and creativity are buzzwords in the current economy, and it appears that success depends on them. But only to a certain extent–if we actually unleash all our creative impulses, all order would disappear. With the current torrent of technological advancements, it’s easy to think that our lives are becoming more mechanical and less creative. Yet, even though technology can seem like the furthest thing from creativity, it was born through a creative impulse, an inspiring idea.

I was live tweeting (seems to be one of my favorite pastimes nowadays!) and below is the Storified version.

We have been through two moves in as many months, and while I have been working from home, recently I started to feel like I’m rushing whenever I go out. The pace of this city is notorious, and it requires an extreme awareness not to get drawn into the tide like a leaf which has fallen into a river. I find myself constantly walking briskly, even when I have plenty of time; nonetheless, I am often running slightly late which puts me into even more of a running mode.

Since there are many opportunities for networking and socializing, I have been trying to take advantage of at least one or two each week. Even this sometimes feels like a small number considering all the options, but when the week is over I feel like I’ve done a lot. This week was a particularly busy one, and I had scheduled something almost every evening, yet it didn’t always work out according to plan. On Monday, the person cancelled; Tuesday was a great event at the Alliance Francaise; Wednesday I had two options to choose from, neither of which I ended up going to.

Yesterday was the clincher, when, in my haste, I failed to notice that the event was on Jay St, Brooklyn and instead went downtown to Jay St! This oversight cost me two hours and made me wake up to the fact that I simply need to be more strategic in my plans, and not automatically accept every interesting invitation which comes my way. But the lovely sunset I saw on the ride home made it worthwhile, and made me realize the metaphor that despite the cold and rainy weather, or perhaps because of it, the sunset was that much more magnificent. I interpreted this to mean that even through the tough times, or maybe thanks to them, life shines with a brilliance. We still have the choice to gracefully and joyfully handle the situation.

I’m also reading The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor as recommended by Kimberly Wilson. It’s helping me to think about what I’d like to accomplish and how to go about it. I need to dedicate time to concretize my vision for the future before I go about creating it. On Wednesday, I had three interviews, and by the end of the day my head was spinning with the possibilities. But once the dust settled, I was much more able to see what was not only more realistic, but what truly suits me.

Next week will be another busy one, what with Mashable’s Social Good Summit. I was thrilled that I was accepted to be a part of the Digital Lounge for press and bloggers! This weekend I have to study the agendas and map out my focus. You can follow the live webstream too. Expect to see daily recaps of the event here on this blog, and maybe even some videos if I feel adventurous enough…

In pure immigrant fashion, last weekend we moved from one sub-let apartment in Astoria, New York, to another, bigger one via pushcart. The big dent in the plan was Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, who had yet to rear her not-so-ugly head and the preparations were on in full force throughout the paranoid city. By Friday afternoon, I was enjoying the calm before the storm by ignoring all the news, but suddenly it all hit me and I panicked.

We were moving to only a block away from the “C” evacuation zone–should we spend the night in our old apartment, just a block away? Should we rush and try to transfer all our stuff on Friday night, before everything shut down the next day? I started throwing things in the suitcase and running around like crazy. Why was my husband not sensing the urgency and continuing to work? After a quarrel, I only made a couple trips before collapsing in exhaustion. But after eating dinner, we finished most of the packing and waited for Saturday, and Irene, to show her face.

I awoke at 5:30am in a state of emergency, the only way out of which was to get busy. We had to get everything done before it started raining, which could happen at any minute as far as I was concerned. The weather reports said it would rain “by late morning.”  By 7am we had brought the first of many cartloads to our new place and inherited a new cart so that our efficiency could be doubled. We finished around 11am and it was only just starting to drizzle; we were at the uber-crowded supermarket at 1ish when it started to pour, but then it stopped soon after. So we just began waiting, too fatigued to do much else. We watched a movie and enjoyed ourselves.

We noticed some loose windows by the time the winds picked up on Saturday night. Unfortunately, we also had an active leak in the bathroom, which was un-Irene related and which we had known about previously. By Wednesday, the crack finally became a hole. Fortunately on that day, we had a friend from Jaipur visiting and spent most of the day sight-seeing with him!

We have been cleaning more than we ever have in our lives, and just when it feels never-ending I begin to notice how much we’ve done. It’s rewarding to see the results of our labor, and to create a new home together. But it has also brought up some issues from our past in Jaipur.

I’m not exactly sure why I’m more tolerant of the difficulties we’re facing here, and why things bothered me more there. We also had some leaks there which really got under my skin. Maybe I’m more mature, and I’ve learned that problems exist everywhere; maybe I’m just more willing to be here than I was there.  Either way, I constantly feel like I’m at a crossroads–shedding the past and hurtling towards a mysterious, miraculous future.

I really wish I had more before and after photos, but in the heat of the moment I couldn’t capture much. I guess I had more on my mind at the time!

This post is a photo montage celebrating the rest of this miraculous day, complete from Post Office, to post-Post Office cheesecake, to “Yay” and “Wow” topiary sculptures in Socrates Sculpture Park. Enjoy!

mmm cheesecake!