Once in a while we go through a phase when the totem keeps spinning and you are half convinced that you are in a dream within a dream. If you hang around too much you may go into a limbo & never come back to the real world.

That was January 2017  blogging wise for me.

The crazy ‘Inception’ inspired analogy aside, Inspite of having my Blogging Goals outlined months in advance , I could see myself losing hold on the things I wanted to truly blog about. perhaps I was over thinking and over reading and over debating them too much. Or perhaps like a famous person once told me ‘I don’t have the drive’.

The easiest way to get something done from me is by telling me I can’t do it. ‘Challenge accepted’ , I thought.

But when it came to action I floated around social media completely losing my center. I lurked around on blogs searching for inspirational stories , happy posts . But I kept going back to all that’s morbid all around us.

The early euphoria died as soon as the news of the Banglore Incident kicked in . I was still recovering from the whole Trump debacle and avoiding debates centered around ‘He’s not your president’ . Worse , had to keep reiterating to men and women how the conversation about women issues isn’t about the men and their fragile egos that needed cushioning. It was mind numbing.

By the 7^th of January, I was exhausted. It went spiraling down from there.

It was magical to see Viola Davis talk about Meryl Streep with admiration & respect. It was moving to hear Meryl use a Lifetime achievement Speech to talk about Empathy. Her words ‘Take your broken heart and turn it into art’ kept nudging parts of brain for days that are yet unexplored by science. [relive the moment here ]

I felt a sense of pride when millions of women across the world stepped out to claim their space . Across cities in India, at the Women’s March in Trump’s Lalaland. Nasty Woman & Dissent became the unofficial word of year.

I tweeted a LOT , Read a LOT , thought a LOT & because of all that slept very little . But , I didn’t write.

And then my favorite month arrived & it’s as if the totem stopped spinning.

The stars aligned , the haze lifted & I sat down to type.

So long January , you got me agitated , kicking & finally look at things more clearly as the dust settles.

Apart from the Feminism High Points , you were a month about feeling things for which words haven’t been invented yet.

You are laughing at me aren’t you? Go ahead , I challenge you to give me a word that describes any of these.

The feeling when a complete stranger sends across a Christmas gift to you , coz you cheekily asked for one?

Thank you so much @parul2411 ! Random acts of kindness on Twitter is fast becoming my favourite thing pic.twitter.com/uEU1iyiVMA

— Chandni Moudgil (@chandnimoudgil) December 27, 2016

Being on the must – meet list of another acquaintance travelling to India from another continent & getting you a souvenir ?

 

Thank you @kaushiva . 2017 is bound to be kind coz it started on such a heartwarming note. pic.twitter.com/VmEfphciJB

— Chandni Moudgil (@chandnimoudgil) January 1, 2017

Or a complete stranger sends you positive karma as he shares his version of ‘tough times don’t last , tough people do’ pep talk.

January was a mixed bag of crazy and lots of ‘moments’ . But it’s over and now we are in Feburary with the realization that the ever expanding circle of kindness In blogosphere is my totem that keeps pulling me in & I keep coming back to the third dimension.

How was your January? Are you following through your blogging goals? And if you actually managed to understand that whole ‘totem’ spiel there , tell me what helps you not get into a limbo?