30 Rocks!

30 Rocks!

I celebrated my 30^th birthday when I was 29 (5 years ago). No, I was not in a hurry to turn 30 nor was I looking forward to it. It was a miscalculation of age which is a usual occurrence with me.  In fact, far from looking forward to turning 30 I was pretty nervous about it. My brain was completing the usual thought ‘I am 30 already’ with ‘I haven’t found my dream job yet’, ‘I haven’t discovered my passion in life yet’, ‘I haven’t found my soul mate yet’, ‘I haven’t started planning my retirement yet’….. and the list went on. I think god has programmed the brain to trigger particular type of questions at some landmark ages.

However, 4 years into my 30’s and I feel this is the phase of life that has made me grow up more than the 29 years before that. It’s a funny feeling sometimes when you calculate the average life span and realize oh! at 34 I am at the mid of my life term! Thank God the mid life crisis hasn’t hit yet. In fact I believe that it’s at this time that we really grow as individuals. We finally understand other people, our outlook towards life broadens, we learn to take responsibility of ourselves and others and most importantly we learn how to truly know and admit when we are wrong. A few years ago I failed to see my mistakes or when I did see them also I was too prudent to accept. And today when I look back I laugh at myself because with time I have learnt that a peaceful life cannot be lived in denial. A few days back I got slapped by a friend and the denial of my fault lasted for just 24 hours and then the truth that it was indeed my fault dawned upon me.  Most people don’t learn from their mistakes because they don’t see their mistake in the first case. We blame a misfortune to destiny and move on without learning anything from it. Well, thankfully that’s one thing 30’s has changed about me (with help from some close friends).

So 30 doesn’t just rock because it suddenly turns a magic wand and makes you smarter. By this time most of us learn the basics of enjoying life, having a good work-fun balance, spending time with family. And also for people who start working early in life I feel this is the phase where we get a second chance to spare time for art, for something we always wanted to do. It gives us time and maybe reason to start looking inwards again and lead us to spirituality in some degree. I have amazing people around me whom I see doing rocking things in their 30’s….. Farida being one who apart from being a mother, a corporate woman and a great friend has also become a Tarot Reader, Hypnotherapist and also does Reiki! Most of my friends have started meditating and some who were not avid readers have become regulars at Landmark. A couple are actively helping NGO and there are some who are leaving the corporate life to start their own small ventures.

 I could actually keep writing about this. But to keep it short, it’s an amazing phase of life to be in. We have the financial independence, more time and even more will to do things we wanted to do. We are expected to be mature but yet totally accepted when we are being kiddish. Friends and colleagues who are in their 20’s make us feel smart and mature and yet help us stay young at heart and the ones in 40’s make us feel young and adventurous while sharing their pearls of wisdom with us. And most importantly we begin to find our true self …again…

So even though I haven’t ‘I haven’t found my dream job yet’, ‘I haven’t discovered my passion in life yet’, ‘I haven’t found my soul mate yet’, ‘I haven’t started planning my retirement yet’… I am more at peace with myself than I have ever been and I totally believe that 30 Rocks!

P.S - I was trying to get my laptop fixed about an hour back when my best friend from college Vibha (aged 35) called and asked which is the game we are playing on FaceBook  currently.. Diamond Dash I said and she replied “maine tujhe extra life bheji us game mein… tune kyu nahi bheji mujhe!” ….lolzzz …. No matter what the age.. the kid in us never dies!