If I look a little tired in this set of photos, it’s because I am. It’s January 2016 and everyone seems to be back to work with gusto. It is only a few weeks to Chinese New Year so my work schedule is pretty tight. The week has been a blur of meetings but an extremely productive one. In my free time, I’ve been sorting out travel plans for early Spring in a bid to get an adventurous exploration of Tibet and various parts of China. Considering how often I travel, I’ve never really explored this expansive middle kingdom so this is the year for it.
Meanwhile, I need to sleep more. I keep telling myself that but it’s hard when I’m currently addicted to a new game called “Craft the World”. I’ll tell myself I’ll take a break and play for 30 minutes or an hour before bed but time doesn’t work the same in game world. Before I know it, it’s been a few hours and I’ve eaten into a huge chunk of what is supposed to be sleep time. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up on my sleep debt this weekend.
I’m also intending to come out of my hermit shell a little in the next two months. At the end of 2015 I chose to hide away from my usual social life to recover some “me time” and I think I’ve neglected quite a bit of friends. I’m glad that real friends are always so understanding and supportive even though I went ‘missing’. A tapestry of relationships, connections, and encounters with others constantly weaves through our lives. I try my best to support others to grow through words and actions, while also receiving their support and love back. What’s easy to take for granted is how often I choose to express my gratitude and appreciation to the people that have made a rich contribution to my life. I appreciate and love my friends a whole bunch but being generally introverted, I can sometimes forget to show them that’s how I feel inside. Months could fly by before I feel the need to reach out. At times, I forget to ask how they are doing because I follow them on social media and am happy to know they are having fun and doing alright even though I should know better that social media postings should never be taken at face value. Life is precious and (at the risk of sounding morbid) you don’t want to regret not expressing your heartfelt feelings should something bad happen. It may also be exactly what the other person needs to hear to get through their current challenges.
So let me take this opportunity to tell my dearest friends that I love them and I often think about them even if I’m busy and get caught up with reality. If I haven’t been reaching out to you, come find me and I’ll be more than delighted to make time to do proper catch ups. Spending time with close friends will always make my day.
Thanks for reading and I hope you remember to express your love to your friends too.
