Month: December 2015

Family, Food For Thought, Myself, Preeti

Reflections on 2015: Love More, Live More & Give More

Sanjay Sabarwal

So the last two days have been eventful in my life. Actually, if I was honest, I would say this past month and the whole year has been. But yesterday, I spent most of the day at the ER for a headache that wouldn’t go away. Last time, that happened, I had a subdural hematoma (a bleed in the brain) so it’s frightening. Luckily, it turned out to be migraine caused by heavy congestion. Then, this morning around 5am, someone tried to break into our garage. Our brave  seven pound Maltipoo alerted us with her bark, and we called the police who confirmed that someone had kicked the door in.  They didn’t get anything, although they were welcome to the 2 broken bikes, poker table, and 4 tires that were in there. I almost wished it was a homeless person that we could have given money to spend the night someone since it was so cold out.

The lessons I took from these events is that 2016 is the year I work on improving the foundation of my home to taking my health to the next level. I have had too many scares to not take it seriously.  Yet, I also got a chance to reflect on how many amazing things happened this year.  I learned that I focus too much on what I didn’t get done, and while that works on motivation, it devalues me in a way. So while it may sound like bragging, it’s more of a testament of just acknowledging myself that I am on the right path,

This year, I completed a Spartan Trifecta, wrote a novel, and 4 other personal essays, completed a leadership program, did lots of community service, started practicing law, deadlifted 305 pounds, worked out regularly, raised and donated money, became a Artesia chamber member, connected with loved ones, acknowledged my failures in trust with key people, and learned much more than I thought possible.

Now 2016 comes, and I now know that I need to travel more, do more fun stuff with Preeti, and of course learn more. So the last two days are a reminder of what more I get to work on, and as part of what I learned from Four Agreements is to accept it all and not take it personal.

So Happy New Year to all my loved ones.  I hope you take a chance to reflect on your year as I did. It is a great way to build a foundation for the future!

Brownness

Opportunities of 2015

Sanjay Sabarwal

9c5dfdc1bb71a32266f37f3f3b1558ecThe last few weeks have been a blur. Between work, trying to work out 4-5 days a week, watching over my dad as he recovered, and ensuring I helped Preeti with Holiday shopping, it hit me that the year ends in almost two weeks. 2015 almost gone. I need to take a moment to assess what worked and what didn’t. There are so many things that  did, but almost a few major that didn’t, and in that lies the opportunities for a better a 2016. Those are the gaps that get to be filled. They are the ones that will lead to a better me. So here goes.

  1. Love more. More than anything else, that matters the most. From showing my wife why she is the amazing person that makes me feel lucky daily to my loved ones.
  2. Travel. It’s time to see new places and things.
  3. Be Published.  It is time to turn professional and get out there.
  4. Be Fit. It’s time to be able to do pull ups and get down to my ideal weight.
  5. Be in Service. It is time to do more in the community.
  6. Declutter. Not only my life, but by work and library space.
  7. Save. It is time to invest and better set up my future..
  8. Practice law. I get to increase my client base.
  9. Social. It is time to reconnect with old friends and create new ones.
  10. Mindfulness. It is time to be present in as many moments as possible,
Brownness

A Trifecta of Things

Sanjay Sabarwal

I sit here, body still sore from last Saturday’s Spartan race. It was the last leg for my trifecta in which I ran three races in one year, all varying lengths.  In a way, this should have been the easiest at 4.5 miles, considering we had done a 9 and 13 mile ones, but this turned out to be the most challenging for me as I experienced the one thing I feared during a race.

I lost both my contact lenses  in the first mile, which, in effect, made me half blind. So I posted one of my slowest times, and my friend Vishal was a great sport about it. I did sulk for almost a mile after about the lenses, and then it hit me. It wa done with. I could go on and on brooding about it or I could just keep going. And then it changed. Took a breath. New moment. And from then, I enjoyed the race.  It’s the same in life. I keep being challenged, and I get to learn to treat it as new moments, and not just brood on what did not happen. It’s not easy when things don’t go as we want, but then again it’s how you react to it that defines you.

So yeah, I am quite proud of this race.  Now, it comes to make new goals. New moments. New Memories. New trifectas.

Brownness

A Full Thanksgiving

Sanjay Sabarwal

It was a bitter cold morning. I walked what felt like a mile to the starting line. I was the first from the group to get there, and I took in the spectacle that Long Beach Turkey Trot. A food bank van collected cans and other non-perishables. I was a bit cranky at the lack of sleep and wondered yet again what the hell I was doing at 730am on Thanksgiving running a 10K. Well, more like jogging at 1 hour 15 minutes, but whose counting? Yet I met my group of 20 with my ex-personal trainer who got me to do this run every day (5 years now).

Upon finishing, I rushed out to another place three miles away. A church where for the first ten minutes, I was overwhelmed at the amount of people who had show to volunteer to serve the less fortunate, and stood around unsure what to do. Then I went to the back, and saw my old job waiting for me, washing pots and pans. I did that for a year at UCLA and immediately dove in. I said hi to my family members (over 10 of them showed to help). It was an amazing feeling to see so much of my family show due to a simple text by me asking for support. We worked till 3pm, and then we headed home.

We got to getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was during that time that I realized we had just created a new tradition as many of my loved ones said they would love to the Turkey Trot then go serve. It wa a full Thanksgiving, but you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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