Category: Family

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!

Family, Food For Thought, Myself

25 Years

Sanjay Sabarwal

happy-25th-anniversary-4990511It’s great to see marriages that long, and you Sumita and Jagdeep, showed a 18-year-old boy what love at first sight meant. Merely 21, Sumita you knew who you would be with for the rest of your life.  You love like you do all things in life: fearlessly.   Jagdeep, your calm nature and love of Golf carried the day many, many times, but more than that, it’s how you let my sister be free and be the person she wanted to be especially when her whims were all over the place.  For that. I am forever grateful. But that’s what Sumita is best at. Enrolling people into her crazy visions because no matter what, her heart is pure. I have never met anyone who through the force of her energy convinced so many people into how she sees the world. It is a gift that I am truly envious of.

Of course, I picked a blog post to do this because standing in front of loved ones, I could not do justice to how much I love you both. Jagdeep, you are a gem and set the bar to be brother-in-law quite high. Through you, not only has my family grown but so has my heart and for that, thank you!  Sumita, you often say you are my second mother, and I have to admit you have been there in that way more often than a sister. Both you and Mom allowed me to figure out what it is what I wanted to do even though most of the times I am sure you wondered what the hell I was up to.

So thank you for being in my life, Jagdeep and Sumita. Together, you have created three amazing children that I love like I breath. Enjoy your day. You two created this amazing thing for all of us. Thank you!

Family, Myself

Being Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Sanjay Sabarwal

downloadLP 122Today, it has been 24 hours since I finished a four-month long training called the Legacy Program (LP). I did not end with relief even though almost every day began with a challenge to my life. I chose LP to redesign my life, and truth be told, I am surprised that it did. I pushed myself in ways I have not in a long time. I chose discomfort as my template rather than being OK with  my life. I pushed myself to create new things and go back to an early Sanjay who cared deeply about what was going on in the world and not just himself. I reactivated my passion for life, and the people who are in it. I chose to live life rather than pass time. In the process. I gained a new family of 54 people who did not allow me to falter or make excuses. They held me to the higher standard I declared. They called me up to be the Sanjay they saw in me, the Sanjay I deserve to be, and the Sanjay who make change happen.

It was not without failure, but now I see that as opportunities to learn from not to give up. Each experience taught me of what’s working and what’s not.  I am truly blessed to have the wife and loved me who encouraged me to spread my wings, and because of that my family grew. I also grew. I now see so much I can contribute, and while the old me talked about why I couldn’t do something, this graduate now discusses possibilities and how it CAN be done.

Family, Food For Thought, Myself

Grateful

Sanjay Sabarwal

The weekend passed in a blink, carrying with it new experiences and memories. Plenty of laughter with the moms and my family. A chance to reconnect and strengthen the bonds, but also to immerse myself in gratitude for the people in my life. I see the next generation and with them the love comes easy, and it heartens me to know that they too get to experience what it means to be amongst people who care about them deeply. Silly conversations to complimenting the food and  four dogs took over our attention, yet more than anything else, the time spent together recharged me.

Each time we get together, I am reminded that the connection is not just because we are related or married to each other, but that we genuinely like being around each other. The one thing missing were dear friends, but I resolved to solve the issue soon. Each of these relationships are my way of charging back into things I want to accomplish in my life. It also reminds me why I do the things that I do in my life. Gratitude rules my life, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

After all, if I do not recognize what’s good in my life, then how I can grow?  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Family, Food For Thought, Inpsiration, Myself

Life and Death

Sanjay Sabarwal

life-and-deathOn Friday the 13th, I attended a funeral and a birthday. It was surreal to say the least. While we mourned a father’s friend, I couldn’t help be glad I got to see him in his final moments. I put aside the busyness of the world, and was just there, allowing my wife and to be one of the last ones to see him besides his family. It struck me that nothing else matters when death is around the corner. I know he was surrounded by loved ones, and I hoped our presence conveyed our love for that family. It didn’t feel enough, but it was more than nothing. At the end, that’s all that matters.

That night, I attended my nieces 20th birthday, who also asked me to be her manager, and it hit me that I held her in my arms when she was born. I only wanted the best for her, and the love I felt for her so strong and potent that it caused me to choke up. Suddenly, this became a summary of what I wanted my life to be. To be reminded that there was more to the day-to-day. more to things we wish we had or the fights we get into. There’s more to me. More to just getting past the days, the hurt. the meaningless tasks and goals we fill up our time with. More to all of us. There’s life and death. Because once that occurs, we have a choice. We either move forward, stay still or leave with regret.

What are you going to choose?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCax0ZfFSHs

Family, Inpsiration, Journal, MITT, Writing

Awake to Write

Sanjay Sabarwal

Darkness veils the upcoming day outside. Yet I hear it waking up. The deep quietness of the night passed a while ago.I know because I woke up before to hear nothing but deep silence.  I don’t need to look at my clock to know it’s before 6am. Muffled bird chirps reach my ears.  I groggily ask myself for the 1000th time, do I really want to wake up?  I already know the answer, hell yea.  The voice recedes, and I sit up. The dog instantly at alert, it’s walking time! I wish I could tell her that she has to wait, that I have first I have to invest in myself. So in goes the protein shake, and I head to the library. I can no longer say I don’t have time to write. I now have two hours that I are devoted to creating words, and they don’t just stop there. I also turned off my inner editor. For now, I write till I can write no more and instead of sitting there with my fingers poised over my keyboard either deleting what I wrote earlier or bemoaning that I am out of ideas, I keep open several times. A story, an essay and now a blog post.  I heard that from a Timothy Ferris podcast in which one of the participants suggested there is no such thing as writers block, just that for now you had run out to say something for the current piece. So you keep moving.

Oh yeah, and a timer. Because no matter what I need a reminder that this is my time to write. And I can choose to waste it or make something out it because once the bell rings it’s dog walking time. This routine just started, and already it feels like this is something I should have done ages ago. The reality is, there is time to do everything you desire. The question will always be how early do you want to get up to fit it in. I can either be complacent and complaining about the lack of time, or I can suck it up, wake up and get to it. Either way, it’s the life I create for myself. For me, that means being a writer, one who writes daily.

What will you do to make your dream come true?