There is a recent trend on social media comparing people’s 2016 vs 2026. In most cases, people’s lives looked happier in 2016 than now—or at least in pictures. I took the chance to examine mine. I viewed my old Facebook account and saw lots of good old photos from that year. Yes, life seemed perfect for me at that time too.
In 2016, my life seemed put together. I lived in a condo unit just a walking distance from our office. We weren’t doing overtime since we were on a shifting schedule, and most of the time we worked from home. So even in a WFH setup, we clocked out on time. Also, because there was no traffic to face after work, I could still do many things like exercise. I also discovered a new passion then—cooking. Oh, I loved cooking. I even cooked for my condo mates and officemates, just because I was in a good mood. So yes, most of my mental space was spent thinking about what to cook next and how much time I should spend on the treadmill.
I was also active in service in our Catholic community at that time. Every Sunday, my whole day was reserved for service at The Feast. Moreover, I was active in hiking and traveling to different parts of the country, as I had a travel buddy back then.
Life seemed perfect. I had wonderful officemates, a travel buddy, condo mates, spiritual community friends, and a few friends I still see on some occasions. They all catered to my different interests. My self-care routine was epic—travel every month on weekends (and just rest on Monday in a WFH setup), massage every two weeks. I could buy all the things I wanted and eat all the good food I craved. Life was seemingly perfect, except I felt dead inside.
I remember when my mind couldn’t take it anymore, I called my college best friend. I told her, “You know what, I don’t have any problems, and I am so bothered.” That was insensitive of me because she was the breadwinner of her family and carried all their problems on her shoulders. However, I just couldn’t make sense of this deep hole inside my heart at that time. I felt like I was living a floating life—directionless, foreign, meaningless.
I remember there were times when I attended Mass after work just to pray to God to create some disturbance in my life because I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I felt so numb. So meaningless. So directionless. So uninspired to wake up another day.
Then fast forward to 2020. I had my spiritual awakening. On the outside, people couldn’t relate to me—not even my own family. And that was okay. Because on a soul level, I was most alive. When I learned spiritual knowledge, like the teachings of Dolores Cannon about lightworkers and more, I felt deeply resonated. I knew they were true because I could feel them in my gut. This was what I had been looking for. I was so thirsty to relearn all this knowledge. It felt like it was just a review, something I already knew before. Suddenly, I knew I had a purpose. It wasn’t a superhero kind of purpose, but I knew I was here for a reason.
On a soul level, comparing 2026 vs 2016, I am sure 2026 is more epic. I feel much calmer and more peaceful today than I did 10 years ago. I remember after unloading so many sankharas in one meditation course, all the blockages in my heart and solar plexus dissolved and disappeared. After the course, I ran on my usual path. It was the most freeing run of my life. The air flowed freely from my chest. No blockages. My body felt so light, like paper.
My soul waited for this moment for me to learn Vipassana. I thank someone from my past life who planted the Buddha seed in me so that I would pursue it in this lifetime. To give back, I created this blog to plant this Buddha seed in every reader that I have. This blog is one of my missions. If not in this lifetime, then in your next lifetime, you may receive the gift of Dhamma too and know the true joy of life.
To enroll in Vipassana Meditation Course, please follow this link:
May all beings be happy. 🙏
–G.A.