Raw. Real. Unfiltered. Daily blogs. Often, less than 100 words
The world is glorifying what they have done.
Making all attempts to get famous (nothing wrong btw).
Or justifying why their parents failed them.
I get that.
I hear that.
I understand where you are coming from.
The only question is: Do you really want it?
If yes, please stop reading this right now.
However, if what you are chasing is something you don’t like fully, perhaps today is a good day to start with thinking alone for 30 minutes. Don’t you think so?
You’re just one video / one book away from a better mood.
You’re just one chat away from a worse mood.
And you’re just one pause of silence away from discovering the plethora of joy within you.
Which one will you start with today?
There are good friends. We all have them.
Those who understand us, are there for us, but show their true colours some time or the other.
Then there are best friends.
You don’t talk to them often. Hardly chat on the phone.
But they are true to you – with you or without you.
Having such friends is priceless. And if you don’t have one, are you that “one” friend for yourself?
5 things only rich people do because poor people cannot afford to do them:
Don’t you think so?
Last weekend, as I went with my team to Goa, we stayed in the Taj.
In the past, I have stayed in several 3 and 4 star hotels of small and medium brands, however, staying in the Taj showed what luxury looks like. Here is what were the differences between the Taj and other hotels:
These were the differences I noticed, other than the usual ones, such as – bigger rooms, nice toiletries, outdoor decorations, super clean and classic washrooms, lotsss of bottles of water being given in housekeeping, glass door on the bathroom but nothing was visible, no need to ask for bathroom slippers or toothbrushes like other hotels – they were by default present, clean roads of the resort, etc.
Overall, a wonderful experience! The Taj rocks 🙂
Okay, some pics here.
PS: If you look on the outside, there was no difference between a 4 star and the Taj. However, when you look closely, you see all the differences.
Dear Maa Papa,
I understand I sometimes come across as a weird human being. Someone who does not think like you, lives like you or even loves like you.
But you know what, nevertheless, I do love you.
Because that is what you both have taught me 🙂
Maa Papa, sometimes there are disagreements between us. And that sometimes turns to always.
You want me to be successful. But want that to happen under your eyes.
How will I ever learn to walk if you never allow me to get off your lap?
How will I ever learn to face the world if you keep telling me to run away from the world?
How will I ever create my own identity if according to you my identity could be best created at home while Papa may still go to the shop daily and do his Internet-based business and save thousands on rent and administration expenses?
Maybe you think my need for wings is too much. But you know what, it is just a basic necessity. Because when you attempt to chip off my wings, you don’t draw me closer to you . You rather push me further away.
When you both talk with each other, wondering what is the best way to deal with me, let me help you out:
Like you say, it is difficult to talk to me. That is the reason Maa Papa, I have stopped expressing myself altogether.
Maybe this makes you believe that I hate you. However, the reality is that I ache so much for your love and acceptance that I have drawn myself inwards. That’s it! How will I not love you? I do! I love you both so dearly that I do not want to bring any proofs to express it.
But as I know I am capable of taking care of myself physically, I do expect you to accept me that way. That would make me want to come home more often. Right now, even when I want to, I just don’t – because you would feel I am not brave. I am brave, however, I miss home even at home.
Hope to be home some day 🙂
PS: I love you to infinity, Maa Papa :)))
When parents force their grown up kids to do something, kids feel pressured.
When kids finally take their plunge, they feel guilty.
And I want you to know – in either situations, do what is right. It never goes out of style. When you do that, you don’t need to feel guilty. Do your best. And then trust yourself.
I am burning with fever. Something that disappears sharp at 9:30 pm daily and comes back at 11:30 am again. Wow!
Yes, I have tested negative.
However, here’s what I am doing:
Why, you ask?
Because what we spend time with is what encircles our thought process. Thus, it always helps to stay distracted.
That said, I am not jumping around and walking very fast as I do usually. However, I am still not married to the bed and moving around. And that’s precious.
Also, if you understand this part, it is priceless: The disease is in the body. “I” am always untouched.
These days you are learning a lot about my meditation retreat experiences. You’ll have them coming more, for the coming few days.
So while on that retreat, I happened to meet an influencer who stays there in the ashram. And when I went to meet him in his office (that was adjacent to the room he stayed in), I was stunned by what I saw!
While the ashram is big, I had thought his room as well to be one.
But that’s what his room was a reminder of: giving, sacrifice and living as who you are – not as what you want to show.
And meeting him was indeed a wonderful experience 🙂
The ones who have this question are the ones who do not control one thing that they can – habits!
If you are learning relentlessly, if you are meditating daily, if you are doing the hard work of letting go, you can never get to have this question.
Read the last line again.
I am retreating in an ashram these days.
Of all things, one of the most epic ones is the food here. Very simple. Every meal has 4-7 items, and those are the basic Indian food. The best in the world. Tastier than anything I have eaten.
Today I met someone who said that she is eating protein bar and granola because her stomach is not well.
I feel really sorry for her. For two things:
– Relying on “packed food” to make her “healthy”
– Not understanding the vibes of food cooked in an ashram.
This is precisely most people are unhealthy and unhappy.
I want you to read the last line again.
I am someone who is very flexible with their team.
I am someone who never mistrusts my family.
I am someone who doesn’t judge others.
Whenever we are trying to prove ourselves, it is because that part is wrong.
Look at this wonderful line I read in a book: “The one who tries to prove, tries to win the battle, and that one could never ever win.”
Let your actions speak louder than any words could do justice to.
This afternoon, my sister was sitting sad and lost.
When I asked her multiple times, she still didn’t respond.
My 3 yo nephew or her son, who was in her lap, I turned to him.
Told him, “Tell you Mom to smile.”
Do you know what he responded?
“I want watermelon!”
Wow. So cute. That is the level I want to get to in my life.
Here’s something I learnt from him:
So, my question to you is: Do you want watermelon?
1. Think in questions.
2. Don’t send that email.
3. Surround yourself with the right books.
4. Workouts are therapy.
5. Dance, baby!
I recently conducted an AMA on Instagram about the best thing that had happened to people in 2021 so far.
The responses were surprising.
While I had expected people to say things like got a new job, promotion, etc., most responses went with:
1. Started prioritising myself.
2. Taking care of what I want.
3. Took up yoga to for myself.
4. Moved to a new city.
5. Learnt to live on my own.
And so on and so forth.
Loved it! When people take care of themselves, they are able to take care of others more. Which isn’t true vice versa.
Looking forward to having more of them and seeing people get more powerful.
“As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen This is one of the tiniest books I’ve ever read, containing just 56 pages, however, each time I pick it up, I get a new direction to my thought. Here’s sharing the 18 timeless lessons from the book:
The book is easy to read, and needs to be read over and over again. If you could do yourself and your life a favour, get one here, today, PLEASE!
And when you’ve read it, reach out to me to let me know which one line are you going to take with yourself as a reminder. I’d look forward 🙂
Creativity is a weird companion.
Exactly 24 hours back, I was bursting with ideas to write blogs on.
Right now, I don’t know what to write.
Seems like creativity has been infidel to me and left me. Except that isn’t. Because creativity is a process. If you show up, it always does.
If you are reading this blog post till here, you know that creativity has kept up. Because I kept my promise of writing this post.
Creativity is always loyal. If we are.
There’s a country where citizens become organ donors by default on attaining a certain age. It’s a law. They can choose to opt out if they want to, however, they will be in the last priority for consideration as organ recipients.
However, this is not possible in developing countries where there are fights on basic things like bank accounts or food and shelter.
There is nothing wrong or right. It is just the culture that pushes people to think certain way. It’s the reason why desis act like firangs in the countries of firangs. The culture gets it done from them.
This pretty much explains why we do what we do, and why is it impossible to change people without their prior choice or change of culture.
Someone who grew up in corporate culture does not know the nuances of starting up at all. Perhaps an eighteen year old knows more.
Someone who grew up in an Omkara apartment in Worli Mumbai won’t ever understand the nitty-gritties of arranging the basic things in most households.
Someone who meditates at dawn daily won’t love the culture of drinking till sunrise in Goa. They just aren’t that.
People aren’t wrong. They are just different. Simply due to changes in the people we are surrounded by.
While we cannot control whom we are surrounded by unless we make some drastic changes, we can always change whom we are surrounded by online.
Since humans spend a lot of time online, we have the choice to think like the people of the country where becoming an organ donor is mandatory.
We always have a choice.