Take a break for you, from you.

Okay, I know with the title it seems like yet another article over the same old topic of Mental Health. That’s all everyone is talking about these days. I get it. But honestly there is not enough said about this topic yet. It is important and now that the generation is such that wants to talk and discuss and give importance over what’s inside as much as what’s outside, it is bound to be one of the most talked about, discussed topic currently.

Mental Health is as important as a healthy heart, a healthy liver or healthy skin. If we believe in heart attacks, kidney failure, we should definitely believe in mental or nervous breakdown, depression, anxiety and other issues with mental health. Don’t just brush it off saying there is nothing as such.

Anyways, I wanted to talk more about how much a break is needed to keep yourself sane or keep you safe from breaking down. We don’t just need a break from other people, our jobs but we need a break from ourselves also once in a while. We need a break from our racing hearts, our uncontrollable nervous state, the memories, the worries, etc. etc. etc.

You don’t even have to do much. Take a 5 minutes break and just breathe. Practice meditating. Read something that is absolutely not related to your studies, politics and news. Stare at a wall, take a walk or go to a place of greenery like your backyard or a garden. Play with a kid, a dog or your cat. Just something that takes your mind off of thoughts and your heart off of feelings. Most importantly, avoid any kind of screen time.  Look at it as a reset button.

Like it is said that your happiness is your responsibility, so is your sanity.

God Gave, Man Took

God gave love, Man went after lust.

God told the truth, Man hides behind lies.

God wanted the path, Man only thought of the destination.

God taught patience, Man learnt instant gratification.

God created Man, Man birthed differences.

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Think where it all went wrong!

Oh Simple Smiles!

A steaming cup of coffee; Sound of opening your Amazon Box; Sunlight; Fresh Air; Lyrics that mean something; Conversation; A minute from your loved one’s schedule; A minute with yourself; End of a good day at work; Socks…

Such Simple things yet they put up a smile on your face and the feeling of excitement in your pure little heart. Philosophically speaking life shouldn’t just be a series of big amazing incidences, rather build your life around these small meaningful smiles.

The year 2020 has taught us just the same. Without going out, without travelling to exotic destinations we all have learnt to try to stay happy. It has definitely been a year that has tested your mental health and patience like no other, which is exactly why it is important to try and find happiness from within.

When you look in the mirror today, love what you see. Love all the wrinkles and lines, the tired eyes and the lovely smiling lips. You have earned it! Life and phases will end before we even know it, if we keep seeking big things to happen to celebrate. Encourage and build on the simple things and then the big moments and grand incidences will feel like bonus.

Quirky Stitch

So meanwhile having a little time on my hands, I decided to explore upon certain extra activities like writing reading that I do “normally and regularly”. This time though I thought of doing something different and learn new stuff. Hence, I came up with quirky designing. I am a huge fan of DIYs and so I started to DIY designing.

I started wandering and hunting the Garment District in New York and the small shops with very very and I mean very Dim lights. My main aim was to buy regular simple plain pieces of clothing and then add a little touch and accessorize to personalize them. My personal style is a bit out there, Quirky loud colors and comfortable. Hence I decided to do some Quirky Stitching to personalize the simple stuff I buy.

The First piece I found was a plain red Pea coat. I bought it at a bargain price and then I decided Up it a little. So I added a little key Pin to the collar. Something to quirk up the blah winters.

The second one was a plain red Sweater. Well, I know, off lately every piece of clothing I own is red. Call it the color of the season or blame the holidays coming up. So anyways, I had seen these Faux Pearls sweaters on hundreds of sites and in a couple of stores. So rather than buying it at $20 or $30, I decided to amp up my sad little $8 sweater. So I got a bag of Faux pearls and stitched them up to my sweater. I am sure it will look awesome at some Christmas party!

Last, I was so inspired about my little project going well, that I wanted to amp up almost all my clothes. I dug up my closet and found this old Zara pullover Knitwear. I wanted to quirk it up somehow. So I bought a couple of things from the jewelry making section of Hobby Lobby. And I stitched that on my old pullover to add the pizzazz.

And after I was done, I felt like one of those DIY youtube videos. Rather than spending a lot, you can have fun making stuff while saving a little as well. I love my new Wardrobe and like I say, “A Stitch in Time, Saves a Dime.” This way I can spend more on other things, like FOOD! 😉

Half-Hearted Try

I keep on telling people that I am a writer, a blogger and that I have a blog which I am very much committed to and proud of. But truth be told, I haven’t written/published any article since July 19. It is not that I don’t want to write or that I had no ideas. I literally have 10-11 titled word documents in my laptop right now. Just the problem is that they are just titled and left.

This made me think as to why am I resting on my laurels. Yes I worked hard to start and commit to writing, publishing and for almost 2 years I did, but then slowly other things started taking a front seat, job, home, travelling, resting and just like that without a thought writing took a side step. I started exploring new avenues and new skills that I have and to promote that, while as for writing, I started resting on my past work and kept it to that.

Now that I am aware of this thing happening, I laughed. Now why is that? It was always that I never made new year resolutions stating that I don’t believe in that, and I don’t because I know that I cannot and will not keep up with the resolutions. And so I am laughing that even though I don’t make resolutions on 31^st December, I do keep breaking the commitments I make for my growth, my skills and myself every now and then. I do half-hearted try at growing. I hope that changes as I am still writing even after the break!

The Next Big Question

So you got married. What is the next big question in life?

‘What will you have in lunch/dinner?’

I feel this is the most persistent, annoying question ever out there in the universe that anyone can ask the other person. If you answer it today, it will still be there tomorrow. Ask in the morning, it will be again there in the evening.

Before marriage this was a worry of my mother but I used to get annoyed when she kept asking this every day. Now that I am married this bothers me all the more. Every free moment from the time I wake, I have to think about what am I going to put on the dinner table late in the evening. Menu should not repeat, there should be variety and at least 4 different dishes (Which is normal in Indian cuisines). So then there is not only to think about what to cook it is also about what goes well with what. If the vegetable doesn’t go with the curry, I have to change the menu. You think it’s only salt and vegetables that go into cooking. NO! It’s a hell lot of permutation and combinations also.

Every day the same thing. And if you live with other people you have to ask the same question to all what they want to have for the meal and taking everyone’s likes dislikes and then cook accordingly.

Such a small question still such an annoyance. What do you think?

 

What will you have for dinner today? Leave the answers in the comment.

Simply, Its Not Simple Anymore!

Wasn’t life much simple when there was just one kind of pink – PINK. To complicate things humans decided to introduce Salmon pink, Carnation pink, Magenta, Rose pink, and many more.

For humans it has slowly become more important to complicate things rather than keeping it simple. Now we have reached a stage where we either pay for services to make things simple or struggle with things that needs to be simple. A few weeks back, I gave an international competitive exam called IELTS. The format of the exam is such that candidates need to write with pencil on a paper. Seems simple, right? Contrary to our thoughts, people were finding it difficult to write with pencil. It is no more our habit to write on a paper. We are mostly connected to laptops or desktops. We type and not write. Due to our habit, I observed that people were erasing more and writing less. Their thoughts were running faster than their writing speed. A simple task of writing is now much complicated for us.

Such observations give me food for thought. I think wasn’t it much simpler when vacation meant going to our relatives place and spending time with our cousins. Now having a vacation means added pressure of going to exotic places just so you can tell people where you have been. Wasn’t it simpler when photos were to create memories and not for getting followers or likes on various social media platform. I feel it was much simpler when our time was divided in different segments like school, playtime homework and sleep. Now running here and there all the time answering emails all the time has complicated things much further and disturbed the social and personal life balance.

When I read articles or stories on Social media about the hidden meaning and biases Disney movies have when they show princesses only who are white, I feel lost of words. Because, when I was small and saw these Disney movies or even now, it was for entertainment and for food for imagination. I never gave another thought for the biasness or the hidden meanings or messages or whatever is blamed. Why to complicate things for which there is no necessity.

Human mind is working overtime to find things to complicate. Relax! Sit back and don’t over complicate things.

To the Men on Women’s Day Occasion

To all the men out there, a shout out to you all on this Women’s day. We are celebrating Women’s Day today, but I want to thank you all guys who have tried making this day special for their SO, daughters, mothers etc etc. You get the point.

It is because of the Men of the society that we get so much importance in Women’s Day. Some are the good guys who make or at least try to make this day special for the females, but I feel bad for them that their Men’s day doesn’t get much importance or as celebrated as Women’s day. I feel they should also be celebrated for their sacrifices and their roles in any female’s life, be it a driver, ATM or a mechanic in the house. If we celebrate Female presence we should celebrate the Male presence as well. Now that’s what feminism means. Equal right despite the gender.

And then there are those males who had have and will be oppressing females just for the idea of patriarchy society they hold in their minds. If the world had not seen the history of overpowering males oppressing females or not letting them have their freedom, we wouldn’t have rebelled so badly and wear our hearts on our sleeves now! So I don’t feel that bad about the rose and the lunch and the gift card I got from office today on the occasion of Women’s Day.

While I don’t believe in designated days at all, still I personally want to thank you all for playing different roles in my life, for being the other half of the world.

Wrinkles on the Sheet

A bed is the place where a person is just themselves. They cannot say lies there; they cannot make up things there. People dream there. They visualize their lives there. They relax there. It is a place where a person is just as god made them. No pretense, no stories, no false show.

Just as while, the way a person’s bed is after they wake up, the way the wrinkles in the sheets are says the story of what the state of mind the person was in. Every wrinkle resembles something about the person. Did the person have a good nights’ sleep or they had trouble in sleeping.

In my observation, my bed sheets have more wrinkles the day I am unsettled or troubled or just struggling to sleep. The days I am tired or in a good place personally, I have less wrinkles on my bed sheet. I like to have an unmade bed. Makes me have a connection to the place I rested. Making the bed in morning for me means removing all evidence of the night before. As if nobody slept in it. That is necessary if you sleep somewhere else or when you are a guest as other’s home. Your bed needs to have your traces. I love to read the story by my unmade bed.

Things that we ignore in daily life, small things give us signs or signals of the life we lead. We should not ignore them. We should open our eyes and start observing them. Maybe such subtle signs can save us and help us keep a check on our hectic lifestyle that we lead these days.

Go to sleep happy and get up happier!

 

The DIY Bride

On the occasion of the marking of One-year down, I decided to write down my personal experience of the memory of the kind of Bride I was – The Do-It-Yourself Bride.

It is a well known fact that I love Weddings. I guess it’s the female hormones and I wouldn’t be the first girl saying this. And it’s not just that I love weddings, it is more like I LOVE WEDDINGS.

I was the irritating guest, who goes to weddings and automatically starts planning for her own. I mean it wasn’t deliberately done but it came from within. Seriously. I would do this, I would do that. Even before the groom was booked, I had already decided on the venue. The groom was decided 3 years later than the decision for venue was taken. It so happened that the venue later had to be compromised upon. It still did not dampen my mood for the wedding.

Like every girl I had been planning my wedding every since one of my cousin, first in our generation got married. And when I got the opportunity to throw the wedding of my life, nothing could hold me back.

Out came the fabric glue, Poster boards, Sharpies and all the craft stuff. It just started with making one project which then snow-balled and I ended up doing a lot of DIY projects. It might sound crazy but I took a lot on my plate than needed. I seriously don’t recommend doing it all just by yourself. I was doing some of the décor, personalize my bridal entry, Gifts for my bridesmaids. But I had a lot of time and enthusiasm , mostly a lot of time.

So for the Bridesmaids gifts, I decided to make a Dream catcher from scratch. I gave them away in small cute jute bags with a tag that said “Thank you for the support, You’re like the Bra to my Life”. It did the trick. My Bridesmaid had lots of laugh at the tag, made their day. I felt happy. It felt personal.

For my décor, I picked on colors, designs, menus, everything right down to where the God’s Idol would be kept (A requirement in every Indian Wedding). I personally made Bangle decorations for the wedding venue. I also made the back decor for my mehendi function.

The biggest DIY project that I did was personalize my bridal entry. So I did a lot of research and searched a lot of sites that promotes dream wedding. I loved the idea that my small cute nieces would hold a poster before I enter, reading, “Here, comes the bride” or something like that. But of the two nieces I have, one is shy to walk in front of people staring her and the other was too small to walk! I tweaked it and with the help of my cousin and her beautiful handwriting, I made a couple of posters which had a funny message for my groom. I got the feedback from the guests that they really enjoyed the bridal entry. Mission successful.

The last one was done at the last moment. I had gone just 4 days before our wedding to pick my groom on the airport, which happened to be on the valentine’s day. My groom is really shy. So, I decided to embarrass him and I wanted to show all the people there on the airport how enthusiastic I was about my wedding. So I got a big poster reading, ‘Squishy, We are getting Married.’ Just when his flight landed I held the huge poster for everyone to read. Imagine something like this happening at 3 in the morning. It was super fun welcome for the groom.

All in all, I tried to squeeze in as many personalized touches as I could do. I DIY’ed it all to make it more personal. I even designed my own dresses for different functions, and even though I bought a ready made wedding dress, I still added personal touch to it. Believe it or not I had the courage of sticking glue and shimmer to my wedding dress. Imagine it going wrong! But it did not 😊

A lot of things didn’t go as per plan, a lot did. But it was a typical big fat Indian wedding with lots of functions as I had two mehendi functions, one Bridal Shower, one sangeet, one Puja, One wedding! I can now happily say that I had the dream wedding!