When LOTR DIsrupted And Saved A Day!

It was one of those days when nothing worked as per my plan.

For starters, I woke up late, which in itself produced a quake in the whole foundation of the day. I wondered how it came to be that the hour I woke up, started deciding the course of the whole day. 

Waking up late meant I missed my morning routine of stretching exercises, reading and meditation. In the afternoon which is when I usually write, I felt uninspired and whiled away the time watching LOTR (yet again; by now I have lost count of the number of times I have read the books and watched the movies as well). My ritual of walking in the evening while listening to inspiring speeches got affected with the unexpected arrival of a guest. 

Night brought in the realization that I had wasted my time by watching LOTR. Wait... what?? 'Wasted' my time watching LOTR?!?!?!

And that's when I shook myself out of my melancholy. LOTR is the one addiction I take pride in. Be it the books, be it movies, I am CRAZY about both. I will never tire of reading the books or watching the movies. They represent a world I keep returning to every time my world starts feeling heavy. 

And I won't allow myself to feel guilty about LOTR. Never in my lifetime. 

All the accumulated exhaustion of the day was replaced with the shock of associating the word 'wasted' with LOTR. And that brought in another realization.

That some days life will take its own course. You will wake up late. It will disrupt your whole day. Plans will fail. Guests will arrive unexpectedly (when your house is NOT clean). But it's okay. What will make a difference is how willingly we go with the day's flow.

No matter how badly my day might progress, LOTR will always be that un-guilty, unrepentant pleasure that I will allow myself. As Gandalf says, all we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us, and if our answer is LOTR movie marathon, SO BE IT. 

The Coffee That Completed The Circle Of Life

I am extremely fond of the calming solitude of the dawn. I usually wake up looking forward to my morning routine which includes some stretching exercises, reading some motivational works and a meditation session of five minutes. I can focus only for five minutes at present, but I am thinking of gradually increasing the time to meditate. 

But the other day, something happened that made me realize that there is something more amazing than the silence of the morning, and that is the excited chatter of a boy in his not-yet-a-teen phase. The kid woke up early that day and asked me to assist in his studies. While I am a huge fan of silent mornings, there is something very magical about the energy of a teen in the early morning. For someone who gradually accepted and embraced contentment and peace, the kid's excitement and vigor felt like a refreshing change. It brought hope - of possibilities coming to life, and making dreams come true.

I usually prepare the decoction for filter coffee in the morning. As I poured the hot water over the coffee powder in the filter, the kid walked into the kitchen and inhaled deeply. "I love the smell of coffee.", he said happily. "Do you remember the coffee shop that used to be there in the lane where we lived on rent? That shopkeeper would roast coffee beans and grind them. I used to love going to that shop." He said wistfully.

I smiled thinking about not just the said coffee shop from his childhood, but one from my childhood too - a shop where I would wait patiently while the shopkeeper ground coffee beans to prepare filter coffee powder. The shop also used to sell books and there was one called Gokulam, a fortnightly magazine for kids. I would purchase the same and start reading, all the while inhaling the invigorating aroma of coffee powder. 

From me reminiscing about the coffee shop of my childhood, to the kid reminiscing about the coffee shop of his childhood, life indeed has come to a full circle!

The Gray Hour Of The Evening

They often talk about the golden hour of the noon. But have you experienced the gray hour of the evening?

The other day, there was a power-cut in my colony around 4 in the evening. Usually the generator in the building is switched on during power-cuts. But that day the generator wasn't operating. So I opened the curtains of all the windows in the house. And that was when I experienced the gray hour of the evening. 

It is that time of the day when the sun, still very much in the sky, retracts all its rays, lending a gray aura to the evening. If someone took a picture of this moment, it would probably look like a black-and-white photo. This time of the day has a nostalgic aura.

That day as I soaked in the gray hour, it reminded me of my childhood when we experienced this phenomenon on a daily basis. Hailing from a middle-class family, we were all about savings and reducing expenses. So, evenings usually were kept naturally lit, with the power on in only one room of the house while the other rooms with open windows let in the gray color of the evening. I remember spending evenings sitting on the bench placed at the entrance of the apartments and watching people come home from work. For some ridiculous reason, it always made me happy to see people return to their homes. 

Today, as I try to recreate the gray hour as often as possible, I feel the same peace that those days brought. The lights are switched off in most of the rooms except one. The whole house looks like a nostalgic photo frame. It takes me back to my childhood when the day consisted of only two parts - the golden hour and the gray hour. 

The gray hour is special to me for another reason - it feels like the day hasn't ended. And at this stage of life that feels like it is speeding up, every lingering moment of the day is precious, for it gives the illusion of having more time. And in the middle-age, that is all you need sometimes. 

From Moments To Memories

That day, the kid told me, "I have finally cut my nails! What a relief!" I suddenly realized that I could not remember when was the last time I cut his nails.

I smiled wistfully, thinking about his younger days when I would cut his nails. If it pained him, I would exaggeratedly groan and tilt my head, saying, "God is pulling my ear because I hurt you!" This always made him laugh and helped to divert his attention from the dreadful nail-cutter.

Recently I read The Book Of Ichigo Ichie by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles. Ichigo Ichie roughly translates to, What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. And this makes the current moment precious, since there is no chance that we will experience the same again. I feel nothing brings in the realization of Ichigo Ichie as parenthood does, as we see all the small moments of joy and wonder slip away at alarming speeds.

Every day I deliver lunch to the kid in the afternoon as his school is just a kilometer away from my home. Usually I would put on headphones and listen to a song while delivering the lunch. But that day when he started cutting his nails himself, I left the headphones at home and went to deliver the lunch, all the while soaking in the aura of the school. The excited chatter of the kids, the teachers' commanding tones, the joy of the kids as they played on the ground during PT - someday all these would become treasured memories. I want to soak in these moments so that I can return to them years later.

For now, these are the moments I get to live, and as Ichigo Ichie reminds me, I intend to live them to the fullest before they turn into memories.

 

A Special Walk On A Special Night!

Once I have my dinner, I step out of my home every night and walk across the floor where my flat is situated. 

I have come to realize that every walk has a different aura.

In the morning, when I go to the temple, that walk feels fresh, active and lively. In the evening, when I walk in the park, that walk is more health-conscious as I clock-in the time I started the walk and ensure that I walk for at least 30 minutes.

But this walk - the one after dinner - that is immensely relaxing. It is a reminder that all the chores of the day have been dealt with. Most of the days the walk is uneventful. I walk for around 15 minutes and then get inside my home all set to do some reading. 

But sometimes, this walk becomes special. Extra-ordinary. Something to write about!

So that night I was walking as usual when a pleasant aroma wafted in the air - the aroma of some delicious food being prepared. I couldn't make out what the dish was, but the aroma was too good. Some spices, ghee and coriander leaves - an utterly delicious combination that you will never go wrong with in any snack. Try as I might, I could not figure from which house the aroma was wafting. I just kept walking, inhaling and wishing someone would offer the dish to me. 

I was still reeling under the sensory attack when sounds of laughter drifted from the house of the caretaker of the building where I live. I could make out that he and his wife were laughing. 

The laughter was infectious and I found myself laughing lightly. It also brought in a certain wistfulness - the ability to be able to laugh this wholeheartedly seems like a lost art to me. But the whole family of the caretaker, while having their own set of troubles,  abounds in one thing - there is plenty of laughter amongst them always. They smile a lot, they celebrate festivals with fervor and they have a very positive aura, no matter whether they are having a good day or a not-so-good one. 

That night, as the sounds of laughter drifted from their family, I smiled and laughed along with them while being on my own. It felt wholesome!

Sometimes it takes a combined sensory attack - on the olfactory and on the ears as well - to feel grateful about the simple pleasures of life - delicious food to eat, a family that laughs with you and the ability to appreciate the simple things in life. 

 

What Is Your Ikigai?

The concept of Ikigai has fascinated me ever since I came across the term for the first time. Ikigai is a Japanese term and refers to the purpose of your life, a reason to wake up, to be precise. 

I have often wondered about what my Ikigai would be. The answer is opening up to me gradually as I go through my daily routines.

At this moment, my Ikigai has come to bare minimum - to live every day fully and to make it all about the journey and not the destination.

There was a time when I wanted to make a difference to the world, to contribute to the society in a good manner. And the only way I knew I could do this was through my writing. But today I am wise enough to know that I myself need help, and unless I am completely sorted, I cannot help anyone else. It was time to find a new Ikigai!

So I choose peace every day, growing through what I go through and most of all, enjoying the journey of life without thinking much about the destination. If asked today about my Ikigai, my answer would be - to lead a contented life.

Because sometimes that is all you can do. You do not need a higher purpose or big dreams; just a small reason to wake up every day is enough.

When I Got A 'Why' To Get Through My 'How'!

As I sat in front of the open laptop another day, and couldn't add anything to the short-story collection that I have been writing since a very long time, I realised that it was time to step back from fiction-writing. It wasn't going any further.

It seemed like my days of writing fictional short stories have come to an end. Why, I couldn't even read fictional stories, leave alone writing one. For a while I made peace with my decision to step back from writing anything.

But that peace didn't last long. It started bothering me, my inability to write. I started feeling restless, like I wasn't doing anything productive. The evenings started chiding me - another day gone without writing anything!? They mocked me.

But then that day I came across a quote - 'If you want to become a writer, write!' It was as simple as that!

Well, not simple, to be honest. It took a lot of reflection to find out what I should write. And then came the idea of blogging, my first tryst with writing.

I am happiest when I blog - not when there are readers, not when there are comments and likes, but when I blog. And just like that, there came the idea of writing non-fictional blogs, for they felt easier to craft.

And thus, Mindful Musings came into existence.

I have always thought that it would be easier to write if we get the answer to the question - Why should you write? And my answer is - because I cannot 'not write'. Being a writer is my identity. It's satisfying to create something, have a creation of my own.

It became easier to get through my 'how' when I found a 'why?'!!