I was born in this lifetime into a culturally fairly simple group of Vaishnavite Hindus in Kerala. It has allowed me a spiritual freedom and journey that I cherish and value dearly and deeply, with no interference and a lot of encouragement and guidance on this path from my family. I have been attracted to and find simple beauty in and resonance with the teachings of other branches of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism.
All things considered, I would love to be reborn again into the midst of a culturally simple group of people who follow a Hindu way of life.

I've always enjoyed getting into water, but only as long as its chest high, beyond that I'd never venture since I didn't know how to swim.
Then finally, last year, I signed up for swimming lessons at a local community college & in 12 weeks I learnt enough to not just survive if I accidentally fell into a pool, but also a few fun tricks like somersaulting in the water and underwater swimming... fun!
I'm glad I did it atleast now... better late than never :-)

"What did you create today?"

After I got married and moved to my husband's place, he'd ask me this question everyday after he got home from work, and answering this question has been exciting each time!

Continuing to try to find justice in every situation, or to try to make every situation right has perhaps been my obsession since before this birth!

Growing up, I had a very strong sense of "fairness" & that's how I mostly saw things - through a filter of whether it seemed just or not - how people treated me, how I treated others, how relationships played out - I usually didn't hesitate to voice my opinion or display my dissatisfaction if I felt things were unfair. They say children mimic a lot of what they see around them & I guess I did absorb the sense of "justice" that others around me used with each other - "I did this because you said this", or "You should've done this for me because I did this for you", or "Its only fair that this happen because....". Of course, this behaviour pattern of mine wasn't always acceptable, which was my biggest frustration. As long as everyone else was doing it everything was fine, but not when it came to me... where's the justice in that, I wondered?! I guess I've accepted now that people do find it easier to dislike a trait in others before admitting its presence in themselves... took me a while to figure that out.

To soothe my growing pains, to end my frustrations, to find more meaning in life when I couldn't find answers elsewhere, I turned towards spirituality. I slowly realised, among other things, that when I was able to let go of my frustrations & give forgiveness & show kindness & step away from my problems & show compassion to others dealing with their own problems, I found it easier to breathe & be at ease with myself. I still believed in justice, but I also began to see the higher power in the ability to show kindness to fellow beings.

Around that time, I read a few lines in "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsch. It was about a soul that was asked what part of divinity it wanted to experience in its birth & it chose 'forgiveness' & another soul offered to play the part of the person that would be the receiver of this forgiveness. All it asked in return is that the first soul not forget their divine nature while they were playing their roles on earth.

It appeared that all souls, divine in nature, desired to play a few roles, took earthly birth & then proceeded to play those roles, with the amnesia of their divine nature.

It was a new way of looking at life & it came to me during a life-changing time. Since then, I admit I do see more value in compassion than justice. And if I still have to stand up for something I consider fair, then I try to consciously do it in the most compassionate way I can... I try to remember others' divine nature :-)

Too many meals that I can't count came to mind when I read this question, but especially three recent ones stand out from this year  & I can't pick one, so I'm putting down all three.

Yesterday's lunch was simple & out of this world - mom's dosa with onion chutney - yummmmm... to die for!!!

Last weekend's dinner was at a friend's place & the whole hungry bunch of us got together by around 7:30, but dinner wasn't ready until about 10:00. The extreme hunger coupled with the simple dal that my friend made & the company of great friends was just a fantastic combo!!

& earlier this year, when I was doing a contract in Michigan in the krazeee weather that just stays below inhumane conditions of -30 & below(!!!) in the midst of winter, I had a wonderful opportunity to cook dinner for my new teammates at work. The girls had never met anyone with an Asian background & were nervous about trying out Indian food... they had heard it was spicy! But they were excited anyway - it was something new for them. & they didn't wanna just show up to eat, they wanna see me make it! Oh it was a lotta fun! At the end of the day, they had all learned the names of a bunch of spices & a coupla Indian recipes too! & of course, we had a dinner none of us, or atleast I, will never forget... it was one of the best chana masala & rice ever!

I guess its a combination of the taste & the state of mind you were in when you had a meal that makes it memorable... here's wishing you all many many memorable meals!

Enjoy!

There's something indescribable about making, drinking & serving tea that I absolutely enjoy. Anytime is tea time for me :-)
& my favorite is traditional Indian chai (black tea+milk) infused with fresh ginger. 

A few weeks ago, the girls at my last work place gifted me a glass teapot with a special holder inside - just perfect to add the grated ginger to my chai!

The teapot itself & the fact that these people had actually paid attention to my love for tea & also taken the time out of their busy lives to pick this out for me... definitely one of the most wonderful & thoughtful gifts I've ever received!

Learning to be comfortable with uncertainty & having the courage and taking the steps to make plans in spite of the uncertainty & following through with those plans in spite of the uncertainty... that's really been the arena of growth for me.

When I look back, I see this lesson has really been with me forever as far back as I can now remember, but I didn't really recognize it until a few months ago. Be it in my personal life with family & friends or my education-career path, so many many experiences in my life were centered around this need to try & control every event, every situation in life & being enormously overwhelmed  & drained every time things went one way while I fought to turn them another way. Eventually, I've had to give in many a time, but it still felt like I lost out, you know. Even when things did go the way I wanted them to, I just felt so drained by the end of it that pretty much any event in life was, I guess what you'd call, stressful. Stress! In my teens & 20's!! Couldn't believe it! Couldn't even accept it...

But then later, I started to see a bigger picture emerging out of all the previous situations & then so many things didn't seem so bad after all.

That, & the realization that I was actually losing precious life energy by stressing out so much, inspired me to start to consciously let go of this need to always try to control every situation around me. Lately, its coming more naturally to me, more effortlessly.

That would be the key word to describe the feel, I guess, "effortless".  I've burnt so many mental calories with really poor efficiency in my life before & now I can see how the more I let go, the more effortless it gets to live, to get things done & to do it with a smile :-)