Tena tyaktena bhunjitha

 ...

Body

 3D glasses or Oculus - that's how you enjoy the format of the "virtual" world. This body is just that. 

 Honor your deepest passion. The answers lie there. 

Aim

 This whole thing is a purification process. The aim is to learn gratitude and self-less service. 

I had figured it out on the 4th day. Or was it 3rd? Then why am I struggling to find it again? I recall clearly that it distilled down to that nothing, and I mean nothing can make us happy in this universe. The most fulfilled we will ever feel is when we serve others and when we can make them smile. And 'them' are not defined. It came to me and yet here I am. 

Healing of a generation

Just by being ourselves, our true and authentic selves we can show others how it is done. Some times it takes to see it up close to figure it out. 

Distracted.

The distraction comes in the form of desires. It comes in form of fulfillment and satisfaction. It is the nature of things. Do not get distracted. 

My Sweet Haven

 One item off the bucket list! Set up my sweet haven the way I wanted. Good vibes and grateful always for everything...

A good hike

 A good hike can fix everything. It can neutralize or it can elevate. It does not disappoint. 

Bundle of Contradictions

I am a bundle of contradictions. I am made up of parallel streams, these emotions and tracks that overlap and create a haze. I am all that and yet I can observe this from a distance. When I am not pulled into these contradicted states, I find all of this funny. I stay in good mood and I ensure everyone around me is in a good mood. This is a state I strive to be in. How can I always be here?

#walkingmeditation

Exercising in gym bores me to death but walking does not. I can walk for hours especially when I am alone. All I need is my phone and headphones. I took to serious walking in 2020 during pandemic days when the best places to visit were open parks and grounds - away from crowd and people. I got better at it as I started doing trails and soon it turned into the only form of exercise that I'd want to do anytime. So much so that when I do not have anything to do, my mind always checks if I'd should go for a walk. When I came across this article that Maria posted on Twitter, I was happy to see that it articulates exactly why I like it! 

See - Walking as Creative Fuel: A Splendid 1913 Celebration of How Solitary Walks Enliven “The Country of the Mind”

Some favorites from this article:

"Of course the best sort of walk is the one on which it doesn’t matter twopence whether you get anywhere at all at any time or not; and the second best is the one on which the hard facts of routes, times, or trains give you nothing to worry about."

-- Wendell Berry

"For company too often means compromise, discretion, the choice of the sweetly reasonable."

"Not a fiftieth part of all your happy imaginings will you ever, later, recapture, note down, reduce to dull inadequate words; but meantime the mind has stretched itself and had its holiday."

"But all these are only the by-products, the casual gains, of walking alone. The high converse, the high adventures, will be in the country of the mind."

-- Kenneth Grahame

“I walk everywhere in the city. Any city. You see everything you need to see for a lifetime. Every emotion. Every condition. Every fashion. Every glory.”

--Maira Kalman

Beneficial for All

हितं यत् सर्वभूतानाम्    आत्मनश्च सुखावहम्।

तत् कुर्यादीश्वरे ह्येतत्    मूलं सर्वार्थसिद्धये।।

(महाभारत, उद्योग पर्व - ३७/४०)

अर्थात् - जो सम्पूर्ण प्राणियों के लिए हितकर और अपने लिए भी सुखद हो, उसे ईश्वरार्पण बुद्धि से करना चाहिए, सम्पूर्ण सिद्धियों का यही मूल मंत्र होता है।

Cycling

When we learn to cycle, the first thing we realize that how hard it is to balance. So we wobble, a little to the left and a little to the right.

In order to practice detached-attachment, we have to let go and let in, over and over again so that we can understand what is the right distance that should be maintained. It is difficult to be in it and observe it but if we can observe it, we can work on it. Every sign of anguish is a sign of frustration actually - just like a child who is learning to walk. You know it, yet you cannot do it. 

People and Relationships

People, just like things, can be a distraction. Or they can be used as tools to know and grow. Their presence and absence both can teach us something about ourselves. Do we crave someone's company because we like them? Or perhaps they give us a purpose? Do we have a common agenda? Does their presence create a structure that we think defines our being or life? Keeping a person in mind, if we can define why we need that person, we will know something about ourselves, not them - but about ourselves. 

Why should we need people really?

If we can become peers as souls on this journey of life, sharing, relating and caring a little, that would be the best reason to want people around. Detached, and yet attached. Not too much, not too little. Precious connection in those moments. THAT is why we need people. 

How can we detach and yet be attached?

We should remember that "people is a 3D concept". We should understand that each individual has their own journey which will ALWAYS differ from ours. But if their journey does align to ours, we have met someone who can be a true friend on this journey of life. We should stick to OUR own goals so that people can align, not the other way around. 

How can we transform our relationships?

We can transform our relationships by sharing our personal truth. The highest tribute one can pay to a genuine relationship is one's own personal truth knowing that it can completely break the relationship. If a person can understand or deal with this truth, they will connect at a different level, paving way for higher intimacy. If the person is baffled by it, they will move out of the circle, paving way for others who can deal with it. In both cases we have achieved the transparency that is elevating for both parties. We know where we stand with respect to each other, hence we give space to each other to grow. We don't block each other or pressurize each other to do something that adds resentment in the long run. Resentment defeats the entire purpose of a relationship. Why be with someone if their presence keeps us away from ourselves?

Grateful

Without a suitable friend, this journey can be so long and straining. This friend can listen and ideate; convey and explain; relate and retaliate - overall the experience then becomes of going through something together. So it’s bearable, the journey and it feels worthwhile. Even though it may all be meaningless, it’s meaningful in those moment. For this, I am grateful.

Stability

 So we chatted about - Mandelbrot Set : We are literally experimenting on our lives to find our stable points; that's where magic happens. This is planned and by design. This is as good as math and hence there is no magic here - everything is happening because it's a formula / algorithm that is being followed; an equation that will always give the outputs based on inputs. 

A small change in value changes the outcome - makes something stable to unstable and vice versa. Hence the input to the computer can be varied to get a different result. It all comes together. 

 

Perfect

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. 

— Siddharth Gautam

Invokation

Sometimes when I read a book, I don't pay attention to what the author intents. I get their intention and then I go my own way with their line of thought. I play with the words he has put out on paper and see how it can get a new life of its own - in my head. Words are powerful - they invoke ideas and scenarios and hence make me think. 

After all if everything is connected then you can start anywhere and still have enough places to go - you can never not be able to connect one thing to another :) 

Maze

A dark, frustrating, long maze can have 4 types of people: 

1. One who stops trying because it is futile - in here, out there - how does it matter?

2. One who settles in the maze and makes it home - it is comfortable and less scary in my corner of the maze. 

3. One who keeps going round and round in the maze - he wants out, he knows there is something not right so he does not want to give up but he is unable to figure it out. 

4. One who remembers the paths and tries to find a pattern - he may or may not get out but he feels elated every time he finds a pattern and connects the dots. There seems to be a method to the madness so there may be an actual way out. 

Unconditional

It is possible to miss someone we love, even as we are pretty much sitting right next to them. I'd not been able to understand this but I think yesterday I was able to see that for a moment. It's wild. It's wild because I now understand the amount of unconditional love this needs. We miss someone like this when we can see them as they are and we find that extremely endearing. Gosh! 

New Year, New Post!

Past two months have been this crazy or what! No updates here since Nov... :)

I recovered from the Holiday mood just this past weekend probably. Was able to get into the normal rhythm of things. First hike of the year was long pending. Hoping to be more regular there. 

I love walking aimless in cities, towns and in nature. It's my personal meditation. All I need is a light backpack with essentials, my phone, extra batteries and good walking shoes. I love it! 

My happy place :D