Receipe for the day - Dec 31st 2024

 A morning with better thoughts of gratitude and ease.

A bit of cleaning and reflecting on the list of ' things that brings me Joy'

Preparing beloved Poha for breakfast and masala ginger chai

Some bit of winter herbal skin care routine with raw milk, sandal wood and nutmeg 💝 (thank you Tan)

Lunch with a friend.

Returning home,  call with family and brother who is currently vacationing in Auli :)

Seperate call with Maa-Papa and some bit of teasing and sharings from last evening.

A afternoon with YouTube scrolling and then a Netflix movie and a nap that I slipped into....(Don't know if it was tiredness, sleeplessness or sadness 🫣)

Evening tea, a bit of kitchen rearranging, collecting ironed clothes, making train reservations.

A long video call with one of the uncle.

Tiny bit of office work.

Aligning financial commitments for Jan 2025

Thinking of my dreams and desires and how much do I really wish them and why...

Possibly a some bit of pending journaling...

A few messages that came my way as a beautiful gift 🧧 for the day and filled me with gratitude and a bit of self love 💕.

[From the US, 2.26 am IST]

Hello R,

[For your working hours]

Good morning! Hope you are doing well.

As the year comes to an end, I was sending out some notes of gratitude. I can't help but be reminded of how much positive impact you have had in me. Wherever I am, I will look back at my time in Bangalore and think of you as one of the most authentic souls I have had the chance to meet. Thank you! Wishing you get all the goodness in return.

Cheers to a wonderful year,

Sowndharya!

--

Thank you 2024. 

May the hearts feel lighter, 

May the minds feel happier, 

May we stay curious and creative,

May we learn to embrace life and ourselves a little  more...

Let this 'May', be...

Let HOPE be.

Lucky are those who gets closure...

Yup, like any year that begins at some point and ends at some, I am realising the ends become more dearer and is celebrated. I wonder if this is the case with our lives too?...that when we are aware of the end we become more conscious of the life that remains, the existence and choose the only choice we have - to live while it lasts.

Resonating with this theme, I have had a very purposeful last one week with lot of prioritising self, journaling, having meaningful deep conversations etc. Today, at office having a great two hours talk with a friend on all topics of life i.e. Finances, advocacy for self, personal learnings and challanges, way forward etc, making a doodle, having a wonderful evening, meeting an ex-colleague / friend after many years ...or say first time after I left that company we worked together at. Lot of chit-chat, dinner and bye-byes. (Highlight: my friend brought me home-made agra ka petha... winter melon, which he prepared & such blessings are so rare✍️💝🥰)

Later, I walked into a beautiful cafe which I had always been wanting to go....It was effortlessly my own company, I went-in with, ordered my hot chocolate cup and read a beautiful book - how to make a house a home. I sensed that I am at ease with myself for no specific reason.

May be, I am at a junction of my life where I don't know what tomorrow holds for me but I am also aware that today will never come back so I might as well be. It has taken me efforts to reach to this stage i.e. lot of reading, analysis, dark days, days I would rant and vent continuously, days when only journaling would pull me out, and days when I would be introduced to the magic of life which appears when one tried to support and help themselves. Life rewards us in ways where it helps us break our false beliefs or patterns that no longer serves us, it makes time for us to step back and rest, it brings people who are courageous enough to stand by you when you yourself don't, it sends you a random call or message from a friend that says 'lets connect', it gives you dreams to hope for, it gives you opportunities to see smiling faces and sparkling eyes of your loved ones showing joy and your chance to reciprocate, it gives you a book and sends message thru winds which speaks to only you and meets you where you are in your life.....

Do we take a pause, reflect and cherish that?

Do we open doors to new perspectives of life and seeing ourselves without the judgement of anyone?...forgiving ourselves and show a little more effort in caring for and loving our self?

...