Sep 17, 2021 - Of Afghanistan, and the World not being Fair

The other day, I was driving home. I was overwhelmed, hearing about the news of Taliban taking control in Afghanistan. To learn that the freedom the women enjoyed would be taken away from them, I gripped my steering wheel tighter. I feel privileged writing on my laptop. I have electricity, Wi-Fi, a laptop, and hands that work fine. How many people in Afghanistan, heck, world over, don't have this?

I'm extremely grateful, and so should you be too, if you are able to read this. The world is not fair, where you are born predicates how your life will, most likely, turn out. How much money your parents have, or grandparents, or how much land you have inherited will always work for you, most likely. And this has been decided even before your birth. The world is not fair.

Aug 31, 2021 - The Perfect Moment

Last week, I went to the beach after a long time. It was a full moon night. From where we swam, we could see the Burj Khalifa - like a gorgeous and tall Swarovski crystal, reaching for the moon. Both the moon and the building were golden - it felt like the perfect moment. If time paused, this scene would seem like a page out of fairy tale. It was so perfect I was tempted to swim back to shore, take my phone and click a photo. But I didn't - I just stared in awe.

Aug 27, 2021 - That Horrible Birthday Realization

When I was 16, my phone was engaged between 11 pm and 3 am. I did not consider myself popular, but I had a lot of friends. They would all call me - some would get through, others would call back a couple of times. I would go to school the next day with blood shot eyes, the bloodier the eyes, the more the friends. 

Over the next few years, phone calls reduced - first, instead of 4 hours, to two hours, and then one hour, around midnight. Slowly, the phone calls shifted to during office hours, a brief phone call, with only a couple of friends calling in the evening for more than 5 minutes.

Today, as I turn 33, I got only one call from a friend, everyone else wished me on Instagram, LinkedIn and Whatsapp. My bank and my hospital sent me an email wishing me. The one constant has been my immediate family. While I'm grateful for my family, I can't help but feel a little sadness at how the number of phone calls, friends and hours of conversations went to a flat line.

The graph, you ask? Yes, I drew it. I gifted my husband randomly one day an apple pencil. 

If you don't get it, it's fine - just goes to show that over the 15 years, nobody has time to pick up the phone and talk, even on one's birthday.

SS

Aug 26, 2021 - Of bullet Journaling

I diligently wrote bullet points in my new leather bound diary bought from Typo, for 1 month. I found myself writing what I eat (bonus points if I cook something), if I did yoga/exercise, if I watched a TED talk, if I did a few minutes of learning a new language (Spanish words, Arabic letters), if I started a new K-drama, if I had lunch with someone or spoke to someone for more than 5 minutes - stuff like that. Stuff that makes me realize that I'm doing something other than working and commuting. Stuff that will help me down the lane, to realize that my life has been fuller than I give credit to it for.

But lately, I've been stuck in a rut. It's the same routine. There's nothing new that I do. 

Mar 17, 2021 - Beautiful Marshlands

Under things I learnt today, Iraq has an absolutely wonderful region in the south called the Mesopotamian marshes. I am in awe of its beauty.

They seem surreal, in the backdrop of a country torn apart by militia, media, politics, IS, local rebels. For me, the below pictures make me realize that Iraq is truly beautiful and has always been.

SS

Mar 16, 2021 - Being Uncomfortable around Perfection

Since there is a senior management team meeting happening, the office feels lively. It's predominantly a British management, and we know how perfect they are.

Today is also the day I did not wear my blazer (little did I know that who's who of the office would be flocking by). So, well, I sat in one place, trying to be invisible while listening to click clacks of heels and whish whoosh of sharply tailored blazers and pant suits and dresses.

SS

Mar 10, 2021 - Could Earth have been Avatar?

Avatar, the movie, was way ahead of its time. Made in 2009, it could've well applied to a 150 AD Earth or a 2150 AD Earth. A beyond lush, resourceful and beautiful planet where life is simple. There is no junk food, no digging up Pandora for minerals, no electricity or sky scrapers. Simple sleeping pods made of roots. Simple food from available plants and fruits and perhaps the small creatures. You know exactly where your food comes from.

No politics, no news. A horse and a dragon for all. Not too bad eh?

Nature is amazing. It has everything for us. All energy is only borrowed and one day, you have to give it back. Every living being is connected - there's a flow which we do not realize. But we live as isolated beings, glued to our couches, working for money in small man made desks when in fact, we have all of the planet to wander on.

There was a sentence in the series 'Outlander' of which I saw a few episodes. 'We will live off the land'. I think the show was set in the 1700's. I am inclined to believe that people did live off the land - eating food in the wild, sleeping in the wild. A very different life to what we live now. I don't know which I prefer.

SS