Tag Archives: Life

2021 Week 13 Update

Posted on by
Reply
Source

Tomorrow I complete one year of meditation and mindfulness. I am quite proud of myself and when I started, I didn’t really think I could really follow this through. I went through the apps I use for this and realised, over the past year, I have done slightly more than 183 hours in the last year. I have really benefitted by practising mindfulness and meditating daily and I have blogged about this previously. Find something that resonates with you, be it the app, the type of meditation and even the time and it will become a habit very soon. If I don’t meditate as soon as I wake up and have my coffee, I feel something is amiss and I think that’s my cue that this has become a part of me now, so much so, I prefer waking up an hour earlier than everyone else just so I have a quiet home in which I can meditate.

My walking took a bit of a hit this month because of the leg and ankle pain I had, but I am happy to report that GG while massaging my ankle one evening, popped something (we both have no idea of what she did, but we heard a distinct pop) and the pain has been minimal or non-existant till today (touch wood!). This month, I have walked across almost the whole of peninsular Malaysia, reaching the northern border of the state of Perak, just short of reaching the state of Penang and Kedah. I will most probably bypass the state of Perlis, because it does not fall in the North-South Expressway and by the end of April, I should enter Thailand.

My reading has really taken off this year and I am currently reading both e-books as well as physical books borrowed from the National Library of Singapore. I am currently 10 books ahead of my scheduled number of books to be read by the end of the year and will have to move my goal post if this goes on.

This week’s quote is about looking at an obstacle and not seeing it as a deterrent, but instead as an opportunity to show what you are made of and of converting that obstacle into an opportuntity and this boils down to your attitude. If you see a glass as half empty, you have a negative attitude and probably see it as something that will hinder progress, but if you see the glass as half empty, that you see things positively, then it’s a learning, even if it is an obstacle and you look at everything thing that happens in your life as a learning experience, be it positive or negative.

From tomorrow, Singapore opens up more and offices can start having 75% of their staff work inside the office as opposed to less than 50% previously. They will work three days a week in office and the remaining two days will be from home. This means that S will go back to work after a year of working from home. He is having mixed feelings about this and will have to start waking up earlier now as he used to sleep the time he had to commute to work.

My parents have taken the first dose of the vaccine, but are still waiting for another week or so before they take the second dose. I am worried about them as India, my home state of Maharashtra and specifically Mumbai has seen a huge spike of cases in the last week or so. I keep telling them not to delay their second dose, but apparently they need to wait six weeks for the second dose for the particular vaccine they have gotten. If you are eligible for vaccination, please go ahead and take them as soon as possible. S and I signed up for our turn last week when the government announced vaccines for our age group. This week we got our personalised link and have signed up for our first doses later this month and the second dose scheduled for early May.

That’s all people, stay safe, stay masked and get vaccinated if you are eligible.

2021 Week 12 Update

Posted on by
1

Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it. This is a quote that forces you to think on multiple levels. How is happiness defined and is the level of my happiness the same as someone else? It’s something that we seriously need to think about and once we unlock this lesson, it becomes that much easier to become happy and to spread happiness all around.

After about two weeks, my ankle and leg pain is much better. From a pain of 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being very painful, it’s probably a three now. One of the days that GG was massaging my ankle, she pressed hard enough that we heard a pop from a bone that was painful to touch. But that pop helped in the healing so much that after that day.

We are about a year into lockdowns in most countries and with newer waves coming in, I am not sure when life will go back to being normal. Singapore will start easing some restrictions from next week, especially those about more people being allowed into offices. Residents between the ages of 45 and 59 are also encouraged to sign up for the vaccine and as soon as this was announced, S and I signed up for the vaccines, as did many others I know in this age group. We will get a notification once vaccines are ready and then we will have to book an appointment slot. I am quite eager to get vaccinated because of my parents. If there is an emergency, then between my sister and I, I am the one who will be able to get there faster and for this, I will need to be vaccinated so I am not forced to quarantine myself both sides.

BB got his results early last week and though he did better than the previous semester, he didn’t do as well as we expected. After a long talk, he has promised to pull up his socks and work hard in the next semester. This is probably his last chance to pull up his grades if he wants a chance to go to university after his national service.

This was all from my side this week, stay masked, stay safe and stay indoors if possible!

2021 Week 11 Update

Posted on by
Reply

This week and the following week is results week for BB & GG. GG’s results came first and while it was more or less expected, she didn’t do as much as she expected to do which meant her cumulative GPA fell down a bit, for which she was upset for about half a day and then bounced back promising to bring it up in the next semester. BB’s results come out tomorrow and I for one, am in equal parts anxious and worried.

My leg and ankle pain is still there and some days are quite bad. I am lucky that GG is a talented maseusse, though she does not know any technique, but helps me once or twice a day to massage the aching parts. This means my walking this month is getting hit and I don’t think I would walk as much as I have done in previous months. This is a busy week for me, but I think if the pain persists, I will have no choice, but go to the doctor next week and have it checked out. I know I am probably being negligent, but I hope this goes away before I need to see a specialist.

Today’s quote is a classic positivity quote which asks one to bring positivity with them wherever they go. It’s a great lesson, especially for me, since I am trying quite hard to be more positive in 2021. It means bringing something positive with you at all times, and making the best of any situation.

That’s all for this week, stay safe people!

2021 Week 10 Update

Posted on by
Reply
Source

This week marks the official one year mark when the WHO declared the Covid-19 as a pandemic. On 11 March 2020, deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction, WHO made the assessment that COVID-19 could be characterised as a pandemic. Singapore had been one of the countries affected with cases as early as in January 2020.

As of yesterday, we have 119 million cases and over 2.5 million deaths caused by the virus. Of these numbers, the United States accounts for almost 30 million cases and half a million deaths. A country which only accounts for 4% of the world’s population accounts for 20% of the world covid related deaths. Brazil has overtaken India as the country with the second highest cases and India is at number four in the total number of deaths related to the pandemic. Singapore with about 60 thousand cases stands at number 99 and with 30 deaths in total is at number 171.

This week I have spent in pain in my leg. The pain which came on and off for a few weeks in my ankles was so bad this week that I could only hobble. I also had a weird stiffness in the middle of one of my calves, like what happens when you calves cramp. I have been spamming lots of muscle relaxants and medicated oils and also using crepe bandages to get some relief.

Today’s quote is a lesson that people, especially me needs to learn. While every day may not be good according to your definition of good, but if you look hard, you will find something something good even in the worst of days. So look for the little things that bring that little joy to your day, it can be as simple as reading a beautiful sentence, a lovely sunrise or sunset or even something that a loved one said to you. Life will be so much more beautiful!

With this note, stay safe people and if you or your loved ones are getting vaccinated, please go ahead and book your appointment and get vaccinated, for the sake of yourself and your loved ones. It’s only when we do our part will life start going back to a semblance of normal.

Experiences over Things – Because Experience is the best Teacher

Posted on by
Reply
Source

“Buy experiences, not things. Spending on experiences makes people happier than spending on things. Things get broken and go out of style. Experiences get better every time you talk about them.” – Jean Chatzky

When I was younger, I wanted the best of everything – be it clothes, skincare, holidays and material things. But as I grow older, material things are slowly losing the importance they once had. When the urge to fill cupboards reduced, the urge to experience started increasing.

I also find that this is something that younger people do more than us. It is perhaps something to do with a scarcity of resources. Growing up in a middle class regulated India, we were hard-pressed to have enough money for a lot of material things and a lot of things that today would seem normal, even in India used to be considered luxury items. But today’s children have grown up with a lot of things we considered a luxury. For example, BB & GG took their first overseas trip and plane ride when they were slightly over a year old while I must have taken my first domestic plane ride when I was about 10-11 years old and my first overseas trip only in my twenties!

For today’s generation who are digital natives, they only know a world where the largest retail store doesn’t own any items aka Amazon, the biggest transportation service doesn’t own any vehicles, Uber, and the most popular hotel chain doesn’t own any hotels aka AirBnB. In a world where jobs are not stable and freelancing and being a digital nomad is slowly becoming a thing, it is no wonder that they prefer to have fewer possessions and more experiences.

Source

So what makes some people choose experiences over things? And while reading up about this issue, I realised that there are many people like me, whole encompass the spectrum of people of all ages, who are starting to opting out of accumulating things and exploring experiences instead.

Experiences result in greater happiness: According to research, experiences result in longer-lasting happiness than material possessions. Humans quickly adapt to their external surroundings and as a result, the happiness provided by new material possessions is short-lived. Over time, people’s satisfaction with the things they buy decreases, whereas their satisfaction with experiences over time increases.

Experiences provide better memories: We usually look back on memories and these memories, especially if they are associated with our loved ones provide us with years of pleasant memories and bring a warm smile in our hearts when we think about them. Does something you own bring that smile to your face? Maybe, but memory will always trump a physical thing.

Experiences result in less clutter: Most physical possessions eventually become a burden on our lives. They take up physical space in our homes and mental space in our minds. They require care, attention, maintenance, organization. Experiences, on the other hand, are accompanied with little to no physical baggage. All you need to do to go back to a memory is to close your eyes and think about that time, there’s no need to clutter up your homes, which are getting smaller, especially in crowded cities like Singapore.

Experiences provide greater opportunity to connect with other people: When we experience things with others because we enjoy time together with people we love and are comfortable with, we can connect with them on a level that spending that time and money on things just can’t do.

Experiences result in greater mindfulness: In a 2010 research, it was concluded that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. And the greater a person’s ability to stay present in a given moment, the greater happiness they experience during and after. Experiences provide a greater opportunity and this regard.

Experiences result in less comparison with others: In a materialistic society, we are always comparing ourselves with others and if we have a bigger house or more possessions, we are supposed to more successful compared to whom we are comparing ourselves with. But how do you compare experiences? There’s no standard template with which you can do that. An experience that is very important to one will have no value to another and so everyone’s experience is unique and special.

Experiences let you grow as an individual: When you experience and learn different things, you can view the world differently. Experiences make you more emphatic and make an individual a better person overall.

Source

So let’s start gathering more experiences to experience the various facets of life to live a more enriched and fulfilling life. While material things may bring fleeting moments of joy, but are separate from the individual. Experiences, on the other hand, live with an individual for a long time, maybe even their own life and become intrinsically entwined with the individual. And at the end of the day, we are the total sum of all our experiences.