The Power Within

A person with a chronic ailment does everything that he comes across to heal himself. It could be a persistent cough or a physical weakness or a life-consuming disorder, each one of us is fighting a health issue that we want resolved.

And when an illness starts from childhood, your parents take you to all doctors, yogi’s and tantrics to make you a healthier baby so that you can lead a normal life. I went to more than twenty such people.

I remember each one of them clearly since I spent a significant amount of time with all. Me and my mother use to go with utmost faith to any person who had healing powers…or so we were told. We tried all sorts of Ayurvedic medicines, Accupressure, Reiki, massage, special diets, feeding a cow on a full moon night ...the list is endless.

Yes, doctors were there, but medically there was no cure. And when you can’t find answers in medical science, you look upwards. We did our karma, did the best that we could and left the rest on God.

When I got married I looked no further than medical science. While it kept things in check, it did not heal. After a point in time things began to get worse and it took a toll on my mental health. I began to worry about my future and nothing in the present made me happy.

It is then I thought I will start to learn meditation for I knew everything starts from your head. I started looking out for videos on youtube, for internet is where you go to these days, not tantrics and yogis!

Incidentally a friend of mine called me to tell about this Life Coach cum Spiritual Guru cum Brahma Yog expert who takes online lessons for people who cannot meet her in person. I thought it would be too much gyaan that I already have and hence was reluctant to start the sessions. After three days of sitting on it, I decided to give it a go because I had nothing to lose.

I have taken four sessions so far. A, my teacher, has started with trying to train my thoughts with acceptance and trust in my good destiny which, according to her, all of us are blessed with. We work with her guidance into life and subsequently opening of chakras. At first I thought this was the proverbial satsang and I am too young and intelligent for that. Then I realised that I know but I really don’t apply anything!

She has told me to trust her approach. She has told me to work really hard. She has told me that I will become the first person in this world to say that I was cured of this particular disorder.

Do I want to be able to say that? Do I want to trust her? Do I want to work hard? Yes, yes and yes. It takes a special amount of courage to start trusting again that things will be okay when you have been in and out of the same situation multiple times and that too in childhood – the precious time when things get ingrained in your head. But I am willing to make that leap of faith once again. I want to be like my parents who did the same for me every single time. I want to be like the little girl I was who saw a glimmer of hope at the end of every tunnel.

Maybe I am still that girl who believes even Green tea can work wonders. Faith can move mountains they say. Trust might just be what I need in my life.

Let the sessions continue! 

Be Yourself

As a country we are obsessed with approval. Our self confidence was broken by harsh rulers who ingrained white superiority over us hence making white the better colour. 

Patriarchy made girl child the inferior gender. Women were responsible to cook and make babies. They were considered the weaker sex and always put second. The sole purpose of a lady was to get married and bear children. Any disability to do so labelled her into many things which were far away from pleasant.

It is not just an Indian thing. Many societies have biases based on colour, gender and race making us constantly seeking approval of those whom we consider above us. I have seen very few people in my life who are comfortable in their own skin fearing no one, asking no one and needing no one.

So what makes a person strong enough to love who they are without having the need for reassurance that they are good enough? How are they wired differently from those who desire day-to-day confirmation that they are smart, beautiful and strong?

Well, it all starts at the very beginning. Parenting is tough and here it is where it all begins. No matter how you have been treated in your life, you must let your child know that he is and deserves the best.

There are parents around me who want to put their 4-year old on diet because he looks too fat. I see women trying face masks on their young ones to brighten their skin colour. There is comparison every single day with the boy next door who is better at alphabets than their kid…

Each parent of the new generation is of the mindset that they are cool. They believe that they don’t compare their children and are giving them the best upbringing. While it is a good thought to have, there needs to be consistency with what you practice. If your child will not get approval from you, he will start to seek it from outside. And that is where every parent will fail in their first and foremost exam.

We don’t need to put our children on a pedestal. We don’t have to tell them they are amazing or better than other kids. We just need to tell them that they are good enough.

The constant battle for ‘likes’ in our generation is a testimony to the fact how flawed our confidence is. We want ‘comments’ from friends and family to justify our existence. The popularity of a person is judged by the number of followers he has or how quickly he can get a thumbs-up from a large audience.

Isn’t it sad? For a few people in this world we waste our time and energy which we could have used to make ourselves better. We lose touch with our inner selves, our inner personality just to please others. Whatever happened to love yourself first?

Life is too short to think less of yourself. You are God’s unique creation and are here for a purpose. Surround yourself with positive souls who lift you up. Be yourself and have no qualms about it.

The Good Life

These last few days have been a mixed bag. While I fret over a lot of things, there is plenty more that make me feel blessed.

Every evening, while the Boy and his parents take an evening stroll in the walking path nearby, I sit at the neighborhood Starbucks and watch the world go by. No I am not lazy, I just do my exercise with a therapist and this is what is advised for me for the rest of the day. Did I tell you how much I love my therapist!?

I browse through my next holiday plans while sipping on a decaf. You see, coffee after 5 p.m. gives me a sleepless night. Wow, I sound like such a snob while writing this post - I promise, I am not one!

Since the parents are visiting, I cook every meal for them. The housework has increased probably by three times but I don’t really mind it. I cook, load the dishwasher, load the washing machine, play good movies for them while their son is at work and just watch a lot of election coverage with them. It is far from my usual lying-on-the-sofa-and-chilling-out life, but my therapist is happy that  I am moving more.

Yes, I still love her. And no, I don't move less usually.

I came back from my girls-only trip three weeks back. While it was awesome of my besties to take on the task, I don’t think it’s fair on both me and them to manage my comparatively lower energy levels with their enthusiastic selves. The Boy has learnt his way with me, I don’t want anyone else to compromise.

Anyway, I just wanted to update while sipping on my cuppa. I am super duper happy that I am going to travel next week. It is going to be amazing and I cannot wait. I will be updating this blog with my travel stories from the last 3 years in the month of July and August - the schools will be closed, all my friends will travel to their native land and the child-free me will be sweltering in this desert heat. 

I don't think I will come to Starbucks then. I only like to sit outside and the weather would make it difficult to even breathe. So I would write from the comforts of my air-conditioned apartment or would sometimes go to the pool-side with ice-cold water to sip on while I type on my regular Asus laptop.

No, I don't have a Mac. My priorities are set.

See you soon!

F**k the Fear

I have always been a very optimistic person. If there is anything wrong with me, I experiment with different things and find a way out. My experiments are not successful entirely, but they do have a positive affect. I've been very happy and that proves that they have worked.

However, lately, negativity has been residing in me like a determined guest who refuses to leave the house even when I fail to feed him!

I don't know if it is aging or something that I did or did not do, my health is getting worse. Everything is slowly becoming more difficult than it was before and it kills me a little each day. I am doing everything that is in my hands - I exercise like I've never exercised before, I eat healthier, and I experiment some more. But when I have a bad day, I become anxious and stressed over the state of my health in the coming time.

And this stress that makes things worse. So I started listening to more music, doing pranayam, watching inspirational videos, the works! I told you, I try everything that I can. I even go out when I don't feel like going out because I feel change is good, meeting people is a distraction and that it will help me.

The other day I was watching a video in which Sonali Bendre describes her journey with Cancer. With each disease, you don't know how it is until you go through it. The take-away from her story was how she has become fearless in life because she faced the hardest challenge in her life and came out triumphant. She said she does everything that she fears because that makes her a stronger person.

I've been fearing a girl's trip. Yes, yes.. who fears a girls only trip? I do! You see, I have several difficult moments in a day which the Boy handles with much elan. Right now I'm teaching my girls what all they will have to do when they do travel with me. Sweethearts that they are, they are ready to manage everything. Should I buy them a gift? We'll see!

The second take-away from her interview touched a chord with me as well. She said she was not at ease when she lost her hair during chemotherapy. For a public figure who endorsed all hair-products, this was a massive blow. But Sonali Bendre, very courageously, came out with her bald appearance and inspired a million others to be comfortable in their own skin. She said that she told herself that I am not comfortable, but I will be.

That is what I've been telling myself too - I am not comfortable, but I will be.

I saw a few more videos after that and just learnt that don't feed the pest called anxiety. The more you repeat the issues in your head, the roomier it gets for them to thrive. Instead, tell your fears how you are stronger and how you will not let them win.

I have a new mantra for me now and it is called F**k the Fear. I try to repeat it, smile often, and do the best that I can do. I do my Karma. There are times when I forget all the good things I have read and seen and hence feed the pest. I have sleepless nights. But I know it gets better, I tell myself. I repeat.

So I am here..albeit after ages..repeating it.. telling the world. Writing it makes it permanent, doesn't it?

Write woman, write more and do F**k the Fear!

P.S. I don't swear. This is the only time I've been using this word in this blog or in real life. It's time.

The Story of an ignored Smart Watch

I use technology, but I don’t get technology. I just know rose gold and slim device and little bit of megapixels, but you talk dual core with me and I’ll avoid you for the rest of my life. It is like cricket: I watch it just to see Virat Kohli sending out flying kisses to Anushka when he hits a century.

You see, I always want to be in the game, always in the know, but I am a regular girl with very girly characteristics and this is the story of my fitness band:

Four years back there was a contest on Twitter. I participated in it with all my creativity. It was related with technology and how, being a wife, I hated it when my husband paid more attention to it. It was a very emotional subject for me and I went all out.

My wit wanted the mobile phone to turn red when my husband looked at the screen for more than 15 minutes. Genius idea was stolen by the applications world and they now have app locks. I have one for my Instagram wherein if I look at Taimur’s pictures for more than 15 minutes a day, it locks it.

If you are judging me right now remember that there are three fingers pointing right back at you.

Anyway, coming back to that contest, my tweet won me a fitness watch. Yes, four years back, when the world had not even started sauntering 10,000 steps every day.

My first instinct was to sell it. With the money, I could buy a dress one size smaller, look at it every day and then become fit. This dress would have more power than any gadget showing me how much exercise I did during the day.

Laziness took over -  the watch was in my closet for a year or so, clothes were bought and discarded, and my size increased as usual.

On a certain Diwali cleaning, I found the watch in a corner and thought I will gift it to my brother since newer models had come and no one would buy this old dude now.

Laziness is in the genes - my brother never got around wearing it. Also, free things seem to give him diarrhea, my nani use to wisely state in a very proud tone.

Come 2017, some 2.5 years after I had won the watch, my mom did her Holi cleaning and found the unlucky band hidden in a corner. She asked me if this was mine. I rolled my eyes and replied affirmatively. She dumped it in my bag and so I had to bring it back.

Imagine my euphoria when I discovered that the charger had been lost in this process. Now why will I invest in a thing from Baba Adam ka Zamana. If I did want to wear a watch, I will get a new, swanky one. The prudent husband got into my brain, pulled out all my devious plans, went online and bought me a charger.

This watch now looked too huge as compared to all the sleek ones around. Imagine using the Sony Ericsson phone of the 90’s in this era. I made up some silly excuses and forgot about the watch yet again.

Then, on the eve of November 28, I was at the airport waiting for my friend from 8 years back. We had not met during this time but had kept in touch due to awesome technology. She had grown from a newly married girl to a mother of two and I was excited to meet her.

She walked out gracefully with her husband and two babies and did not look a minute older than how she looked 8 years back. I kept complimenting her on her fitness and told her how I was totally inspired.

Her only reply – Mehnat karte hain (We word hard).

I wanted to find chullu bhar paani and drown in my sorrow. Here I was - loving my life, living each moment, enjoying my child-free existence and completely ignoring my health. While she was doing it all, and how!

My girly jealousy kicked in. I wanted to fit in that dress I had worn with her on a particular New Year’s Eve some 8 years back. Ignoring all my egoistic tendencies, I asked her for tips.

She gave many but the two that stuck around were that she logged her calories and used a fitness tracker so that she at least does her steps every day.

I went into my locker, took out the grandpa watch and its charger. I handed over my phone to the husband so that he does the Bluetooth stuff and set the watch for me. He was laughing on the inside and doubting my commitment to it.

I told him I will wear it for a month and if I am successful in doing so I will get a nice golden one from #GetFitWithFlipkart.

This was me on the first day of wearing it. After a month, I am happy to report that I am on my way to ordering a Smart Wearable from Flipkart.

As you can see from the messages exchanged, I did lose a kilo. I am more active than I was in the whole of 2018. I am now looking at Nits, Outboard Storage, Battery Life and a lot of other technical terms.

But mostly I am looking at that Fitbit pendant, Luxury fitness watch in Rose Gold and all the girly things that only a FIT girl can buy…

I am also looking at some crazy #SmartHomeSolutions so that I can Ok Google, play dance numbers on YouTube without having to find the remote and only concentrate on shaking a leg or two to burn some calories. 

But mostly I want a Google home and Smart lights to go with it because increasing step count by switching off the lights doesn't go too well with my lazy personality. 

After all, it is all about the balancing it all, right?

10 Reasons why you SHOULD not buy a Smart Watch

I'm rebellious and so is my husband. If someone tells me not to do something, I would definitely want to do it. My husband is the same and this happened in our household a few months back:

You see, I am your regular next-door wife - I already knew something was not right with this gadget. I told my husband a million times not to buy a smart watch but he went and bought a cool looking one off #GetFitWithFlipkart any way. Within a day I was reassured that this device had potential of ruining our marital bliss. Just like sports, hubby dearest loved it and was glued to it making me feel like the other woman in the house.

I faked some attitude of I-don't-care and messaged my besties about the potential hazards. Now I am already dealing with the mess, but if your spouse is on his computer looking for various deals that the Smart Wearable section on Flipkart has, this is the list you go to. Fill his mind with possible dangers, use your magical powers and mesmerise him with the ordeals he will have to face if he does buy a smart watch... these are just ten of the possible risks, I am sure the wife in you will be able to concoct many more.

Deprives you of Gold and Silver ornaments

A smart watch costs a minuscule of what a luxury watch would cost. The only advantage is that it tells you multiple things instead of just time. You deprive yourself of a glitzy item that makes you look like a millionaire. A smart watch ONLY makes you look healthy, and really, who cares about that socially, eh?

By the way, I accidentally stepped into a gadget store recently and saw this watch that comes in Gold/Silver/Rose Gold bracelet shape or a pendant. It was so pretty that I was almost lured into buying this freakish device. Why so many colours, shapes and sizes? Stick to dorky designs!

Makes you a bad liar

This point works in our favour, but ladies, anything to save our marriage, right?

So when you receive a message, any message, this watch sends you a notification and you can read that message. There are people in this world who fake being extremely busy without having the time to look at their phones. But with a watch, you absolutely cannot tell your wife that you missed her message. She knows well how much you stare at it when a cricket match is on. God forbid if you say you missed her name on the notifications.

Makes you Lazy

On a recent trip to my place, my dad had his smart watch on all the time. Now he is no walker. After every few hundred steps he would say he is done for the day. At the end of 5 days, he said that he had cumulatively walked 35000 steps which is more than he walks in 10 days and because of THAT he is very tired and will sit back at home and relax. Needless to say, we left him home and went out anyway with mom because we had not done our 10,000 steps for the day!

See, for a person like him, the watch makes you lazy. Although I am pretty sure that without a watch he would have made us sit at home much before the ‘massive’ 35000 mark.

Makes you too available

Remember the time you saw a number blinking on your screen and you did not answer that call? Remember how you told that person the next time you had a chat that your phone was on charging and you are ‘sorry’ you missed his call?

Well, with the smart gadget flashing the call on your wrist, that special someone would know you were avoiding him. Do you want a sarcastic message on Facebook from him especially curated for you?

Yeah, now we are talking.

Makes you ‘un’cool

Let’s face it – only those who care about their health and awareness will wear a smart watch. It makes you look like a fitness freak who will not eat pakoras and drink cola – now who wants to hang out with that dude?

Truth be told, people who monitor their blood pressure and heart rate live a healthier and a more fulfilling life, but they are a pain to those around them.

Do you want to live a better life, err, I mean be that person?

They make for horrible gifts

Suppose you don’t have this watch and you buy one for your spouse/friend on Flipkart. He will start tracking his health, get more active on social media, will be able to hear music on the go, and the works.

If he does use the watch in its full capacity, he will potentially become slimmer than you. Can you take that chance?

You can’t.

You can’t fake sickness

It is your wife’s best friend’s birthday. You despise that lady. You come home from work and feign a fever. Since you have come from your boring job, you do look sick. You get excused right away.

Buttt, with a smart watch, your darling wife wraps her arms around you, opens your device and checks your pulse. This in-house doctor takes away your freedom and you have to go air-kiss and wish that Shabana whom you absolutely hate.

Tch!

Makes you Run out of Excuses

The dreaded device has a function called find my device. It helps you find your phone which you have lost 1008 times in the last one year. 434 times it was lost under the sofa and 1008 minus 434 times you made up this story because you were busy finishing up an episode on Netflix.

With ‘find my device’ you can’t even watch television in peace or read reddit/quora. You have to be punctual or be more creative with your stories.

Can you do that?

It can be nagging

There is an ass-print on your sofa which is a proud achievement from many, many hours of sitting. It is your cozy spot. Sometimes, on a special Saturday, you sit there facing the television for seven hours straight so that you finish a season before anyone else does.

Trust me, this watch will not let you do that since it has a timer that tells you to get moving when you have been sedentary for a long time. Now you already have a mummy/wife/boss for that, do you need another device for the same?

Takes away the Fun

In our house, it is a big deal as to who gets into the bed first. This is because the one who gets in last has to switch off all the lights.

Last night, my darling husband took a leisurely stroll to the bed. He was not at all unhappy about the fact that I beat him. When he slid under covers, I gently reminded him that he had lost the race and had to get up again to switch off the lights. I even let out a triumphant cry.

He smiled back, used the voice assistant on his watch and the lights went off.

Smart Lights? Ugh!

I let out a tiny tear, sighed heavily and decided to write this post warning all wives.

Either I will have the most golden, sparky, smart watch that has more features than his does, or I will bring this evolution to an end. 

And after writing this post I am going to buy Smart Home solutions from Flipkart's #SmartHomeRevolution so that I beat him to everything else in the house.

 Yeah, marital bliss will come back when I Ok Google  in a sultry tone to turn on Romantic lights before he taps his wrist watch! 

2018 - The Year that Was!

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Where did the year go?!

It was only yesterday that I was stranded at an unknown airport with complete strangers on the New Year's eve. I shed out a tear or two because my plans could not materialize and I was away from the Boy on this fun day. After relieving myself of the distress, I had one of the most memorable evenings of my life.

So yes, that set the trend for new experiences in the year that I am always so game for!

This year I spent a lottttt of my days in a pain that was and still hard to diagnose. Somehow I managed to forget the agony and move on each time it happened. Frankly, despite the pain, I declare 2018 to be one of the best years, you want to know why? Well...

I found a new best friend. We meet three times a week. We exercise together for an hour. We share stories and discuss a lot of things. Will she be able to help me with my struggles? I don't know for sure. What I do know is that she has given me a new hope that 2017 took away from me. I was in a state of constant worry during the last year. With her, I am in a state of constant appreciation and gratitude.

What else can I ask from a therapist? That's all I look forward to in life.

What else happened in 2018? I wrote much lessor than 2017. I blame it on my new best friend. She is very demanding!

We took our first cruise, and boy! What an experience! This vacation will be etched in our hearts forever and I worry if any other cruise that we take, which we definitely will, would come any close. I met three sisters in the cruise. The oldest was 80 and the youngest was 72. They are the inspiration I was looking for all my life and found it on the table next to ours. We went to eat in the dining hall just to meet them. I wish I had their number, I wish I could talk to them.. next time I won't be so hesitant.

Our second trip to Oktoberfest was a lot of fun as well. We danced and laughed and had beer and ate a lottttt of pork. Oh, I am so nostalgic now!

We had several visitors this year who stayed with us. Even though it gets a little tiring, it is an amazing feeling to have people visit you. Bahrain is not a tourist destination and so you know that these people don't really come only for a holiday. They come to meet you and have a little fun on the side. And now I've become a little cool with visitors as well - I can remain calm when the house becomes messy, I can sleep even if there are children making a noise outside my room, I can order in when I think I can't cook.. umm, maybe too chill?

Did we get lucky this year, let me think. I won a USD 500 voucher for travel, I won a glass of wine, I got a couple of vouchers from blogging contests, and got USD 500 from travel insurance for baggage delay...haha! Free money is money won!

Anyway, so my 2018 was very, very nice. I think my 2019 will be nicer. Now, I have to go and meet my best friend. After that I will write for a blogging contest and strive to achieve the goal of making 2019 nicer.

Yes people, you have to make your year better. No one else will come and do that for you.

Ho! Ho! Ho!
2019 I'll love you, I know!