Srishti Kumari

Author: srishtikumari

  • The Relatability You Feel In Stories

    They make you feel seen and heard every time

    Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

    You know, whenever you read someone’s story — be it on their blog, their linkedin post, the instagram story, or anywhere, and you feel a part of you being described there, that feeling of connection and relatability makes you feel valid for your actions, feelings and emotions you were finding to get from people around you, is my friend a miracle in today’s life.

    Miracle, because everything — when you see someone succeeding, someone going gym every day, someone waking up at 5:00 am consistently, someone running marathons, someone earning in crores, and someone always looking so pretty and aesthetic, you deeply feel so behind, alone, isolated, and bad for yourself every day.

    Perfect pictures are for performative goals. They are perfect online because they can’t afford to be seen as anything less than that. Those perfect pictures from perfect angles are actually trying to hide many blemishes, dark spots, and unevenness that everyday life throws at us.

    And poor us! We believe in the perfectly captured, edited, filtered, and carefully curated corners of someone’s grid, as it is the reality of life.

    The reality is, humanness comes with a lot of insecurities, confusion, failures, tiredness, hopelessness, slow days, mood swings, low periods, edgy feelings, anxiety, stress, and nerve-wracking, vulnerable moments as well. And that, my friend, is not pretty and aesthetic. That is bad, ugly, cruel, silly, confused, sad, with a generous amount of existential crisis. And we feel like we are alone.

    No, we are not. We are not alone. Yes, a 10-step skincare routine may have a million views online, but you also have the stories where people openly share about their bad skin days.

    When someone shares their raw, real, personal, mostly unpopular, and normal stories of spending weekends at home, Netflixing, reading, gardening, and living through the days instead of performing, I feel more connected to those stories naturally.

    And I think that is what connection requires. Simple truth. Simple ways. Simple acts. Everyday life. Mundane days. Fleeting moments. Us. And our stories.

    There is a strange connectedness in everyday stories of people you are not connected to in any way. And maybe that’s a shared connection we possess as humans.

    So simple, so subtle, so powerful.

  • Hey Past

    Thanks for being in the past

    Photo by Mykhaylo Kopyt on Unsplash

    Past, thanks. Thank you so much for being in the past. Although you come to me. You come to my mind a lot. Many times, with many unpleasant memories from your shelf, but I am still relieved that you are my past now.

    Yes, the memories stay. The unpleasant ones don’t go easily. The pain, the helplessness, the cries, the judgements, the violence, the abuse, the hypocritical behaviour, the dual standards – they leave a scar. They probably have left a scar on my inner child, and they don’t leave the mindspace completely.

    But I feel there is a good thing. I think you had come so early with so many unpleasant things only to make me aware of the truth, the life, and myself so early.

    Maybe!

    You taught me so many things. That’s true! I just wish I had seen and felt more love also during those times. I am just saying. I wish!

    It’s fine. Whatever happened, happened! You know, you taught me a very important thing. The past is in the past, and will be in the past, no matter how many times I feel the unwanted memories in my present. I can always choose to remind myself that it was in the past, and I am in the present. Always.

    I am in my present, and I can choose my future. Always! Isn’t it liberating?

    The relationship you have for the first twenty to thirty years of your life with your parents, your siblings, your friends, relatives, cousins, and with yourself impacts a lot your mindset and behaviour towards almost everything in life. At somepoint, you have to step up and decide to rethink, renew, and restart your relationship with your life, with the values that deeply satisfy your soul.

    You can’t let the ugliness of the past decades take away all the shine, beauty, life, and magic from the best years of your life that are yet to come.

    Maybe it was the way of almighty to make me come closer to him. Maybe! Maybe the past was just a small bittersweet part of the plan. Maybe!

    Whatever it was, and whatever it is, I am glad it was my past; it was in the past. My present is holding, protecting, guiding, and inspiring me so beautifully that sometimes I think, if this had to come, then I have no more complaints about my past.

    Listen past, you were there to make me see, teach, and understand many things so clearly that my present and future self will always thank you for. I respect the years of learning you passed on to me.

    Thanks. Thanks for being my past. Thanks for happening and staying in the past.

    Today, my present understands you.

    Thank you.

  • Staying Hydrated

    And other grown-up stuff

    Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

    When we were in school and college, our dreams used to be so aspirational. Big house, big car, international trips, financial abundance, this, that, and whatnot. And though I am still very ambitious deep down for the dreams that feel true and amazing to me, I didn’t think back then that a few dreams would be so simple yet difficult to live.

    For example, drinking enough water and staying hydrated all day.

    Now, this should be a part of anyone who is on a healthy lifestyle journey. True! Hundred percent agree. But the truth needs to be told. Brushing my teeth every morning is the only healthy habit I can do on autopilot, or, as they say, naturally.

    Apart from this, any and every habit that comes under the umbrella of healthy lifestyle, be it sleeping early, waking up early, doing meditation, doing exercises, going for walks, eating home cooked meals, cooking at home, eating timely, reading books, journalling, gratitude, prayers, weekly skin and haircare, weekly grocery stock audit, home cleaning and household chores, learning and upskilling, updating my CV time to time, future thinking and planning, present moment enjoyment and living, staying in touch with my besties, talking once or twice a day with my parents, and second parents(in-laws), wardrobe organization, haircut, nails cut, and, drinking just enough water to stay hydrated, healthy, calm, and active – it’s a lot!

    I have understood that for me, each and everything demands planning, scheduling, practising, and repetition throughout, as per my needs. And now, I am at peace with this reality that I am not someone who naturally wakes up early, sleeps early, eats early, eats on time, eats healthy, drinks 3 litres of water per day, does workouts, reads a lot, writes a lot, does self-study, and upskilling.

    Because I am in the process. And I am in love with the process. I have trust in the process that it will make my vision come true very soon in the form of a version of me that my heart knows deep down I am and I meant to be.

    But yeah..for now, it’s an effort to drink enough water regularly. Though I have become more mindful of that and keep my water bottle right in front of me beside my laptop. It helps. I see it more, I drink more often. And proper hydration, coupled with home-cooked meals on time, easily keeps me far from junk food cravings. So that’s a win for sure. Rest will be taken care of as well.

    Ok, now I am taking a sip. You also drink enough water for your overall health and well-being.

    Stay hydrated. Stay healthy.

    Take care.

  • Free Yourself

    And Write Everything

    Photo by Daniel Álvasd on Unsplash

    Sometimes, when you can hear many things at once in your mind, it’s time to free up your mental space. Free it up.

    Take your diary, open your notes app, or go to your blog – wherever you feel safe, and just start scribbling whatever is bothering you. Start scribbling whatever is not making any sense to you. Just start, and it will do its job.

    You don’t have to explain anything to anyone if you don’t want to; you just need to see what’s going on inside your head. That’s it. That’s the whole point. And you know what, you can do it.

    No matter what the world says 1000s of times every day to you, listen to me carefully. Just shut up and listen to me. You are capable of sitting alone with yourself. You are capable enough to listen and talk to yourself without hating an inch of your existence. You can listen to yourself, talk to yourself, solve your problems, take one step at a time, and move ahead in your life with a heart full of gratitude, a mind full of peace, and days full of happiness in your life.

    Today, just sit. Just sit and write. Write your heart out. No order, no structure, no headlines, and no paragraphs. Write your story without any edits. Talk to yourself without any filters. And then, see the magic! You are born to live that magic. Own it.

    Write whatever bothers you. Write whatever uplifts you. Write whatever makes you cry. Write about the things that make you smile. Write to imagine your future. Write to come to terms with your past. Write so that your present becomes more beautiful. Write so your life can be peaceful. Just write.

    Write for yourself. Write to yourself. Write. You will feel good. And that’s the whole point.

    Take care.

  • The Magic of Creative Living

    By Renuka Gavrani

    Picture by Srishti Kumari

    I must say I have read something really fresh, rejuvenating, soft, simple, inspiring, and authentic after a long time in the genre of self-help. And this has been truly a lovely reading.

    “The Magic of Creative Living” touched me in ways not many self-help books could before. The honesty, simplicity, and authenticity of the author make it an absolute gem.

    Thankfully, someone writing a self-help kind of book talked about the myths and shit we feel trapped in so openly and loudly.

    I loved this book. Loved each page, each chapter, and each paragraph a hundred percent.

    Renuka has shared her life experiences, her problems, her struggles to live a life that finally feels a lot softer, meaningful, simple, yet successful, with all the fulfillment our soul craves silently. She nudges readers to sit, to question, to journal, and to basically pause and check if they are living the version of their lives they are really proud of from the bottom of their heart, or is there something missing? And if something is missing, then how to actively start participating in our lives instead of running away from it and scrolling for hours.

    She has nudged throughout the book. It is a non-preachy read. You will feel the honesty. You will surely relate to the reality she is talking about between the pages.

    For me, it has been one of the best, most refreshing, and simplest possible books in the self-help genre. I liked the writing style and the content of the book as well.

    If you are fed up with to-do lists, how-to guides, early morning alarms, scrolling endlessly, mediocre performances, and a sense of fear and loss in life, then go read this book. It can be your saviour. I mean it. If you are ready to change, the author has your back.

    Give it a try. You will get it.

    Happy reading!

    Take care.