Many people, even doctors, recommend walking a few steps for a few minutes after our meals. It has many benefits, including sugar control and weight loss in the long term. Ayurveda also talks about it.
For me, especially these days when I am taking medicines 3 times a day for many days, this walk is really helping me stay awake a little longer after my lunch time. The heavy doses of medicine sometimes make it very difficult to stay awake and do anything. And me being me, always prefers a body and mind well rested for any kind of work, so I sleep when my body asks for it.
But sleeping a day thrice, I mean, once after breakfast and medicines, then if you can’t control it after lunch, and then of course, the nighttime dose makes it too much. And I don’t want to see my puffy face and swollen eyes anymore. Rest is fine. Deep sleep is good. But sleeping three times, I didn’t feel so good. So, my post-lunch walk for around half an hour is saving me from falling asleep these days.
Can’t say much about what my metabolism, sugar, cholesterol, thyroid, and insulin levels are, but my sleeping and staying awake balance, with a short nap after breakfast, is right right now. And I am happy for that.
Tell me about yourself. Have you noticed any positive changes in your daytime or just general everyday life because of this simple act?
Early mornings. The peaceful, loving, caring, beautiful, warm, comfortable, and relaxed early mornings after a night of deep sleep and rest are among the most priceless blessings in the world. And I am genuinely, deeply, very, very grateful for such early mornings in my life. Nothing can be more beautiful than that.
Nothing!
The early morning hours, the quiet home, the calm vibes, you wake up with a smile, you feel thankful to divine, get up for the wonderful day ahead, listen to the chirping of birds outside, the balcony view right in front of you full of trees, grass, shrubs, herbs, plants, and flowers of bright colours, dewy mustard fields, and a vast area of farmland.
Everything seems dark because the sun hasn’t come up here. And then you gaze at the sky, watching it transition from darkness to light, to pinkish red, yellowish, as the sun comes up in full red, and slowly, slowly it moves up up and up. And its colour changes from red to light red, to orange, to shiny bright yellow.
And you sit on your balcony to soak all that in. To feel the morning breeze, the early morning shine, everything!
For me, that is a blessing. And I am more than grateful for this.
If there is one thing for me in this world that can bring me a sheer amount of joy, bliss, happiness, peace, serenity, and sanity – without preaching any sort of gyaan – then that has to be the greens.
The greens – the plants, the herbs, the flowers, the balcony garden, the park, the forest, and the succulents on my table just beside my laptop, and a few on my window.
I believe they are the purest form of souls and beings on this planet. They are complete in themselves. Nothing like them is rooted in nature. They are the symbol of nature, creation, evolution, change, acceptance, beauty, patience, colours, joy, happiness, peace – and a whole lot of happy feelings, just by being there.
Their mere presence is precious enough to make your moments beautiful.
There are studies and research that show that plant gazing, forest bathing, and keeping succulents around your workspace lowers your stress and boosts your productivity. And you know what, you don’t need to go through any of those researches, data, or statistics if you don’t want to. It’s completely fine. You are not missing out on anything important.
You just have to do one thing. Make space for these beautiful greens in your life. Go to the nearest park, walk on the morning dewy grass barefoot, look closely at the different shades of green the trees have, go to the nearby nursery, convert your balcony into a balcony garden – one step at a time.
Sit in your balcony with nothing but your presence, and see, watch, and gaze through the beautiful green tribe you have managed to accommodate. Sit for hours to gaze at the beauty, go for forest bathing, and release every ounce of negativity with each inhale inside you. Make succulents your room partner, your workspace partner, and let life come to you peacefully, slowly, steadily, and sanely.
You will lose nothing. You won’t miss out on anything. You know what will happen? You will see life like never before. You will see them growing, flourishing, drying, and dying. Then, you will see seeds germinating, leaves broadening, plants growing, trees beautifying, flowers blooming, and greens beautifully thriving – by accepting, adapting, changing, growing, and blooming – all while staying grounded and deeply connected to their roots in front of your eyes.
They have taught me, and continue to teach me, the lessons of peace, sanity, serenity, growth, humbleness, beauty, and life like no book on philosophy has till now.
They don’t demand anything. They just need your presence. Can you give that? They will give you a lot. Sanity is just one of many gifts they have for you.
Think about it. And it’s never too late to go and meet one of these friends ever. Go visit them. Take them home. And love them. They won’t cheat you. I promise!
Wishing you all the greenery, sanity, serenity, peace, freshness, beauty, growth, and mindfulness.
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.
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.
Srishti Kumari 