Srishti Kumari

Tag: life lessons

  • 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.

  • Write

    Because you need to write.

    Photo by Daniel Álvasd on Unsplash

    Write, because you need to write.

    I know you are writing a lot. I know you are working a lot. You are thinking, ideating, brainstorming, discussing ideas, themes, and topics. You are researching very well for your case studies. You are refining, editing, and proofreading each and every LinkedIn post of yours, your articles, blogs, and that email newsletter – everything is being meticulously checked at least five times before anyone else’s approval.

    You are reading, browsing, scrolling, attending meetings, editing drafts, making new drafts, planning content, and learning from all the available sources you can, hoping it will boost your growth. And you are growing as well.

    Actually, you have grown. You have learnt a lot. You have become much better in your work. Your writing has become versatile. You can write for the CEOs, CxOs, founders, billionaires, and businesses across the industries without compromising the quality. And that’s excellent. Kudos to you!

    I knew you would do this. I knew you would achieve all the professional milestones, all the financial growth and success you had dreamt of. And see, you did it.

    But I need to talk to you. I am seeing that you have stopped doing something. In this business of writing copies, telling stories, building perception, branding, and business development, though you have written a lot, you have come far from writing itself.

    Do you see what I am trying to say? Can’t you see this? Isn’t it bothering you? I mean, it’s great, and it’s really awesome that you have built the fabulous financial security by doing something you love to do. It’s truly a blessing. And I am so, so, so happy for you.

    But I am missing my friend who used to write for herself — just for herself. No personal branding, no thought leadership, no brand integration, no business collaborations, no client work, no agency work, no premium global clients’ work, no emails, no pitches, no proposals, nothing of these sorts.

    I know my friend, each of these things is very important. I get that. But, I just want to remind you that you also need you. Talk to yourself. Talk to your friends. Talk to us. Talk to your diary. Or, just talk to your forgotten blog you once launched with childlike curiosity and eyes full of dreams.

    Those dreams need you too. You need yourself. You need to write for yourself. You need to write to yourself.

    Yes, you do.

    I hope you remember that.

  • Shaam ka Naashta

    Rare no?

    Photo by Raghavendra Mithare on Unsplash

    I remember, back in the school days, when I was in an all-girls residential campus, shaam ka naashta, I mean our evening snack was the more or less regular thing just like our breakfast. It didn’t matter what the snack was, be it a fruit, nuts, rusk, packet bhujiya, or sometimes noodles, dhokla with our sometimes not-so-good tea.

    It was a thing back then. When I shifted to Delhi for my college studies and started living with my parents, mealtime just got too erratic. Of course, college timings and late classes were the obvious reasons. Some days, I used to have my breakfast after 11 am and my lunch after 5 pm. It was bad. But that was it. My college years were far from perfect in any sense. Those years were haphazard throughout.

    So yeah, evening snacking wasn’t a specific thing for me then. And after that, I spent many years at my home doing self-study and exam preparations, coaching, etc., and breakfast, lunch, and dinner were the norm. Evening snack became occasional. And it is still now.

    For the last few days, I was asking Abhi(my partner and hubby) to make a chiwra snack for me. In bihar we call it choora ka bhujja. It is the regionally grown flatrice which is then shallow fried in much less oil until it becomes crispy, and then we add finely chopped onions, chilies, and during winters, also fried peas and groundnuts. It can be made in different variations according to taste and the way you want to relish it. We had everything at home that we needed. Abhi knows very well how to prepare it. But. But but but but but, for this particular thing we had to have a day when we both would be free in the evening, and we will have enough time in our hands. In short, you need evenings for an evening snack.

    Thankfully, today was that day. Abhi came home a bit early, and on my request, we managed to finally have our choora ka bhujja with fried peas, finely chopped onions, chillies, groundnut, and a bit of salt for flavour in our shaam ka naashta. Finally!

    I hope that this occasional snacking or shaam ka naashta remains in our lives. I don’t know why. I just want it to be. Maybe because it still reminds me of my childhood, my hostel days, when I used to look forward to it alongwith my friends. Maybe. I don’t know.

    Well, our naashta was really good. I liked the taste. It could have been crunchier, but it’s so sweet of Abhi to just make it for me within minutes. And I loved it that way.

    Happy Snacking!