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This was my second attempt with AtoZ Challenge. My first stint was last year as a newbie. Though I knew what to expect this year, I wasn’t sure if I would be surviving as I had a lot going on. But nevertheless, I tried. I wanted to try rather than giving up right from the beginning. As always, the challenge has helped in many ways both in writing and also about learning a bit more about myself.
Zentangle is my new found love. It is an art form where repeated patterns are drawn in a structured manner. This art is a great way to relax, rejuvenate and focus. I consider this highly therapeutic and have been trying my hand a lot on it lately. Zentangle helps me regain my long lost focus.
Here are two ‘inspired’ Zentangle versions of Disney princesses.
Say Hello to Zentangled Elsa from Frozen! I used Sharpie pointed marker to do this.
I plan to do more in the Disney series and will keep posting as I do. Here is my other post on Zentangle art- Pattern Art
An open letter to my 20 year old self:
Dear 20 year old self,
First of all, congratulations for making it this far! This 20 year old journey of yours has been remarkable. You’ve worked hard enough to reach your academic goals. I know that you are currently working towards your next one on the checklist-a good job. Well great! I highly appreciate your zeal and seriousness in life in this aspect. Though I appreciate your clear vision on what to do next, I also noticed your attitude of trying to get done with crucial things and then anticipate time for enjoyment or relaxation. It’s good to take seriousness in working towards something, but waiting for the end of it and then think about what really fascinates you is mere foolishness! I know I sound rude, but the fact is there will never be time for you to try or do anything your passionate about. I know you never studied just for the heck of it, I know you enjoyed your educational journey thus far. But my dear, life isn’t always about clearing exams or accomplishing goals with the view of seeing the light at the end of tunnel. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge- Yours Truly”
Jason was seven and was waiting at the bus stop with his dad for his bus. After a few minutes he was excited to look at the school bus approaching. But in a fraction of few seconds, the yellow school bus was hit hard by a speeding truck with a rash driver. The bus immediately burst into flames and Jason froze with shock, though his dad tried hard to take him away from the spot. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge- Xanthophobia”
When I moved to the States, I found many things, habits and practices fascinating. One among them has to be the inevitable role played by the weather in everyday life. Coming from a tropical country, weather was never really an issue, apart from heavy downpour once in a blue moon. The transition from a hot and dry climate of South India to cold and snowy weather of Mid Western United States hasn’t been easy for me. Climate was a huge part of my culture shock during the initial stages. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge- Weather Way”
Visualization is a great way to improve the path to success and to make it easier to achieve our aspirations and goals. It has the power to subconsciously make us stronger and more inclined towards achieving what we strive for. Visualization is nothing but a process of visualizing something that we want to gain or become. Apart from working hard, visualizing that perfect shot if you’re a sportsperson, that ideal weight if you’re struggling to lose weight or that dream house if you’re planning to build one, will lead to higher rates of success in your chosen path! Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge- Visualization “
Uber conversations are sometimes like a breath of fresh air, surprisingly enlightening and sometimes, even a life saver! Ben was having a hard day, he had to leave his car at the service center after it broke down. He requested for a ride on Uber and waited helplessly at the auto service. He notice a white Lexus car approaching and realized it’s the Uber driver Jack. He gets in..
Jack: Hey there Ben? How’re you doing?
Ben: Hey, how’s it going?
Jack: Heading Downtown?
Ben: Yup
Jack: How was your day?
Ben: Mmm…, wasn’t great. My car broke down, had to leave it at the auto service.
Jack: Oh no! Was it that bad?
Ben: Well yeah, should be done by tomorrow. Until then Uber it is!
Jack: Haha, Cool! So what do you do?
Ben: I’m into Digital Marketing and I work for…., sorry I used to work. Recently I lost my job as they had to cut down resources.
Jack: I’m so sorry, that’s too bad. Was it all off a sudden?
Ben: Well, technically yeah. They gave us a heads up before two days that we could expect lay offs. But that wasn’t of much help.
Jack: Hmmm, so currently looking for a job?
Ben: Yeah, job hunting. Gave a few interviews but still waiting to hear back. Can you please take left here?
Jack: Oh sure, the GPS on the app wasn’t taking me left, sorry about that!
Ben: Haha, that’s alright! You can stop here.
Jack: Alrighty. Hey Ben.., I have a…small Digital Marketing firm, may be you can find something that interests you.
Ben: Oh that’s great!!
Jack: Here’s my card, give me a call and later we can set up an interview for you if interested.
Ben: Oh, thanks a lot Jack! Will surely give you call, thank you very much for the offer!
Jack: No problem man! Have a good night!
Ben: Sure I will! Good night and see you soon!
Meera and team were heading to their project success party at a client’s location. As the celebrations began, people flocked towards the bar for drinks. Meera browsed through the menu for non alcoholic beverages apart from soda. But as usual, she couldn’t find anything and even if she did, her options would be very limited. As she sat sighing at having only soda again, she saw her team mates approaching her with a bunch of beer bottles.
“You want a beer? They have some flavored ones you could try”, offered her colleague. “Oh, that’s great! Mmm, I don’t drink, but thanks”, she smiled. “Oh okay”, her colleague threw a weird smile. The same story at every party Meera attends. She headed to the bar to ask for options. All she could get was some juice but the bar tender was generous enough and offered to make her some virgin mojito though it wasn’t on the menu. “Oh well, something is better than nothing”, she thought.
After few casual conversations and roaming around congratulating one another, Meera couldn’t stop wondering about her habit for being ‘non-alcoholic’, for the way she was often questioned about it. As she sat down sipping in her mojito, she was reminded of how her friends considered her ‘old fashioned’ and often commented that she doesn’t know how to have fun, just because she doesn’t drink. “Why is it so hard to accept a teetotaler? What’s questionable in making a choice of what to eat or drink? Well may be, the world has a habit of questioning anything that isn’t obvious”, she wondered.
Most parties even forget there exist people who don’t take alcohol and there are hardly any choices apart from water. “Well, my choice of being sober is a sin these days, as at the end of the day I’m often judged and considered to be boring, anti- social or depressing”, she sighed. How can a choice of beverage decide someone’s personality? “Well, whatever! I don’t drink because I don’t want to and not because I can’t, so I don’t have to give any explanations”, she thought to herself and continued enjoying her minted virgin mojito.
Any guesses on who or what rules your life? Well, the answer lies within yourself. It’s your sub conscious mind! The power of the subconscious mind is highly underestimated. We hardly realize that our subconscious mind directs the way our life is lead. What we achieve, what we lack, what we desire, what we fear are all outcomes of this underrated miraculous phenomenon within us.
Whatever is in our subconscious mind transforms to become our reality. How we feel about a situation, about a person, about our goals and ambitions are often reflected from our mind. The subconscious mind is always ON, so it is important to realize that what we think and how we think consciously, play a major role in shaping our subconscious mind. So keep watching the thoughts that govern your mind. Try wiping off negative thoughts that try to worsen a problem or a situation, as this might be hard stored in the subconscious mind. As a result, you are constantly reminded of it consciously and unconsciously. These negative thoughts dampen your spirits, increase your pessimistic attitude and does not help in any way to make your problem any better. Thus subconscious mind creates a series of reactions and influences the way we see, feel and accomplish.
Did you ever notice that how we actually feel about a person or a situation is often reflected in our dreams? That is because our perception of them is captured in the subconscious mind. For instance, irrespective of how weird or out of place our dreams may be, the actions performed by the person we trust always appear in a positive form. When we wish to accomplish a dream or a goal, we need to fuel our subconscious mind with our desire and yearning for the same. Constantly thinking about the hurdles and confusions that come in the way, will only make the subconscious mind aware of more of the negatives than your zest for the goal. This influences our thoughts, our emotions and actions, finally leading to the life we always feared of. So the choice is upon us, as we can always create a life we wanted, sooner or later. Though it is not as easy as it sounds, it can be doable once we realize the importance and the impact of our mind.
So, make sure you monitor the thoughts your feeding to your subconscious mind, because it indeed is the Genie of your life!
Over the last two decades, the reach of technology has increased beyond leaps and bounds across the world. The advent of computers and internet to help mankind and make the world smaller, has slowly reached a point of being misused and has also become the cause for various disorders and addictions in the new age. The addition of smartphones, gadgets, hi tech video games have added to the list of addictions. The need for rehab to detoxify oneself is now included with new and tech savvy addictions. By 2020 few of the most common causes could be as the listicle below:
Directly or indirectly technology has increased new age addictions and paved way for various mental disorders. As prevention is better than cure, it is utmost necessary to understand the importance of control and check addiction levels before it’s too late.
Aura with Writing 