How to spend a Sunday Morning

In my humble opinion, the morning on a Sunday is the best time of the week, because, of course, morning IS the best time of the day in any case and it’s a Sunday, which means one does not have to wake up early for office or home chores.

But on the contrary, if you truly want to enjoy the Sunday Morning, you should try waking up early.

Now, you might say, wake up early on a Sunday morning and do what??

Well, let me justify my “blasphemous” statement with the below pointers

1. Wake up at a comfortable time like 6:30 or 7 am and not at any unearthly dark hour.

By this time, the sun has just come up the horizon and it is a nice opportunity to say Hello to him with some peace, quiet and time to spare. You might even strike up a conversation with him and make a re-introduction (or perhaps, an introduction).

Well, you can up the ante by waking up 30 minutes earlier and witness the sun-rise, but the important requirement for that is to be at a place of a higher altitude, which is not possible in our pigeon-holed city apartments. My suggestion is that you could safely reserve the “watching the sun-rise” activity to when you go for an outing to any hill station. For a regular Sunday, just look at the sun after it rises (when it allows you to watch it without blinding you for life) and just say Hello.

He will gift you with some Vitamin D, which will make your bones stronger.

2. Move your favorite chair next to the window

Once you have completed your conversation with the sun (and your daily ablutions, of course), you should move your favorite chair near the window and look outside to the street. You will be pleasantly surprised to see that they will be empty. Sitting near the window will also help you inhale the fresh morning air which will fill your lungs and wake your mind and your soul.

Believe me your lungs will love you for this little gesture.

3. Watch

Now that you are comfortably seated and feeling refreshed - look outside and I mean really look!! Watch!!

Switch off that smart phone/tab, throw away the newspaper and Just WATCH!!

You will see such curious people as the milkman, the paper-boy, the security guard, the car-washer etc. going about their daily work, which you were too busy to notice in your daily life.

Occasionally, you will see a dog which will trot and will stop exactly below your window, lift one of its hind legs and scratch its ear. It will then watch absently into a distance for a few seconds, do a small bark or howl and then it will again carry on its slow trot to nowhere in particular.

These are everyday sights, but since you are watching them without any hurry, they will fill you with wonder and bring you into the current moment, in tune with the universal flow of energy and life. It’s Good Chi, people!!

4.  Also, Hear!!

While you watch, also try to HEAR. The sweet chirping of the birds and if you are really lucky, some mysterious and rare bird-call, which you have not heard in a long time (or never heard at all).

Enjoy the beauty of nature right in your city apartment. Now you know what the builder the saying.

5. Now, comes the most important part – Tea!!

Now, while you are watching and listening to the world outside coming to life, make sure you get a cup of piping hot tea.

It cannot be any regular tea either. It has to be cardamom or Ginger tea. The soft steam of the tea will waft on top of the cup and you will be able to smell the enchanting concoction. Wait for the tea to cool a bit, because if you drink it too hot, you miss on a lot of its flavor (unless if you are used to drinking it hot).

Drink your tea in slow, small sips, savoring it. Leave it lingering on your tongue for a few moments before your gulp it. This will free up the flavor in the tea and will further rejuvenate you.

NOTE: Not to be unfair to the coffee drinkers, please do what best suits you. I am more of a Tea Connoisseur and cant advice you on that department.

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: Unless you want to annihilate this tranquil, serendipitous, early morning experience, please make the tea by yourself instead of asking the better half, who is probably catching up on the Sunday Morning Super-Sleep.

6. That’s all, folks!!

After finishing your tea, you may want to continue watching the world outside, or watch TV or your cell-phone or whatever it is you want to do.

By this time the world would have woken up and magical morning is moved off into the history tab.

Happy Sunday to you and Cheers to the wonder of life!!

Closer to Myself

In his book the Seven Spiritual Laws, Deepak Chopra says that being close to nature is being close to oneself. I, for one, am a staunch believer of this statement as I have experienced it.

Whether it is the infinite sea, the peaking mountains or the endless valleys, nature has always attracted me towards itself. Watching in wonder at the rolling waves of the ocean and its infinite water unlocks some hidden part in my soul. The mighty peaks clouded with mist stirs some unknown internal core. The magnificent bottomless expanses of valleys always awaken something deep inside me which I don’t completely understand but am definitely moved by.

I have felt a fascination for nature from my earliest childhood. Previously, while being near to nature I used to end up thinking of larger questions like the meaning of MY life, the reason for MY existence, the fragility of reality and the worth of relationships. Nearer to nature, I used to brood on these things and loose myself in these thoughts without getting any nearer to the answers. Often times, frustrating myself.

Now, I think I have got older (and hopefully, wiser). Because, now when I am closer to nature, I don’t really care about the larger scheme of the universe. I just try to be very still, very quiet and just observe. I just try to take in the vastness of the surroundings, invariably imagining myself as nothing more than a speck of dust in the grandeur. Just a tiniest nut (or bolt) in the smallest wheel of the gigantic machinery of the entire universe. A nut so tiny, that its existence does not even matter in the overall grand design.

Oddly, this thought lightens me up. It liberates me from the pressure of everyday living. It soothes my mind and frees me from the weight of my own expectations. It adds an incredible and uncanny happiness to my being. A kind of happiness of the mind. A happiness which is not attached to material things in life. A happiness that is not transient but permanent. A happiness bought out by the purity of my experience in the natural surroundings.

The feeling of insignificance brings joy, serenity and tranquility to me and that is why I keep going back to nature. To loose myself and consequently find myself.

For the love of a good story

I love a good story. Like every other kid, I have always been fascinated by them from the earliest childhood. As a kid, I used to beg my parents to tell me stories when they tucked me into bed.

Most of the times, my mother would tell me one of the stories she heard from her parents or at the village fair folk artists called “Gondhalis”.

My father on the other hand was and still is fable-challenged

The greatest joy for my as a kid was when my grandfather visited us. Not only did he know a lot of stories but he had a funny way of telling them which made me roll with laughter with tears in my eyes. I cherished the time I spent with him listening to his stories.

The stories were probably what drew me to books and once I started reading, it became a life-long passion.

I read (more like devoured) anything and everything that came my way and I loved it all. I could go for the entire days reading books forgetting to even eat and sleep. From magical tales from the great Indian epics to awesome Arabian nights to Enid Blyton, Mark Twain, Jules Verne even Shakespeare.

Reading is a habit that continues till today.

Another form of storytelling which I loved and continue to love is films. Although, my interest in films has changed over time from the bollywood masala movies of my childhood, to Hollywood action and adventure movies, to any good movies with a good story, well told.

Life has come full circle now as my kids ask me to tell them stories when we lie down to sleep and I just pull out one of the tales from the great expanse of my memories. Their favorite stories are Hansel and Gretel, Jack and beanstalk and other Aesops fables and Grimms fairy tales. Through my kids, it seems like I am reliving my childhood.

Eventually, they will read books and watch movies and will reflect on the wonder that is a good story.

What to write?

So what do I want to write on my blog? The easiest and most tempting thing to write is whats happening in my life, what I think about myself, others and my surroundings, any comment about the general happening in the world or some philosophical garbage that no one wants to read.

I can tread the oft-used path and write something funny based on my experiences with the world. Thats something interesting and can be written.

But finally the question remains. What to Write??