the dark is always up against the force of life
birds, lessons, habits, revisiting 2022 resolutions, itinerant writer, flood, going back in time, humor, rare books, Pondicherry, and being happy in the land we are in.
Hi there!
Thank you for joining me.
I hope you are doing well and your week has been interesting.
I am still on the east coast of India where I have been for a few months. This past week was all about editing old articles and reading. I have been walking and cycling a lot, cooking, sleeping, and watching birds all the time.
If I even leave a few finger-fulls of rice, peels of mangoes, or pieces of bread, all the squirrels, mynahs (or as my partner says joy birds), jungle babblers, crows, dogs, and the ants and beetles come along to party. But they don’t let each other eat in peace no matter how much food I have put out. They peck each other and jump over one another to get the most loot. I have an amazing time watching the creatures while drinking tea or reading a book.
Though nature brings mindfulness to my moments, I do end up losing myself to my mind more often than I would like to. I try to read in between the lines.
While knowing I have much more to learn, I realize I am a human being. I have many flaws. I get scared too many times. I make a lot of mistakes. I hurt too many people. While being fully aware that things that have to happen happen anyhow and I cannot control much, I worry over nothing.
To come out of my mind, I wrote down the mistakes many of us make over and over again. By writing down my flaws, I acknowledge how far I have to go. But in the process, I also forgive myself for being imperfect.
Here are some of the not so good things we do.
We believe everyone out there is against us so we shield up. But thus we also distance ourselves from people who didn’t mean any harm and even wanted to come close to us.
The events in our lives never warn us that they are planning to occur. But we resent why we hadn’t thought of this and that. If we could think of this and that, we would have.
We are sad that no one is kind to us while we are being unkind to those around us.
We are scared by the dark, by the unknown, by the strangers. But the known and the mysterious together make our world. The unknown is not fearsome but just something we haven’t seen so far.
We tell ourselves we have to do too many things and worry about all of them. If we instead spend that time doing the things even little by little — without worrying over the progress too much — we would get a lot more done.
Some of us live in an eternal imaginary suffering. But we can come out of it any minute.
In a challenging situation, we forget about the happy days.
When everything is going well, we are sure something bad would happen and let the fear dampen our spirits.
We read too much into what others think of us or talk about us. Mostly their ideas about us are so different from what we imagine them to be that this activity is not only futile but also harmful.
What people think of us has nothing to do with who we are or what we do. The sooner we get out of the habit of forging a likable image the freer we would be.
We hurt ourselves over and over because we cannot let go of the idea of perfection.
We blame our parents but never pause to find solutions that would relieve all of us of the past.
We are scared of being too happy in case we lose it all.
What would you like to stop doing today?
the dark is always up against the force of life
And now onto this week’s letter,
Some of my writing,
quotes I love,
things to read,
things to watch,
and
travel tips.
Past Articles I’ve Just Renewed
23 Small, Daily Habits to Build a Better Life
With the power of habits comes the great responsibility of choosing the best habits that work as a lever to improve our lives. Here I share 23 easy and small habits to build the life we imagine ourselves living. I also talk about the power of incremental growth and doing small things consistently over time.
These good habits to have only need a starting point that could just be a few minutes. Try for yourself.
Click to find the easy habits. Or Pocket for later.
A Picnic on the Isolated Nyang Nyang Beach Bali [2022]
I traveled in Bali in 2018 for a month. And though the trip seems so far now, that day I spent on the Nyang Nyang beach of Bali is vivid in my memory.
The turquoise Nyang Nyang was deserted, and it had these beautiful shore reefs to swim in. This narrative is of my day of play on the beach and includes the logistics to visit one of the most fun beaches on the island.
Read the travel memoir now. Or Pocket for Sunday.
And as we are right in the middle of the year 2022, I wanted to share my new year resolutions again,
Awareness, Confidence, and Non-Reaction: My Keys to 2022
I am doing well with two of my resolutions: that is approaching each day with awareness and confidence in self. But non-reaction to external needs much more work.
Where are you with your 2022 resolutions?
Read my reflections of 2021 and the ideas for 2022 now. Or Pocket for later.
Please Note: In this article I have also talked about why I live as an itinerant writer and how my partner and I packed everything into our car and set on our indefinite road trip last year. It is a good read for all new subscribers who have joined the journey of Looking Inwards recently. Thank you.
Quotes I Love
“The very act of understanding is a celebration of joining, merging, even if on a very modest scale, with the magnificence of the cosmos.” — Carl Sagan
“It was generally the way of the world to make a man poor, reduce him in his own estimation, and then say he was dirty and obsequious.” — Mulk Raj Anand
“As long as you’re after something as an artist—and you keep after it, even if you can’t quite say what “it” is—I think you’ll end up in an interesting place.” — Mason Currey
“Sometimes we don’t do certain things because we don’t want to. There is nothing more to say about the inaction than that.” — Yours Truly
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been reading short stories, books, articles, and so much more. I can’t possibly list all what I have read in the past week so I’m putting down the things I found most relevant and worthwhile.
On the important in life,
Reactions, Anxiety, & Moving Forward Without A Plan by Yung Pueblo — A newsletter that always inspires me to take a step back before reacting.
You don’t need to resort to going back into survival mode when life gets hard, instead you can reclaim your power by taking your time to deal with situations skillfully. — Yung Pueblo
Another year, another deluge in Assam: why northeast floods are getting grimmer by the Print — North east floods, rising temperatures, and billions of people. I wonder how much more damage the people would have to suffer before we all start restoring the ecosystem to its natural state again.
A Twitter thread I found incredibly helpful,
The dangers of sitting: why sitting is the new smoking by Better Health — It is good to remind ourselves to get up once in a while (if we don’t already).
We’re Not Going Back to the Time Before Roe. We’re Going Somewhere Worse by The New Yorker — To feed those hungry for power, the world is going backwards.
We are entering an era not just of unsafe abortions but of the widespread criminalization of pregnancy.
For writers,
Benefit of Humor in Fiction by Josh Sippie — great advice on why we should write with humor. Though I do believe that humor doesn’t need a reason bigger than itself.
While writing can feel like an isolating, individual act—“just you and the computer or pad of paper—it is really a social act, a way in which we respond to the people and world around us” — I couldn’t agree more. A great read for all writers, bloggers, and anyone who wants to get into the art.
A little travel News,
Covid Update July 2022: Indonesia is now open for all travelers. But the official declaration by the Indonesian government for travelers during covid-19 pandemic suggest travelers need certificates of both the vaccine doses. Please visit the link to read all the details carefully.
Beautiful books from the week,
The Famous Five: To The Smuggler’s Top by Enid Blyton — This was a rare edition I found in the local library (again). Though this one is a children’s book, I never even heard of Enid Blyton when I was young. When I started reading through the adventures of the four children and their dog on the hill in the marshes, I was at the edge of my seat. I finished the book in one evening and recommend it to those who are looking for a fun and an adventurous read.
The Button in a Plate by Vernon Loder — Originally published in 1938, The Button in a Plate is a vintage British murder mystery. I found the book from the library and its brown papers are too quick to come apart. Again, it is one of those thrilling reads of which you keep turning the pages to know what happens next. The book is full of dialogue and gives a lot of insight into how humans work. Also, the Button in a Plate is a great window into life in England in the twentieth century — so readers not just live vicariously but also do time travel. Enjoy.
What I’ve Been Watching/Listening
that’s worth mentioning
Just the birds and the trees dancing in the summer rain
and the beautiful golden flowers on the grass. Can you believe this is grass?
And for all my Wanderlusters.
I’m sharing a couple of photos from the past couple of months of my travel through the east coast of India. And though I don’t know where the road will take me next, I am enjoying this part of the world for now. Hope you enjoy, too.
chickens, grass, and kollam (the drawing most Tamil families make with flour outside their homes every morning)
looking through the shell
fish market, masks, and saris - Pondicherry market.
Colonization has left much heritage behind. Pondicherry is home to many bakeries that offer delicious pastries and cakes. I love the Millefeulles Vanilla (second last on the second row). Though I don’t enjoy sweets so much the crisps of Millefeulles (in French: thousand layers) and the creamy vanilla in between makes me dance.
some more colors from the street markets of Pondicherry.
Thank you for reading.
I hope your week is full of curiosity, energy, and love. Take good care of yourselves :)
Let me know what you think about this newsletter. Just press reply.
Yours,
Priyanka
“But at the simple, realist point of view, the land we’re desiring occupies a greater place in our life at any given moment than does the land in which we presently find ourselves.” — Proust
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