Petals!

2020, I can never forget you! From March 2020, it felt as though everything in my life had become unreal - more like sequences on reel than real life, a sort of question mark looming ahead and my constant worries related to safety. Like many of you, I too had my share of  situations that made it extremely painful to navigate. During the first few months, I felt as though I was walking on an inner fire that scorched and had the power to turn everything into ashes but it didn't.                                   [Image: Swapna Raghu Sanand] But the toughest part - being helpless and losing loved ones. Losing loved ones isn't easy. To stand back and watch friends and family members who lost their loved ones and could not even travel to complete the last rites - it is way too painful for words.  I prayed for their resilience continuously because helplessness is what I felt too. When SPB passed away, I cried for days - the loss felt so personal. It was not something that went awa

What is the worst nightmare for a parent? Undoubtedly, the death of one's child. Or have you ever lost someone you loved and struggled to pick up the pieces of your life since then? The first time I read Aarti Raheja's "Where One is not a Number', I found tears flowing from my eyes. A happy couple's life is shattered. It's the kind of thing that can happen to anyone at anytime. This is a MUST READ book.                                          [Source: Aarti Raheja's FB page] A loved one's death has a way of taking your life apart and making you reflect on everything in your life including the purpose of your own. To read about a young and happy couple losing their child in a heart wrenching way and their struggles to come to terms with the hard reality of living without him cannot be explained in words. As I read it, I felt their sorrow weigh down on me. I remember crying when I had read Nan Umrigar's book. While I am not a follower or a devotee of

Embrace December with cheerful vibes! It's been a tough year but give yourself more space to nestle into your feelings. Wondering what is the best gift to give yourself this Christmas? Shield your energy, protect your boundaries and don't let energy vampires swoop in on you and steal your goodness and kindness.  Give yourself as many permission slips as you need to rewire your emotions.                               [Image: By Cristina Ilao on Unsplash] Read Jennifer's blogpost where she talks about the Theory of Ironic Processing by Harvard Social Psychologist Daniel Wegner.  The theory says that when our thoughts are either repressed or denied, they become more dominant.  Allow yourself to witness your feelings.  Label each emotion. Let it go. Remember, if you don't give permission to yourself to feel the full spectrum of your emotions, you will begin to experience it in other areas of your life when they are not there. Simply put, the more you resist, the faster the