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  • HOME
  • SURYA
  • BOOK
  • SANDBOX
  • 21THEMES
  • BLOGROLL
  • HOME
  • SURYA
  • BOOK
  • SANDBOX
  • 21THEMES
  • BLOGROLL
  • HOME
  • SURYA
  • BOOK
  • SANDBOX
  • 21THEMES
  • BLOGROLL
  • 21Themes

    Easy on the brain, but at what cost? On the need to go beyond labels and reclaim our full self

    Sustainable change is built on strong foundations of understanding, curiosity and compassion. In that spirit, let’s explore why labels exist in the first place, and the reasons behind their persistent pervasiveness through the centuries.

  • Articles

    Pangs of Nostalgia…and a passionate case for a system redesign

    Newsletters is the latest trend in content creation. It has benefits of course, but at what cost? A personal look at the good old days, what I miss in this new world, and a call to change.

  • Musings

    A message for the masses, a meditation for the self

    As my month of stillness continues, I’ve managed to enjoy some quiet reading in between conference calls. It was a practice I had tried out in April of last year as a way to cope with the lockdown that came…

  • Musings

    April

    “All of humanity’s problems,” Blaise Pascal said in 1654, “stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

  • Personal

    Happy Retirement, Mother!

    After 40+ years of dedicated service to medicine and to teaching medicine, my mother retired from her official working life. She is an inspiration to many, but most of all, she is an inspiration to me.

  • Uncategorized

    Giving Season: Silent Eloquence Donation Drive

    It’s been a strange year for all of us. Personally, I’ve had a lot of changes in my own life and work. It’s been a year for reflection and trying to figure out what is that really matters. It’s December.…

  • Series

    Care: the key to meaning and joy to your life

    Creativity allows you to look at the world in novel ways. It opens your mind to a range of possibilities. Its importance remains imperative, just like curiosity and courage, for a successful life. But success is not sufficient- our lives…

  • Series

    Creativity: The true value-add for making a difference

    If courage is the leap of faith that one must take to bring an impact in this world, creativity is its guiding force- it is the skill that sets your distinct direction and vision into bringing this difference. Creating something…

  • Series

    Courage: the misunderstood and undervalued trait for good leadership

    Curiosity saves the cat- it brings you out of monotony and into a foray of intellect and imagination. But once you are there, your journey doesn’t end. In fact, your curiosity is merely the start to something great. The next…

  • Series

    Curiosity saved the cat: the liberating power of asking simple questions

    Recently, I had the opportunity to address FISAT Business School’s MBA 2020 batch. While preparing for this event I thought long and hard- what I do say to these students who embark onto such an important life phase this day,…

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To grow into our full potential, to twist and turn To grow into our full potential, to twist and turn and venture into new unexplored paths…joyfully, wherever life takes us. This is our money plant - golden pothos - picture taken this morning (I love the light beginning to stream in from the tall windows facing East). The second pic is the same spot from a year ago, 12 May 2021. This is the first plant we got when we moved into our home in Dubai two summers ago. The pothos sure hasn’t been sitting still. Sometimes we don’t even need to go that far to hear Nature. To feel the extraordinary joy in our ordinary day. I can’t quite capture the full essence of the plant in a photograph, but every time I walk past the stairs, I feel it’s energy. Young, vibrant, joyful, flowing, growing, exploring… Where should I send it, when the pothos has made it all the way down our stairs, which won’t be too long now ? 🤔 That’s a thought for another day. For today, let’s just grow and flow and explore…as if the whole universe is open to us.
Did I grow or did the world shrink? 🤔 Did I grow or did the world shrink? 🤔
Caught off guard… #nofilter #datenight #dubaili Caught off guard… #nofilter #datenight #dubailife
This is part 2 of my recent learnings in #creativi This is part 2 of my recent learnings in #creativity. A few days ago, I posted, “Don’t chase, let it come.” They say when it comes, it bulldozes. Ok they don’t say that. You know what I mean - when it rains, it pours sort of thing. Thoughts are rushing into my head faster than I can get them out on paper. I am doing my best, not stopping, let’s see what I manage to capture. Mostly am grateful. And trusting the powers that be that what’s meant to stick, will find a way to stick. This part 2 may sound obvious to you, but it is a lesson I need to learn as much as part 1. You see, I have a tendency, when inspiration comes, to say, “hold on, my calendar says I am planned in for something else today.” Or “oh, that’s not what I was planning to write about.” Or some other lame excuse. I have learned the hard way - words wait for no woman (sure, time waits for no man either) In any case, a new post-it (handwritten) went up on the wall in front of my writing desk today, and thought I’ll share the prettier version here: Don’t chase, let it come. When it comes, don’t stop. I like it, do you? . . . #inspiration #motivation #writing #writinglife #writerslife #creativelife
Every person is a half-open door leading to a roo Every person is a half-open door leading to a room for everyone. - From the #poem “Half-Finished Heaven” by Tomas Transtromer Did you know Tomas Transtromer spent much of his career as a psychologist for juvenile offenders? This Swedish poet was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2011, for “giving us access to reality through condensed, translucent images.” Just the read I needed this morning! . . . . . #poetry #humanity #collective #individual #transcendence #literature #tomastranströmer #nobelprize #nobelprizeforliterature #swedish #swedishpoetry #swedishliterature
The universe sends you messages. I got this one to The universe sends you messages. I got this one today. I would never have believed it, and I still don’t think my conscious mind believes it. But I ken. (Using Scottish instead of the English “I know” is just to add mystique 😃) So I feel I heard the universe say to me today - Don’t chase, let it come. More practically, it was probably the friend who had coffee with me this morning and called herself “destiny’s child” To be fair to her, she didn’t say, “don’t chase, let it come,” it’s just what I heard. So let’s attribute that to the universe. We had a philosophical discussion on do you go after what you want in life? Or do you let it come to you? I feel like I am a chaser - the kind who thinks, analyzes, sets a goal and goes after it. What if that’s the just going about it the wrong way? I would like to give “let it come” a try, if only I knew how. Any hints, universe? I am curious, if anyone is willing to share - do you chase? Or do you let it come? Which do you think is the better option? #philosophy #wayoflife #wuwei
#waffles #breakfast I hadn’t realized how much #waffles #breakfast I hadn’t realized how much the Sunday working day in Dubai had affected our breakfast habits, until UAE decided to put in a Mon-Fri work week, like most of the rest of the world. All is well with my world again, now that we have our Sunday long breakfasts back. When you can’t control much (anything really), rejoice in the simple things, small rituals. . . . . . #food #healthyfood #foodie #familyfood #healthyrecipes #healthy #croissantlover #foodblogger #foodphotography #foodphoto #healthyeating #healthyeats #healthylifestyle #dubaifoodie #dubaifoodblogger #dubaifoodbloggers #dubaifood #breakfast #dubai #dubailife
Walking. That’s my thing. I love walking, one Walking. That’s my thing. I love walking, one step in front of the next, lost in my thoughts, coming out of them occasionally to engage with the world, to converse with a random bird or to gently brush my palm against a wild flower, retreating back again into my world while my feet, without pause, kisses the earth, evenly, regularly, passionately. I have walked in so many cities, but Amsterdam was always my favorite. I miss so many things about Amsterdam, but most of all I miss walking in a neighborhood where I knew every turn in the streets, a loose brick on a building, a graffiti on a hidden wall, the ginger cat which always purred from the exact spot when I walked by. At first, people looked at me a little strangely (they were polite enough not to put it in words) when I said I like to walk, and that I’ll walk in Dubai too. Well, they had some good reasons, but I learned a few things too. It’s the same earth beneath your feet no matter where you walk on this planet. If you feel the pulse of the ground, say your gratitude for your able legs, let your mind meander just the way it likes - the world outside always shows up in beauty and love. If you can look past the obvious, there is life, love and joy everywhere, just waiting for you to notice. In the heat of summer, in the middle of the desert, that one tiny flower that doesn’t give up. The birds with their myriad calls - if you could tune out the traffic and bustle of city life - there are just so many of them, Dubai is a haven for bird watchers! The gentle lapping of the sea - I always somehow end up by the beach during my walk - it’s the same in every country in the world with a coastline. It reminds us, how we are all connected - just as the waters in the seven seas are inseparable, so are we, as humanity. If only we could forget our boundaries, our silos, and celebrate the unity that binds us. The wisdom of the waters. If we listen, everything in nature has something to tell us, and I know no better way to listen, than to walk, one foot ahead and the next. Wish you a wonderful #weekend
Trying out a new chair. Think I need a mini cush Trying out a new chair. Think I need a mini cushion…🧐
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