February Moments!

 

I came across an article recently. It was on climate change and its impact. The article speculated that, given the ongoing trend of sudden and drastic change in the climate, it could be a possibility that the season of spring could completely forgo us, and that it could be possible that summer may follow winter with no opportunity for the spring season.

For me, February and March have always been pleasant – a welcome change from the cold weather. The mornings are cool and crisp, the afternoons are warm enough and the evenings and nights are breezy. That someday there won’t be a spring season to experience is something that I dread to think of.

Speaking of February, the shortest month of the year feels like the longest month for me. More musings on this will follow, but for now, I would like to share with you, my month reading-wise, writing-wise, movie-wise and lessons-wise!

Reading Reflections:

This month I went all out when it comes to reading. I devoured books as if my very life depended on it. It was an eclectic mix of several genres which made for a very interesting read.

Here are the books I read in this month:

The Sky Beneath Us – Fiona Valpy

Lucky Shamrock – Carolyn Brown

Ten Little Words – Leah Mercer

She’s Up To No Good – Sara Goodman

Bricking It – Nick Spalding

The Door – To – Door Bookstore – Carsten Henn

Percy Jackson And The Greek Gods – Rick Riordan

Mindful Zen Habits – Marc Reklau and Manuel Villa

The Art Of War – Sun Tzu

The Science Of Mind-Management – Swami Mukundananda

No Mud, No Lotus – Thich Nhat Hanh

Writing Routine:

Writing-wise this has been a difficult month, starting with a document of 1800 words approximately that crashed before I could save it. The sense of disappointment cannot be described in words. But in a way it gave a precursor of how this month would be. I did manage to write three stories for my short-story blogsite and two stories as usual for Penmancy. I am sharing the link of the stories below. Do read them when time permits!

From my story collection Wholesome Stories For Soulful Evenings:

Returning Home

On The Coldest Night Of The Year

You-Know-Who Is The G.O.A.T?

My submissions to Penmancy:

Cupid Croissant

You, I And Some Conversations!

Movie Magic:

The best part of this month has been watching movies, that too most of them being animation. I have always been a fan of animation movies. Watching them felt like catching up with a lost part of my past. These are the movies I watched this month:

Shrek – 1

Sonic The Hedgehog – 1

Kung-fu Panda – 1

The Sea Beast (which was easily the best one of all these)

Harry Potter movies 1 and 2

Personal Ponderings:

Have you ever felt like the Universe is trying and testing you? February was that sort of a month for me. By the third week I was already hoping that it should end soon. But then, why do we always presume that new beginnings will always bring happy tidings? When tomorrow itself is not promised to us, how can we ever believe that tomorrow will be better?

The harsh truth is that there are no guarantees in life. All we can do is develop a mindset that stays balanced amidst chaos and turbulence. This month is testing my resilience and patience even as I type this. I remember thinking at the beginning of the month to live every day of February mindfully so that I will have something to write about on the last day of the month. While every day has been testing and gearing me up for struggle, I am humbled to realize that life will always be bigger and much larger than our tiny selves.

There are three new rituals that I introduced to my days and I would like to share them with you.

‘Nothingness’ meditation:

While I began with guided meditation, I discovered the comfort of ‘Nothingness’ meditation one day by chance. It was a trying day as usual, and when I sat for meditation, I just closed my eyes for few seconds, planning to start the guided meditation on YouTube after relaxing for some time. There was silence in the house and when I closed my eyes, my thoughts got silenced too. For few minutes, there was no thought in the mind – nothingness, I call it. It was extremely refreshing. Thereafter I started doing this everyday by setting a timer of five minutes. I still can meditate only for five minutes but as long as I am doing it consistently, I guess it is all right for a beginner. Silence plays a major role in this type of meditation. Just bringing back the word ‘nothingness’ in your mind every few seconds, helps to bring in a state of tranquility. I would recommend this to everyone! I feel I would have fared badly, given the state of February for me, if it weren’t for this ritual.

Listening To Silence:

I am an early-riser and I am usually awake by 5. That day, for some reason, I focused on the silence of the morning. There were no sounds, not even that of birds. It felt wonderful. I soaked in as much as I could of the blissful silence. It gradually became a daily ritual. I wake up with much more vigor than usual, thinking about the silence that would be my companion for some time. When the birds start chirping around 5.45, that too sounds wonderful. I know this silence will be replaced by the mechanical drone of ACs in a few days’ time. Until then I am eagerly partaking in the solitude and silence of the morning that gives me a very gentle start for the day.

Writing (by hand):

I came across a page in FB that posts really beautiful and soulful content in the form of short notes, poems or even prose sometimes. I started writing these down in a diary. It became an exercise for mindfulness. This has become a nightly ritual now. Not only does this help me to keep up with my handwriting, it also brings peace to the mind. The very act of writing something beautiful changes and calms your mood and sets a gentle tone for sleep.

The day is still not done. I do not know what more it will usher in. There is a strange kind of uncertainty hanging over me as things that used to be quite normal and easy for me now feel overwhelming and complicated. But then I have many rituals to perform – rituals that will soothe my mind and calm my nerves. So I guess it is okay.

It is all about finding ways to navigate through the daily turmoil and taking just one step after another with nary a thought for the future or the past. As the mantra for mindfulness says, ‘Right now, at this point, all is fine.’ Sometimes that is what you can hope and wish for!