“Believing in your own worth radiates enough inner light to make you glow”. These are words written by American author Richelle E. Goodrich which rang a bell within me. How many of us are exactly aware of our own worth?
Diffidence and Existential Crisis
I often find myself engulfed in a sea of diffidence and self doubt peppered with moments of severe existential crises. During those times, I find myself questioning everything. What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose in this life? Everyone needs a purpose in life and something to live for. Have you ever asked yourself that what your worth is? What your purpose is?
Passing of the storm
After a few of these highly perilous moments, I again begin to see the meaning of life from my multiple hobbies intertwined within the grind of daily mundane routine. In not so many words, I will try to describe how
Plant Parenting
Taking care of our plants helps me find harmony and meaning from nature. The entire series of actions from sowing to watering to tracking the growth of a seed to seedling fills me with wonder. When I see a rose bud form, grow, and eventually bloom into a beautiful rose, I feel enthralled at bearing witness to this miracle of nature.
When I stroke a velvety new leaf or whisper words of encouragement to a plant that is struggling, I glow with love.
I pour out all my love and care to beautiful green leafy babies without any qualms. When they are happy, shiny and blooming with cheer, my love feels validated. They reciprocate my love and fill me with joy and hope when everything else fails.
Reading like a Bookworm
I have been reading like a bookworm from a young age. Everybody in my family reads. It has been a favourite family hobby since as far as I can remember. Maa wanted us to be fluent in English, so she encouraged our reading habit.
My initial memories are of seeing my sister read her story books with me wistfully thumbing through the pages of her books. I so wanted to read the books that she was reading. But alas, her books did not make sense to me then. At that time I used to read children’s books by Enid Blyton, fairytales, and comic books.
The magical transformation
Then when I started high school, it felt like there was a magical transformation. I could understand everything that I was reading! Oh my! After that there was no holding me back. We had a small glass covered bookshelf filled with books. I systematically and with utmost dedication, read all the books as if my life depended on it
A childhood friend Sneha, told me about a lending library called Eloor and I was over the moon. My father got me a membership at the library for only Rs 500/- which at that time had felt like a queens ransom!(Unfortunately The library has shut down now 🥺)
Me and my sister became regular visitors to the library. Books became like magical portals introducing me to the wonders of the world.
Books and me in the Pre- Internet Era
Books and me in the Pre- Internet Era
We did not have internet and Google when we were growing up. All our knowledge, information and FAQ’s were answered by books. Till this day, in the fast paced internet age, I find solace within the warm embrace of the yellowed pages of an old favorite.
Books still help me to calm my mind, focus and reflect during moments of anxiety. When I have a new book to read, I still get that warm fuzzy feeling of hope.
Book are my best friend, my teacher, my support, my lifeline. A book may be slow, it may be tough to read, sometimes it takes forever to finish a particular tome, but they never let me down. Reading a book still helps me glow from within by helping to figure out many of the mysterious ways of man and life.
Writing
Writing is a relatively new interest(compared to reading) that began around 6 years back when my sister gifted me a blog. I began by documenting my baking journey, recipes and anecdotes of life. Didi would constantly encourage me to keep the blog active and write something regularly. I tried.
The Blog
I really wanted to share my recipes and baking tips with the world hoping to help fellow like minded humans. Gradually the blog developed into a lifestyle blog, with my take on recipes, gardening, mental health, skincare etc. But the basic purpose of my writing remained the same. I wanted to help others through my experiences and share the knowledge. Having a full time job made things a bit difficult. Sometimes I succeeded and sometime I lagged behind.
Why I write…
Why I write…
But before I could realise it, writing suddenly became an integral part of my life. After a busy day at the office, finishing a piece I have been working on, fills me with a sense of achievement. It makes me feel like I have done something worthwhile. The strangest thing is, I mostly prefer to read fiction whereas I almost always write non- fiction! Maybe down the line, I will write some fiction, but till then my writing journey will continue via my blog.I have realised that expressing myself through my writing makes me glow from the inside.
Glow from the Inside
Glowing from the inside comes from realising your self worth. I have understood that the glow inducing factores of life need to be tenderly nourished. It is just like how a plant needs to be nourished and cared for to make it grow. And this has to be practiced consciously and regularly to create a motivated life full of love, light and meaning.
There are many other integral parts of my life that help me get the glow. I will write about them in my upcoming posts….
This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter.
I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z and this is the G post.
Keep writing and planting.They work magically.
I totally feel you. I’ve questioned why I am here too. Just like you, I found solace in reading books, writing and the accomplishment that comes with it. I love the way you put it “glow from the inside”
This is so true. What we feel inside reflects on the outside. Nice post!