My experience of a digital detox…!

 

I had a nice refreshing weekend.

My weekend goals, as posted on my Instagram on Friday, were to spend maximum time with my loved ones, eat good food and sleep a little extra. The one thing I didn’t mention was “Digital Detox” because I was not really sure I would be able to pull it off.

Off course I consciously tried to avoid electronic gadgets (cell phone/TV/Laptop) as much as possible. But I realized that gadgets are so ingrained in our lives that it is difficult to part away. I use my phone as an alarm clock, as a camera to capture all precious moments, as a meditation guide through apps etc.

It was super funny to observe that the cell phone has started acting like the ‘id’ in me (Reference: Freud Psychoanalytic Theory) with no curbs on it. Whatever I wish to do, I have to do it along with or through my phone! Heck, it even gives me a notice that it’s time to drink water because for 2/3 hrs. on a stretch, I did not update my water consumption in the ‘water reminder app’.

Come to think of it – it is crazy 😮

How we dance to the tunes of a gadget. It tells us when to get up, what to do when we have any doubts about something (Google Devata) and where we are headed in life (literally by way of Gmaps and comparatively by way of Social Media Apps).

So, the verdict of my digital detox is a 4.8/10! I had to use the phone for:

1. Meditation app (I need peace!!)

2. Water app (come-on that falls in the 'essential')

3. I had to talk to my bestie (social needs)

I can proudly say I didn't see the TV but that's not really an achievement because I watched YouTube videos on my phone (inspiration for growth) 😂😛

So anyway, that was all about my weekend.

Today is a new day, new week and I am rearing to go on with my task lists!

PS: Have you tried a digital detox lately? How was your experience? Would love to hear from you 😉😊

 

Junk food craving?!

 

I did for a quick evening snack! Let me tell you, Maggi for me is an emotion. The emotion of happiness and joy because I associate it with my youth. It represents a big part of my hostel days, late night group studies ending up in gossip sessions with my mates or the good old canteen days with hot steaming Maggi.

It took me the health hazard of PCOD to realize that all that tastes good may not necessarily be good for my health. So now a days, I rarely have fast food - only when I am not planned for my meals in advance and it is a long time that I have not had any of the “tasty fast food”.  

So, while I don’t endorse it, I would surely like to highlight one major mistake that we tend to do when having the “forbidden food” i.e. Having it with guilt and remorse! You have decided to have it so you might as well enjoy it.

Coming to the point of why do we feel like having junk food? It’s either because we are not hydrated properly, are already having a very poor imbalanced diet or we have been having some underlying psychological issues which need to be addressed.       

There is a lot of research done which indicate that the reason why we cave in to our junk food cravings is because of the sudden rush of energy or mood boost that we get due to the stimulating effect of high salty/sugary/oily/spicy food content that we consume.  

So, I have started maintaining a food journal where I jot down everything that goes into my mouth because I even tend to majorly dehydrate myself (I just don’t drink water😟😞). This journal helps me keep a track of my food log and also decide when and how to schedule my cheat days!

As they say “To live a full life, you have to fill your stomach first”!

Cheers 😊✌

A Cooking Fiasco??!!

 

It is 12.30 pm.

The hunger pangs are very strong for both my husband and me.

There is just one teeny weeny problem here.

The lady who cooks lunch has not yet done it today. 

Oh yes, I am talking about myself!! 😀😛.

There are days like today when I really wish that I had a 'cordon blue chef' waiting for my orders to start cooking for me and mine, in my kitchen.

But well, now that I have wasted a lot of time in day dreaming with no results, I have to prepare some food. Because I do become the “hangry” lady who starts shouting for no reason. And it will be an extreme torture for my poor man to handle both: his own hunger and the hangry lady at the same time 😊 😉

Anyway, I tell myself, 'I can totally ace the cooking game' – One big pressure cooker can solve all my problems. So I use the double decker – one filled with red pumpkin and other with Toor dal.

The easy part was done! Fixed the menu -- Pumkin Sabji (vegetable) and Dal (yellow lentil), some salad and chapatis!

Now, the difficult part, is making chapatis because I never get it right. Either the shape is not right or the roasting goes wrong.

Anyway, I put all my concentration into making the chapatis (totally forgetting the cooker)! Not like it was miles away from me but somehow, I still lost the count of the whistles from the cooker and the pumpkin was too squishy. While in parallel, to my horror, the onion and cumin seeds tempering that I had prepared for the dal got burnt too.

So in a last-ditch attempt to make some sense of all my cooking, I mixed it all up - the squishy pumpkin, the burnt tempering and the dal.

And Oh My God!    

You should have been here to taste it for yourself! 

It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

It tasted like a hotel served “dal tadka”.

The best part: my husband loved it and even praised it saying "its totally different than your usual style" 😂

Whatever happens, happens for the best!

 

P.S: I can confess to you dear reader:

1. I told my husband I prepared Dal Tadka with Chapati 😈

2. It may have been our acute hunger which added to the heavenly taste of the dal 😊

3. Maybe hotel chefs do put all their squishy unwanted veggies in the dal tadka, who knows 🙆

Sunday Special!

 

Hello Dearies,

Today I have got the Sunday thrills – it’s a feeling that I won’t be able to clearly define but even then, let me give it a shot.

“A happy feeling that for today you are your boss, today you can do anything with your time! It’s a liberation day” that’s what I mean by Sunday thrill :P

It’s a feeling that you have a choice to use your time like you wish to, no deadlines or work assignments/calls. Even your family members seem to be a little more relaxed!

So even if Sundays come every 7 days, the thrill I feel on each Sunday is just the same 😊😊

It’s like you have your life back, even if for a single day!

Here are some ways Sundays are special for me:

1. I consciously cook some yummy food and enjoy every morsel I eat with great gratitude.

2. I sip my coffee a bit longer – really savor it and there is no rush to finish it.

3. I take a nice cozy afternoon nap.

4. I pursue my hobbies: reading, writing!

5. I take some time for self-care – nice hair oil and luxurious warm scented bath!

6. I spend time with my loved ones. Earlier it used to be in person, now it’s on Video Calls. But hey, you do the best from what you have 😊

7. Try to learn something new – we are fortunate to have so many resources available to us. Last 2/3 times, I learnt some new cooking dishes on YouTube.

8. Catch up on your chores which have been pending through the weekdays, I do all my laundry on this day. I make it enjoyable by blasting some happy music and singing along!

9. Reflect on your past and plan for your future. Mind you, this should not happen with an anxious mind but with a calm mind. It is to aide you to be a better you (and not create any stress/tension, else it will be a futile exercise).

10. Spiritual Practices – I meditate on Sundays for sure. Nothing fancy – just chanting (japa) for 5-10 mins. Sometimes on Sundays I do it twice, once in morning and once in the evening. There is definitely some undeniable universal force which guides you.

P.S: Would love to know, how do you make your Sunday special??!

Meditation - It helps!

 

I was on a condolence call – she had just lost her dear father. Her voice was very calm and serene when she spoke of how they detected that her father had cancer and within 7 days she lost him. They had no time to treat him due to the difficult corona times and the unfortunate incident of doctor switching in those 7 days. The first doctor who diagnosed the cancer had to take some time off due to facing COVID symptoms.

She is very young and I was amazed by the matured way she was handling her profuse lose. Even elderly people would get flustered in such sudden unfortunate incidences of loss of a dear one!

Plucking up the courage, I asked her how did she handle things so calmly. She replied “Meditation. It helps.” 

That really blew my mind and somewhere deep down, I knew this was God’s signal to me to start my lost practice of meditation again.

I had started meditation during one of my low phases and really benefited by it. In those days, after continuous practice for 1 year, I had reached a point where nothing really fazed me. I could dissociate myself from any situation and overcome any turbulence in my day to day life.

Unfortunately, I was a fair-weather friend of “meditation”. I lost the practice when my good times knocked around the corner. It took the tough times of corona to remind me of it again. And my friend's simple but profound words – “Meditation. It helps.

P.S: How are you taking care of your mental health?