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Intuition. What does intuition mean to you? Have you ever listened to your own intuition? Do you trust it when you have to make a decision? 

To me, intuition is what I know to be right in my heart. Do I trust my intuition when I make a decision? There are times when I trust my intuition but I would be lying if I said I always follow my intuition. Intuition by itself is not enough sometimes. I seek validation by my loved ones. At other times, the voice of intuition is clouded by the superficial voice that is driven by the mind and it becomes challenging to distinguish between the two. Also, it is easier to go with the voice of the mind because it tells things that pleases you as opposed to the voice of intuition which is always guiding you on the right path.

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Stillness. What does stillness mean to you? What are the moments of stillness that you cherish? How do you find stillness in the midst of your day to day activities?

To me, stillness is experiencing the moment in all its fullness. To be still is to be grounded in what is. To be still is to let the mind settle in the present. Stillness brings clarity, lightness, and presence. 

How do I practice stillness? Moments of stillness are far and between in day to day activities. The mind is constantly wandering to the past, to the future, to what could be, to what should be. I recall, the first few times that I sat down to meditate, it was simply fascinating to see what power the mind had over the body. I set the alarm for 5 minutes to meditate. After a few moments of attempting to be still, the mind got restless – are you sure you set the alarm? Why is it not ringing? May be something’s wrong with the phone? I was stunned by how the mind had the power to pull my hands, open my eyes, and check the time when I knew very well that I had in fact set the alarm. Over the next few days, it settled a bit, came to terms with the fact that it was time to sit still and if I got lucky, even let me take comfort in my breath.

The only time I consciously seek out stillness for the day is during meditation. These days, when I am aware my mind is agitated or restless, I start using my senses to let it settle down a bit. I sense the ground beneath me, I listen to the sounds around me. I feel the breath on my nostrils. The mind settles, even if it’s only momentarily. 

The moments of stillness I cherish. Moments of being with nature, sunsets, birds chirping, observing the  stillness of a tree or a flower, my morning meditation, when I wrap my kids with hugs, when I lose myself in  giggles and laughters, and when I am slipping into restful night of sleep. 

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Kindness. What does kindness mean to you? What is the one act of kindness that you did for yourself recently? How do you show kindness to the world outside? Is kindness part of your day to day interaction, with yourself and others.

Out of curiosity, I asked the family to recount the moments that they have been at the receiving end of kindness. Hari told me about the time the seniors in his baseball team made him feel welcome when he was new to the team. Ram told me about a time when someone gave him something that he wanted. Da told me about the time when he and his dad lost everything when traveling to join BITS Pilani and random strangers went out of their way to help them. I recalled a moment at the dentist office when I was feeling vulnerable and the hygienist talked to me warmly.

To me, kindness is acting out of empathy, unconditionally and without judgment. It could be a word, deed, gesture or even a thought. It gives strength and courage to be in one’s difficult moments. 

What is the one act of kindness I did to myself recently? I had a difficult week at work. One of those weeks when I was hopping from one fire drill to the other.  I was patient with myself, and was grounded in the difficult moments. There was a little voice of kindness in my head that kept saying, it’s ok, it’s all in the game, stay focused, one task at a time.

How do you show kindness to the world outside? Listening deeply, and paying attention to the other person and being there for the person in the form that they need me to be.

Is kindness part of your day to day interactions? If I were, that would be golden, isn’t it? Life is not a level playing field. And who knows what battle someone is fighting. There is no dearth to suffering. Whenever I ponder over this, in my heart, I come back to kindness. I cannot take away someone’s suffering but I can give them the strength to face it by being in the form that is helpful.

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Abundance. What does abundance mean to you? What is abundant in your life right now? Can you find abundance in every moment? How often do you notice the abundance in life? 

To me, abundance and contentment go hand in hand. It is not what you have or how much you have but how content you are with what you have that allows you to acknowledge a life of abundance. I am acutely aware that I lead an abundant and privileged life. I offer my humble gratitude to the powers above and hope to indulge the people in my life with abundant love and kindness.

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Intention. What does intention mean to you? When do you set an intention? Do you have an intention for every action you take? If yes, why? If not why not? Just for today, can you pause and set an intention before every task you undertake and see how it impacts your life. 

To me, intention is being deliberate and mindful about the action I am about  to take. I set intentions before important events or when I want to strengthen my resolve to do something. No, I do not set intentions before every action I take because it never occurred to me that I should. Also by setting intentions, am I taking away the spontaneity? Should every action be undertaken with such deliberation? 

I took UL’s suggestion, and started setting intentions for my tasks, even the mundane ones. It was quite the revelation. I realized that most actions start with an intention but along the way I succumb to distractions and wander mindlessly until awareness sets in. 

I set my intention to go grab a glass of water as I can sense my parched throat. Along the way, I see my phone charging on the shelf. Why not text this friend? Grab the phone, unintentionally check Whatsapp and hop on Facebook, forgetting that friend I meant to text. Then I head back to my work nook, again forgetting my intention to grab a  glass of water. This is how we spend our lives, isn’t it? Mindlessly wandering in the direction of my mind.  

When I did follow through on my intentions, the task itself was rewarding.  Be it washing my hands, checking my work email, listening to my kids, there was a certain presence and energy to the task that was fulfilling. I was in control, not my mind.

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Embodying. What does embodying mean to you? What do you like to embody? How do you walk in the world when you embody something like compassion or kindness? Is it empowering to do so? 

I began to process this word intellectually rather than experiencing it. When I first heard the word this morning, I thought to myself that to me embodying is embracing something and holding it close to my heart.  Then I wondered if I had the right meaning and started using it in different sentences and looking it up in the dictionary. Bit by bit, over the course of the day, I am unraveling what the word means to me and how it applies in my life. What are my deep seated values? When I am embodying something, it helps me find my way back when I feel lost. How do I walk in the world when I embody something? With clarity and a sense of purpose. What I embody becomes my moral compass and guiding principles.

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Surround. What does surround mean to you? What would you like to surround yourself with? Who are you drawn to surround yourself with?

I loved being surrounded by my family and friends. I am drawn to people who are strong, simple, resilient, kind, compassionate, and hardworking. I love being surrounded by little kids and having a front row seat to their innocence. I love being surrounded by light, warmth, and nature. I love being surrounded by words and books.  I love being in spaces with people milling around, doing their thing while I do my thing. Like a temple, library, park. I love how these places hold space and togetherness at the same time.