Our appetite for labels is almost insatiable and perhaps for a logical reason: given the overwhelming amount of external stimuli the human brain is subject to at any given moment, it is only natural for it to adapt to the sheer volume by categorizing behaviors into digestible chunks to make a speedy judgement. We astutely tune into social cues, physical characteristics and other superficial mechanisms to make a preliminary judgement. What we often fail to recognize is that this judgement is exactly that: preliminary. 

The first time that you attempt anything is you being a square peg in a round hole, giving yourself the permission to do something differently. Sure, you may not “fit in” sometimes and you most certainly won’t be welcomed by harmony at first for it’s only when you enter the eye of the storm that you find the calming center.

The storm, however, has a way of changing you, slowly yet surely.

It’s a Friday night and while most people your age are out partying and making memories [some of which they would like to forget the following morning], you’re busy curling up with a good book from your ever increasing “to-read” list. While others are busy spritzing their favorite perfumes and donning their highest heels, you’re inhaling the dried ink of a freshly turned page, adrift in an alternate world in the shoes of the protagonist.

While the starting line of any race is inundated with people, there’s almost never a crowd in the last mile. Success is akin to crossing the finish line, and if you’re anything like Sakshi Malik was during the Olympics, you win by a few seconds and lots of determination. Aggressively following your goals, in the face of setbacks or “failure” is a key predictor of success. The ability to hear “no” is yet another.

The ocean of consciousness has mysteries concealed,

With reason or logic, nothing revealed.

To unravel some, go deep in meditation,

Discover the source – why the hesitation?

If you have ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding then you’re well aware of the grandfather who proudly proclaimed that spraying Windex on a wound is the answer to most medical maladies. Replace the grandfather with my grandmother and Windex with turmeric and it’s pretty much a given that when it comes to Indian families, you’re buying a one way ticket to Crazyville.