Conversation buzzes around me. The occasional drift of cigarette smoke wafts through the air. Music plays softly in the background. I sip a cup of Italian almond tea brimming with notes of subtle bitterness, while I travel on a ship and watch an engrossing chess match between an eccentric chess champion and a mysterious man […]
A few weeks ago, I was contemplating going to Dharamshala for my year-end vacation. I looked at flights and guesthouses to stay in before changing my mind. I changed my mind when I read that the Dalai Lama rarely gives public talks these days. When I read that the monk has cut down on his […]
I came across the Chinese phrase, “Wu Wei,” in a book I am reading by Emma Seppala called the “The Happiness Track.” Wu Wei is the heart of Taoist philosophy and roughly translated means “the art of doing nothing.” It can be misinterpreted in many ways, but it does not mean sitting idle. It just […]
Nine more days to go before this year draws to a close. Over the years, I have tried to spend New Year’s Eve in a new place. I have watched fireworks in Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu. I have seen the night sky draped with stars in Jordan’s Wadi Rum. I have watched Hong Kong put […]
Today is the 17th of December. Five years ago, I muse. That would be the year 2011. Where was I in 2011? I turn the aching creaks of my memory’s already vanishing wheel. That was the year I left another very comfortable job to take a semester learning Mandarin in Chengdu, China. It was to […]
I looked at the prompt. Then, I pushed myself off my chair and lay down on the ground. The floor was cool under my T-shirt, and I could feel the coolness settle in on the bare skin of my legs. The ceiling fan stood motionless. The incandescent light blinked at me steadily, its white light […]
Talking about myself has always been one of the hardest things for me. I love listening to people instead. Through them, I get to understand so much more about myself. My struggles to talk about myself also come from decades of battling shyness and low self-esteem. “Why would anyone really be interested in knowing about […]
After the Fave Photo of 2016, this next prompt made me grimace. I hate getting into the best of the best lists. Especially, when it comes to books. I read more books this year than the last, almost 52 books at the time of writing this post. Considering that most of this year I spent […]
I thought about this “ponder-prompt” for the DecemberReflections2016. What can I possibly reflect about circles, I thought. I didn’t have to ponder long enough because the answer was already there. Last year, at this time, I was back from a trip to the Philippines. I was about to take the risky decision of leaving a […]