“Any framework, method, or label you impose on yourself is just as likely to be a limitation as an opening.” - @rickrubin
The creative process as Rubin reminds us in his beautiful book The Creative Act: A Way of Being is non-linear. It may have an overall form we can’t always see or sense, but it doesn’t always have a firm structure and it certainly doesn’t come with a map. It morphs, reshapes, circles, spirals.
Many reasons to love Frida Kahlo. I love her for what she taught us about pain.
Polio at age 6, leaving her right leg shorter. Terrible bus accident at 18 that left her with lifelong spinal issues. Throughout her lifetime, often bedridden, she wore tedious iron corsets to support her spine, underwent countless surgeries, eventually even an amputation, and yet she channeled her many struggles into vibrant art that broke rules, and serves to expand the human spirit even today.
Read MoreWhat’s your land ethic? Do you have one? Should you?
While I’ve been a nature lover since a kiddo in India, drawn to conservation early on through my Himalayan summer hiking experiences with my grandpa, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, and eventually going on to explore & appreciate wild parts all over the world, I have *not* been a direct steward of my own land. Living in apartments & tending plants on windowsills doesn’t count I’m guessing! :)
Grinning under a fierce Mexican sun to celebrate and say thanks to what most of us take for granted - legs.
Over 25 years ago, I was told I needed to have my left leg amputated because a malignant tumor throbbing near my knee might spread to my chest and kill me. Instead, it taught me incredible lessons about intention, imagination, trust, rooted love of life & self, and the power of tapping into joy and gratitude no matter what the circumstances.
Read MoreSlim, square, feather-light. Easy to carry in your bag, lovely to pick up in a spare minute. Hefty ideas caressed in the palm of your hands. Read a para, a thought, a poem, even just a line. Pause, linger, breathe. Let those thought forms sink in. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed lately-
Read MoreIt took me a picture to realize that hues of my look inadvertently matched the blue-grey cover of Eastbound, a beautiful novella lapped up while sitting on Spring-fresh grass, under a blue, blue sky.
Read MoreSpring has sprung, the weather is warmer and fleeting cherry blossoms have returned to our front yard in Westchester. I’m back to lying on the grass, next to our massive Norway maple. And while reaching for lighter layers in my closet, I’ve been thinking of little steps and big patterns.
Read MoreFebruary’s winter break was surreal — looming reminders of deep time and eons of Earth’s history on one hand and rumblings of fresh war on the other. We took a meandering family trip through Arizona’s river-carved canyons, wind-blown plateaus and otherworldly sandstone monoliths that took millions of years to form, while discussing the Russia-Ukraine war that is reshaping global geopolitics in just days.
Read MoreHave you been looking back at 2021, piercing through the surface fog and gauging the deeper trends of your life? What prompts have you chosen for the chapter you will write in the new year? I don’t have resolutions but I do have word prompts for my story in 2022. I’ve chosen just three: breath, intention, and movement.
Read MoreAmidst a challenging year and many transitions, one clear success has emerged — the books I managed to read despite all the distractions. Here’s a round up of some of my favorite books from the year. From mysticism to provocative humor—there’s something for most palates.
Read MoreI've always been fascinated by the idea of designing our lives, not only through grand gestures, but small moments. Right now, in the middle of a gazillion different pulls and pressures, what I crave is a web design concept used for decluttering: white space. Here’s how it can help you too.
Read MoreTo toast my younger progeny, who recently turned all of six, I humbly present his most memorable dialogues thus far, which I frantically type on my iPhone Notes when he’s done spouting. Make some noise please for little Sumair.
Read MoreThe learning never ends. And it shouldn’t. I began writing my first novel tentatively in 2014 when my first son was about a year old. Naïve, and overly optimistic, I told my husband, I’d take a couple of years off from journalism to write the book that had been floating in my head for fourteen years!
Read MoreI used to think of myself as a journalist. I still do. I still am. But I’m now also an author. My first novel hasn’t been published yet, but it has been written. Actually, written multiple times through various drafts. Nowadays, I’m on a mission to integrate a third adjective in my mind—an activist.
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