Soul Smiles

Slowing down seems to be the order of the day for me.  And I am loving it. Enjoying the present moment is turning into a happy habit and it is doing me a world of good. Oh yes, my internet is fine now. By not being there for sometime, it has helped me balance my routine in a major way. And my soul smiles at that.

I am more disciplined in my time online.

My email inbox is under control.

My work is more organized.

I am catching up on my reading.

I am learning to tell my inner critic to shut up. I don’t have to listen to her lies.

I am thinking, imagine, all it took was the absence of something we practically take for granted.  And you are thinking, good for you, right? Thank you.

“When we take responsibility, our life grows” David Stevens

Now, it is going to be a while before I actually attain nirvana because I have miles to go before I sleep, places to visit and people to see. In the meantime, my…

…soul smiles

My latest project is clearing out a particular cupboard at home. This cupboard looks very innocent on the outside. But inside, phew! This cupboard has been swallowing stuff for years now. We use it to store all those things that don’t fit anywhere else at home. Originally it started out as a book shelf. What with it being amazingly spacious, we started sneaking in school projects. Then, a whole lot of other stuff. We simply call it the “cream cupboard” – it is painted cream. The weird thing is, I haven’t covered its doors with witty posters. Its surface stays a uniform clean, cream color.

Now, I need more wardrobe space. And bookshelf space. So I’ve resolved to empty it. No easy task, I tell you. First of all, getting started took me years. And once I did, the memories keep getting in the way; soul smiles in the form of

school projects – fond memories

pressed flowers

old letters from friends

greeting cards

letters from my Mom

artwork by Vidur

my sticker collection (really!)

my old sketches

old posters

and a hundred other things. I am having a lovely time laughing, crying, reliving those memories, all by myself because I treat myself to this time after lunch every day for a couple of hours. I came across stuff I’ve written. I have always loved to write and it is so funny to come across old diaries, notes, verse.  I had no idea my Mom kept a project from my first grade, along with all the letters I wrote her.

There are stacks and stacks of Vidur’s drawings. And a few of mine. I used to sketch on every surface I came across, but later, over the years, I only ever sketched or painted when I wanted to gift it, as I am big on handmade gifts.  I still use greeting cards, with matching envelopes and write in decorative notepaper.  I enjoy using ink pens or fountain pens as we call them and have a nice collection of those.

The happy part is, it is going to be a few weeks before I get through all this stuff and I am determined to enjoy the process.  The process of letting go. Obviously I can’t keep all the school projects, there are so many! So I am taking photographs as keepsakes. Photos keep the memory fresh and don’t take up the space that physical things do. But I have allowed myself a box. Anything that doesn’t fit inside, goes and with this in mind, I must choose carefully.

Some soul smiles to show you

I remember this project very well. The grid is made with tubes made of paper. Each tube is a sheet of paper tightly rolled, followed by gluing the edges to keep the roll in place.  You can use any number of tubes depending on your patience and then, place them in a grid and glue them in place. This can then be hung up on the wall and used to hang light stuff. I wish I had taken a pic of this grid in use with Vidur’s various paper craft projects decorating it, but I didn’t have a digital camera at the time.

Ah, this wall clock was my Mother’s pride and joy.  So what if it did not keep time! What fun it used to be, watching Vidur moving the hands of the clock each time Mom asked him what time it was!

This was such fun! We broke our heads over how to produce ten arms when he was in Grade 5, to complete his Goddess Durga costume for the fancy dress competition. I made a cutout that could be worn like a backpack. Don’t miss the contents of each hand at the end of the arm!

Here’s a crown we whipped up at short notice. Oh yes, I miss the strand of pearls and the shiny golden portion above the pearls is a bit of the border off one of my sarees

This sun had us laughing so much – Vidur was three when he drew the face. The eyes are so cutely out of sync and the goofy smile, ah!

We got this picture with a Tamil magazine and baby Shiva’s serene face always makes me fondly think of a sleeping Vidur. My soul smiles!

It has been raining quite a bit this week. The streets in our area are covered with bright yellow flowers. Like these. I always feel sad that we have to walk over them.

Life goes on, dear friends.

Ah, by the way, my friend Roshni who blogs at Indian American Mom has a brand new blog button

Isn’t it beautiful? You’ll love her blog, too!

And now, I have an idea

I need your help. You know that this month, July 2013 marks ten years of blogging for me, and that makes this blog ten years old. Yep, I wrote my first post here on July 8, 2003! I thought it would be a nice idea to celebrate with a series of collaborative posts. Here’s what I have in mind. I invite you to complete this sentence: “Happiness is________________” in two or three lines. You can let me know:

• in the comments, right here
• email me at vidya at vidyasury dot com
• message me on Twitter or Facebook

Don’t forget to add your blog or blog post link / profile link so I can link it to your name.

I’ll compile the responses and publish them next Sunday (July 28, 2013)

Okay?

Let’s do it! Go ahead and tell me what “Happiness is” to you.

I am linking up with Unknown Mami for Sundays In My City  because she’s awesome and her place is a great starting point to travel the world together!

Question for you:

 What made your soul smile recently?

Please share in the comments!

and remember to:

Thank you, Molly Hahn!

“If you’re waiting for success to arrive or something to happen so you can be happy, stop it right now. Make the most out of your life as it is today, safe in the knowledge that you’re using the gift of creation that you’ve been given and all will be manifested in the perfect time.” Elle Sommer