God gives you the people,resources and mindset you need to go forward in life. But as humans, you and I go on worrying.The end goals realizing there’s no end goal but the journey, the tea shop stops and the people who sing along with you on the journey that matters.The circle of influence,love ,memories.The people who will help you live with grace.
What does serenity mean :According to the dictionary, “the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.” Synonyms: peacefulness, peace, calm, composure.
While most of you have heard the serenity prayer ,few claim to live it. That’s the reason I picked up a little book of Serenity. It’s calmness with grace.The understanding of one’s troubles and accepting the journey one has to walk.You may walk with a smile or with tears in your eyes,will always be your choice.
The Serenity prayer
….grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other through…
Reinhold Niebuhr
Choosing grace is the most difficult thing for me ,when I just want to flame the fire.But that’s where wisdom comes in .It’s not just the Dopamine hit you want.It’s the good effect of endorphin, which will keep you feeling great even when the stimulus is gone.The book has a pretty book cover and pretty font.Something to pass on to your kids type book .It’s a book of short poems and quotes by the author and by other stalwarts which the author likes .
Name of the Book: A little book of Serenity
Book by Ruskin Bond
My favorite quote snippets from the book.
Serenity of nature is the serenity of perfection.
…life on earth is not permanent .
In humility lies serenity.
A meaningful friend ,a meaningful day
Dalai Lama
Simple pleasures …browsing among old books
Letting go gives us freedom,
Be like water..,it finds its way.It doesn’t quarrel,it simply moves on
Lao Tzu
..its alright to not climb every mountain
Let nature be your teacher
William Wordsmith
Who is this book for?
If you are seeking serenity in your life ,then this book is for you.A good book to gift someone in need of inspiration and serenity in their life.I also read a book about painting calm which you may like .This is part of the Blogchatter Bookchatter.
It started in 2020.But the seeds were planted in my childhood. I had a school project,where we had to take care of a small flowering plant,over a few months and bring it to school,as the project submission.
It was winter and I bought a pansy plant.I coloured the pot ,talked to the plant and it flowered.It was a yellow brown pansy flower with their cute butterfly shaped flower.What I didn’t know was that the hollow stems of pansy plants, made them sensitive to even little birds hopping on them.A sparrow hopped on the flowers and my pretty plant had fractured stems.
Flowers in my Garden
The submission date was soon and I was sad that this happened and then I put cellotape on the stems and within a weeks time they looked so much better. I had another new flower blossom just before the day of submission. I told this story during presentation and my project came first.It sounds simple but my worry that week was another level.You can’t bargaining with nature.
My teacher said while many of the other plants looked smarter,prettier and had more flowers,mine looked like it belonged to a family and not from a nursery.
Lessons I learned about plant care then was going to be my lifelong friend.
The garden we planted in 2020 is our greatest pleasure during all seasons now.We stay there for quiet weekends,we host picnics,parties and sometimes just visit in the evening for chai and gup-shup or for playing badminton.
The flowers are always ready to smile and bloom for us and nourish us with their produce .
Conservation starts at home
Steps for Conserving Nature
Conservation and sustainability go hand in hand.We plant local plants and trees.Not exotic varieties which can cause trouble.
Planting a mix of flowers, fruits and vegetables ensure we have a sustainable garden not just a pretty one.Remember plant what you eat or what you like looking at,is not just as an investment,it’s a way of life. It needs to be a balance.
Restoring barren lands and preventing trees from being cut down is a thing we do as a group of friends. Again sustainable with friends.Plus more fun.
Share your nature gifts ,so that kindred souls might have their passions ignited.
Don’t stress it, but do it as a project.Small steps at a time.Focus on your home,family home,ancestral village ,community park,community spaces and see how things improve one day at a time.
Conservation is not just for the future .It’s today.My daughter wrote this script Go Green plastic is obscene .
Madhabilata,Plumeria, orange Ticoma and Yellow Alamanda in one frame.Planted in January 2021 ,it’s been three and a half years of having them in our life.Thankful,Grateful,Blessed🙏
This is What happened Wednesday evening on the #Blogchatter Twitter /X chat and I couldn’t help sharing my answers to the fun questions. For the entire chat check out the first tweet I embedded.
This post is in the form of Q and A where the Q s are by Blogchatter and the answers are mine.
From the garden
Q1.Tell us where you’re joining from and what is your creative superpower?
Q1.What’s a stereotype around being an artist/creative that you’ve heard too often? #Blogchatter
A.Of the tortured unhappy artist. No one talks about the happy artist.But for me I am happy writing or painting and it’s an instant pick me up for Me ! #Blogchatter Plus the true artist doesn’t need money.Its difficult if not impossible to create on an empty stomach .
Q2. How does the pressure to create affect you as an artist?
I ignore it.#Blogchatter That’s the reason this is my 10th year blogging and 4 year painting. October 2024 is going to be the 10th blog birthday.
Q3. We love our #BlogchatterRetreats to unwind and connect with like-minded creatives. This year we’re having it in Kolkata: theblogchatter.com/campaign-regis… How in your experience collaboration with a community can help an artist?
It’s wonderful to find a community who can grow together and help each other.The reason I am tweeting #Blogchatter since 2017 .The best Blogging platform in India.I have been part of a few and this is easily the best.
Q4. How do you see social media shaping the identity and visibility of artists now as compared to before? #Blogchatter
A4 The organic reach is tough .The algorithm is tweaked to help the Platforms make money and you get sucked into sm addiction . Whether it translates into income is something for other people to answer. My blog and my books are still my first choice. #Blogchatter
Q5. As a creative, how has your understanding of being a “successful artist” evolved? #Blogchatter
A5 I think I realized the biggest part of being successful as an artist or as a Doctor is being happy doing what you love and helping people .Art and the artist both should spread joy .That’s my understanding #Blogchatter
Q6. We all fall prey to imposter syndrome as artists. What do you do to overcome it? #Blogchatter
A 6 Watch my daughter sketching and having fun .Creating joyfully with no agenda is my way of beating imposter syndrome #Blogchatter
Sharing a few artwork from 2021 which helped me stay calm during the lock down.Checkout my book Starting a Successful Blog here .
Blogging is a story of convenience. It’s low pressure under most conditions. Until you want to reach more people and make more money.Its then that the challenge starts.
When I wrote about Starting a Successful Blog ,I was still thinking in a linear way but was also pivoting significantly.
As writers we can be storytellers or not.Being a storyteller makes the words more powerful and has a better reach.If 2024 is when AI went crazy.It is also the year when Amazon,Google,Facebook the big tech giants fired significant many .
Your job is only needed when you provide something human which is extra and much needed .Otherwise it’s a job which will be done by some other human or AI .
The no.2 skill is to get better at story telling.
Case in point Palki Sharma who reports mainly on geopolitics and her way of telling a story makes geopolitics interesting!
But bloggers who didn’t have a focused niche or experience showing through their content will feel disheartened.Because it’s not just the story but the facts which will also help you stand out. Its time to think deeply about what you are bringing to the table ,when it comes to blogging.
So skill number three is finding your ikigai in terms of blogging.
With Googles unending updates,algorithm and changes with conspiracy theories floating about, I would have stopped blogging if not for my incessant need to share everything I know .
Number four is not a skill but your reason behind the blog .Remembering your why .
Because you know what?Someone somewhere is being helped and that’s the reason I started this blog in the first place.
It’s going to be the 10th blog birthday in October and I have my thinking hat on about what direction I want to go.
Options are many but sustainable and helpful are my non-negotiables .There’s too much trouble everywhere without my blog being part of the drama .
Number five is learning buisness skills behind earning a living online.I am having trouble here even now and 2024 is exceptionally turbulent.
I want to get better at all the five but working hard on the last two because my digital legacy is, I taught my daughter to blog too and she wrote eight blog posts in the month of April without any help !
One in 3 people has the risk of developing Shingles. That’s what the CDC says.But why do you need to know this? If you or a relative is aged fifty or more, it’s a good idea to get vaccinated and you must have seen Big B talk about it on the television.But let’s start from the beginning.There are many strange articles and misinformation online about this disease.
Tldr:First of all, it’s not a STD or sexually transmitted disease .Second, it’s a viral disease and caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox, but Shingles occur most commonly in old age.
According to Harrison Internal Medicine, Varicella Zoster is a virus which causes two distinct clinical presentations :chicken pox and Shingles.
Chicken pox is most common in children and has characteristic vesicular rash while Shingles occur as dermatomal rash in specific parts of body .Chicken pox in adults is a serious disease and may have extensive systemic involvement and complications.Incidentally vaccination exists even for chicken pox where like all other vaccines one may get infected still but the expression and clinical disease may limit severity.
So what is Shingles? It’s caused by the Varicella Zoster virus.
You remember I mentioned chicken pox also known as the Varicella zoster virus?If that virus getting reactivated in old age Shingles(Herpes Zoster) is what happens.According to the medical science these chicken pox virus stays sleeping or dormant in the nerve cells and during episodes of immune suppression weakness gets reactivated and starts giving you trouble.They characteristically have a burning sensation associated with skin lesions along the area of distribution of that nerve and make life difficult .It causes a dermatomal rash The regular painkillers don’t work and prevention is the best policy .
They may suffer multiple episodes with waxing and waning i between with itching ,tingling ,burning sensation in specific areas associated with rashes.The rash can appear on the third to fifth day with or without fever.The herpetic neuralgia or pain is difficult to manage and is one of the main reason behind poor quality of life.
In my ENT clinic, Ear manifestation of Shingles present as earache with rashes over the pinna and in the ear canal .
Statistics:
India : A million cases of Shingles each year.Incidence of 705 per million population per year. In USA approximately 1 out of 3 people develop herpes zoster during their lifetime Shingles, and about half of people over age eighty have had shingles.The Shingles vaccine for people above 50 years is a good way to ensure no trouble from this virus .
So when can Shingles occur?In people above 50 years of age having any cause of immune suppression, because of disease or drugs.Like HIV,Cancer treatment,Cancer itself,autoimmune disease,diabetes,severe cardiac ,liver or kidney disease .Any disease which over powers your immune system can cause Shingles.So the best way to prevent it ,is to have healthy habits,eat nutritious food and get vaccinated on time.
Shingles Vaccine in India: Shingrix Zoster Vaccine[source]
2 doses needed at a gap of two to six month.Protection is said to be for ten years ;Age group-Above 50 years.India has 260 million people above 50 years who can be saved from a disease causing poor quality of life with a vaccine.
Who should get vaccinated?
At-risk group.Age greater than fifty.Those who have suffered one episode of shingles.Those who received a chicken pox vaccine previously.
Consult your doctor for checking whether you are eligible for the vaccine.This is not a replacement for a medical consultation and is strictly for the purpose of awareness.Though we try to keep updates current, since medical science is a rapidly evolving field, inadvertent additions and omissions while unfortunate is occasionally unavoidable .The author or the website under no circumstances will be held liable for the same.Kindly consult a health care provider for personalized vaccine recommendations
