Aruna Gobalan's Blog, page 2

Recommitment: Why We Need to Start Over. Again. And Again.

I’ll confess — I find it cringey when I see pictures of people making a full-blown spectacle of renewing their marriage vows. I’m skeptical about the whole dog-and-pony show, the matching outfits, and the elaborate settings. If it’s just about recommitting to each other, why not do it in private? Why the hoopla? The more of […]

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A Fresh Load of Perspective: Laundry Lessons

As I mentioned earlier, we were traveling across Europe on a two-week trip that involved too many cities (courtesy of my FOMO—previously documented), and every imaginable mode of public transportation: flights, trains, buses, and taxis. Which is a long-winded way of saying: luggage space was limited. Now, I’m still a long way from traveling in a […]

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Self-Discovery Through Travel

Travel is great. I highly recommend it. Most people travel for the usual reasons—to see the world, experience new cultures, take a break from their daily grind, or just relax. Every single one of them, a noble pursuit in itself, is enough to justify any misadventures. But, let me add, perhaps, the best reason to travel: […]

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Fifty Shades of Freedom (The Wholesome Kind)

Here is a list of fifty reasons I’m grateful—small and big freedoms I have the privilege to enjoy. Some of these are trivial, while others may sound a bit more profound. Many of these are freedoms from constraints that have historically or culturally existed.  A few are self-imposed limits I’ve carried for years, only now realizing […]

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A Quest to Beat Procrastination and Stop the Last-Minute Scramble

Procrastination gives you something to look forward to. Joan KonnerEvery time I finish writing a post, I promise myself that next time I’ll get a head start. That, I’ll write the next piece in a couple of days. That, I’ll build up a solid backlog so I’m not sitting here at 8 p.m. on a […]

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You Are Exactly Where You Need To Be

I don’t know why we’re here, but I’m pretty sure it’s not to enjoy ourselves. Wittgenstein.I have often heard people say, “You are exactly where you need to be.” They believe that everything happening in our lives—to us, around us—is part of a grand plan of self-discovery and personal growth. It sounds profound. I’ll admit—I […]

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No More Proving, Just Living: The Quiet Freedom of Middle Age

Bernard, one of Virginia Woolf’s fictional characters in The Waves (1931), offers this hauntingly relatable monologueThings have dropped from me. I have outlived certain desires…I am not so gifted as at one time seemed likely. Certain things lie beyond my scope. I shall never understand the harder problems of philosophy. Rome is the limit of […]

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The Quiet Comfort of the Natural Order of Things

Let us accept the natural order in which we move. Let us reconcile ourselves to the mysterious rhythm of our destinies, such as they must be in this world of space and time. Let us treasure our joys but not bewail our sorrows. Winston ChurchillIt’s been a difficult few weeks. Talk of cancer—multiple diagnoses—has been circling […]

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Be Prolific: Your Best Work is Hiding Behind a Hundred Drafts

In their book Art & Fear, authors David Bayles and Ted Orland use the example of the ceramics teacher to illustrate why it pays to be prolific. Here’s a paraphrased version of the story. A ceramics teacher divided his class into two groups: One group would be graded on the quantity of work (number of pots) they […]

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Modaks, Meals, and Missed Opportunities—An Ode to Food

The source of all pleasures is the satisfaction of the stomach. EpicurusI’m exhausted already—even before I start writing, because I’ve spent too much time eating (carb-loading). Now I’m in a full-on food coma. It occurs to me now that if only I had spent even a tenth of the time I’ve spent thinking about food in […]

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