Writers Jam

on his deathbed, the Buddha asked Ānanda (his faithful disciple), “Are you troubled?” - his dying moments spent consoling and advising his beloved disciples.

when David’s brothers fought at the Valley at Elah, he was instructed by his father to send food supplies to the front lines. when he reached, “David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brother’s how they are.” (1 Samuel 17:22). “Vayish’al et-achav lashalom” he asked, which translates directly to “Are you at peace?”.

the question of wellbeing is so common that it’s existed and uttered to another as if it were heavenly law. and it basically is.

in every sacred text you find, the holiest thing to do is to love. to let go of self and to fall into your neighbour’s arms and care for him. the question of “how are you” is biblical; wholly sacred.

i’m feeling at peace. well not exactly, i’ve been off my meds for two days as a “drug holiday” since i’m temporarily free from the shackles of assignments and lectures. so really I’m just restless and time moves too slow for me. but in that mess I’ve found a small inkling of peace and joy.

i wandered aimlessly around “rural” bangalore and hit around 14k steps, made some flowers, doomscrolled Instagram, drank some milo, played clash royale, read all your funny stories and called my boyfriend. if that’s not a good day, then what is :)

once out of the chaos of city life, it’s refreshing to sit through the silence of quiet mornings, penetrated by the yawns of my relatives as they inevitably have to rise. i hear church bells and birds chirping. i feel much at peace.