Weekly notes related to explorations, workout and family

Explorations

Last week, I picked a few books to read. I completed, Sidhartha by Herman Hesse a classic written in 1922. It describes the spiritual journey and self-discovery of a boy named Siddhartha who lived during the time of Gautama. It was free-flowing and an easy read with many paragraphs and short sentences which one can relish and ponder.

Here are some quotes that stayed back with me:

“When someone seeks," said Siddhartha, “then it easily happens that his eyes see only the thing that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to take in nothing because he always thinks only about the thing he is seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.”

“We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.”

“Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.”

Family

It was the Diwali week with a long weekend so I indulged in the celebrations, festivities, sweets, and crackers. Apart from the crackers my most cherished aspect of Diwali from childhood has been the morning Abhyanga Snan (bath) with utane (herbal powder) and Diwali faral (snacks). Utnae is a fragrant herbal powder that is mixed with coconut milk and applied all over the body and then one can wash it off with warm water. It was Ibhan’s first Abhang Snan and like expected he was a bit picky about the texture and feel of the paste all over his body. Mom had spent the last 2 weeks slowly prepping and assembling each item that constitutes the faral. On the morning of Diwali, we all sat together and relished it.

On Sunday, we went for Lunch at Pizza 4P’s Indiranagar. It’s one of those hyped places where you have to book a week in advance. Unexpectedly, we all unanimously felt that it not only lived up to the hype but managed to blow our minds. The Cheese Platter and the Burrata Salad Pizza were standout, and we ended up making a repeat order.

Workout

With all the Diwali festivities and extra calories, I managed to keep the momentum concerning steps and workouts. Pulled in an additional 10K run as a cheat workout. Yes, I am the pioneer of cheat workouts ;)