LIFE AS IT IS

This is so, so, so true! Reading a book is so much more pleasurable. You direct your own film in your head as you read a book. And you love that film so much that you cannot love the same film directed by a different director. Every time you wish to re-watch the film, all you need to do is re-read the book.

When I asked 29-year-old Sadia, a banker by profession, if she had any plans for the next weekend, she simply replied, “No, not really. I might just go out with friends for a late lunch on Saturday. That's all.”  "There is hardly ever anything to do around, you know,” she added, after a small pause.  The Daily Star link  Oct. 18, 2016 Sadia is not the only person who thinks there is not much to do for entertainment in Dhaka though. To many city dwellers, entertainment is now equivalent to shopping, dining, watching TV and spending time on the Internet.  But does entertainment mean lunching at a fancy restaurant, shopping around for a fashionable garb, or spending long hours on the Internet? No, not really!  Entertainment means taking a break from your everyday life to enjoy the things that you never had a chance to enjoy, or have not enjoyed in a long time. It can also mean doing something different and meaningful to fulfil your self-actualisation needs.  When it

Joyeeta slumped down in the sofa, too exhausted to relish a proper meal at the end of a dull day at work. She rubbed her eyes, which had not enjoyed a good night's sleep in four days. Sitting quietly on the couch, she tried to recall the last time she took a long shower, breathed in the crisp morning air, or buried herself in the pages of a paperback.  Soon Joyeeta started to feel miserable, because it had been a while since she spent some time doing things she loved. Tears began to well up in Joyeeta's eyes - her shoulders suddenly burdened from the worldly duties that sat stubbornly on them.  The Daily Star link   Oct. 11, 2016 Like Joyeeta, are you not often overwhelmed by the earthly responsibilities that rest heavily on your poor shoulders? Don't you sometimes feel that your mind and body are so fatigued that they are screaming for a break, a real break? If yes, then it is high time you de-cluttered your mind for a better and healthier tomorrow. Do not cater

We generalise and we generalise every day. We make broad statements about other people based on specific cases. We generalise purposely, unintentionally, consciously, sub-consciously, and even unconsciously; we generalise without thinking twice because it has become our habit to generalise - an unhealthy habit nonetheless.  The Daily Star link Generalisation is not a first-world or a developing-world problem; it is a global problem. People of all sorts of backgrounds have a tendency to 'paint with a broad brush' - white, black, brown, men, women, rich, poor, young, old, American, European, Asian, educated, uneducated, religious, and irreligious alike. We make broad statements about a group based on the actions of a few members of that group. It slips from our minds that exceptions also exist.     We take one or two of our bitter experiences to judge all the people of a particular gender, race, religion, country, culture, or profession. But is that fair?  The world lea

I was a heavy packer once. If it were possible to take my entire house to a vacation, I would have probably considered that too! I would all the time take more clothes and toiletries than necessary, and when I returned from a vacation, I would always discover that I did not wear most of the clothes that I had carried.  I realised time and again there was no need to take, say, eight tops and tees for two days – maybe four would have been just enough. I understood over time that I was not doing anything wise, and that I should do something to bring an end to this habit of lugging my entire world with me everywhere I go.   The Daily Star link  It is always best to make a list of things you need to take with you - the list helps tremendously. On my last three out-of state trips, I managed to carry all my things in one carry-on luggage. I learned through experience that a lot of times it is all about how you place your clothes in your bag. For example, it is better to roll your garm

Our ancestors picked wild berries, hunted wild animals, caught fish in lakes, and scooped up water from streams to quench their thirst and satiate their hunger. At night, they lay on their backs under a star-spangled sky and wondered how far the moon was. Mankind's love for nature therefore runs in the blood. Google Images Our DNA carries memories and experiences of the thousands of years our forefathers lived in the wilderness. And even though we don't live in the wild anymore, we bond with nature instantly and instinctively.  The Daily Star link  Sept. 20, 2016 I grew up in Dhaka. And although Dhaka was a metropolis even in the '80s and '90s, there were still safe public parks and patches of green here and there, where people could walk, rest, and enjoy nature.  As a child, I often visited the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with my father. On fall and winter mornings, I would see dewdrops hanging lightly from blades of its lush lawn grass. I would inhale the sme