LIFE AS IT IS

Right after I became a mother, my mother was with me the first few months, and my husband was and continues to be a huge support, yet there were many days when I felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities which came along with our bundle of joy.   It seemed like I could no longer enjoy the simple pleasures of life-- watch a film, read a book, take a long shower, relish a good meal, or even sleep. In fact, whenever I managed some free time during the day, I would just slump into my bed and snooze, from exhaustion. The Daily Star link I would often hold my newborn in my arms, and wonder if a day would really come when I would be able to sleep 5 hours at a stretch, dreaming of getting a good night's sleep, which I could not get until my daughter turned 4 months.  Before she was born, we could go out anytime as there was no need to worry about another person's sleep routine or feeding schedule. After she came, things changed of course. Her diaper bag became my purse, wher

A running faucet often reminds me of a fountain that flows without a pause out of a crack in the rocks. 

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