Jottings on an Envelope

Unformed Thoughts by Amit Gawande.
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On losing my interest

I blog. But I no longer write. I believe I have lost my interest in writing. Or at least what I thought was my interest. Whatever that was, I am not doing that. There was a time when I used to find new and creative ways to put my thoughts out. Through fiction. Through sarcasm. Through well-thought-out essays. What I write today is neither. It's neither creative nor well-thought-out. By writing meaningless updates from my life, I rob myself of the opportunity to think deeply. Is writing regular updates bad? Of course not. Many enjoy doing that, and I respect...

February 20th, 2024

The meaningless routine

Another Sunday, a regular one this time, unlike the last. I did a lot of long-pending chores that I had been avoiding for quite a few days, followed by a good amount of reading. As I sit down to write this, I am enjoying the relaxed mindset this has put me in. It's only in such periods of calmness that I think better. I haven't posted anything on my blog for a week now. Not that this has been an unusually hectic week. I have had busy weekdays for a few months now. I still wrote actively, something that's not...

February 18th, 2024

A Rare Sunday

I met my friend at lunch last Sunday. With our thoughts and likes aligning, our families gel well together. My daughter gets to meet a friend her age with whom she has a blast. They quickly gang up and start ignoring us. We don't complain when they do that. Another thing we generally do when together is to chat and laugh, forgetting everything and everyone around us. We become one of those loud groups you must have cursed sometimes during social gatherings. This day and meet was no different. Bearing no guilt, we soon became the noisiest group around. At...

February 13th, 2024

Cleaning up

I cleaned up stuff around me today and made some space for myself. I cleared my desk. I cleared my calendar. I completed some of the long pending tasks. I eliminated unnecessary distractions like unread books, unwritten drafts and unspoken words. The last one weighs the heaviest on my mind. I called my family and my friends. I felt relieved. I cleared my cupboards and drawers of unnecessary junk that had accumulated. That's what junk does -- it finds space and occupies it. Some weeds had done the same around the saplings in the garden on my balcony. They needed...

February 10th, 2024

A wild, hectic day

It has been a wild day today. With my wife unable to sleep throughout the night due to a cough, I had to get my daughter ready for school. I am not a good cook -- but I am a learner. So I decided to cook her tiffin and get her ready on time. I managed somehow. The day at work continued to remain hectic. I haven't had much breathing space for the past couple of weeks throughout the day. What begins with meetings ends with more meetings. There is no control scope to mould the day as per my...

February 7th, 2024