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I turned my head and looked around, one corner of the room was stuffed with some age-old toys or some whose parts were hanging loose. One shelf was filled with worn and dog-eared books and magazines which had not been touched for years.
Recently we replaced our old dressing table of which the mirror was broken and the drawers were jammed and impaired with a new one. But we did not discard the older one, we placed it in the back of our house along with other shabby and run-down furniture.
Diwali arrives and brings with it the season of cleaning, reorganizing and decorating the house and much more. Dusting cloth in one hand and broomstick in another I stood stunned and thinking about where to start.
As I opened the door of the wardrobe, clothes spilled over me, it was filled more with old and worn clothes than the clothes worth wearing. some clothes were older than my kids, my kids are now past teenage.
The other shelf was overflowing with my kid’s clothes which were either old or did not fit them anymore.
My house was turned more into a storage space allowing less space for breathing and living.
Unintentionally we attach so many emotional values and sentiments to our belongings that it seems unthinkable and unachievable task to dispose of the stuff we have used in past.
How can you think of discarding that bicycle, this is the first bicycle your son ever had, my mind would say. How stone-hearted you have turned to dispose of the t-shirt your son wore on his tenth birthday, the other one his great-grandmother gifted him, my heart would ponder.
This fosters a deep sense of belongingness which further turns into possessiveness and parting with personal goods and chattels seems unreasonable and illogical. This eventuates into piles of books, toys and clothes in the corners of rooms or behind the closed doors of the shelves.
And even if the idea of disposing of old belongings is conceived in our mind, our habit of procrastination plays its role and we put off discarding the old treasure to future time.
Procrastination and possessiveness are two things I want to deep-clean from my life as well this Diwali.
Procrastination may make us feel better for a short time but it leads us to miss important deadlines and give up on promises and commitments that we make to ourselves and others. It also gives rise to doubts and self-reliability.
The temporary bliss we feel from procrastinating is far outweighed by its long-term effects on our lives.
Being possessive means being selfish about the things and persons in our life. We cling to them so tightly that letting them go seems an unthinkable and unachievable task.
Possessive people feel insecure and exhibit controlling behaviour thinking it is the only way to protect their persons or things. And unintentionally we hurt people whom we love so much.
This Diwali I decluttered my home of unwanted belongings without further procrastination and detaching my sentiments. I donated all the clothes, toys and books to my housemaid and other needy people.
My heart filled with contentment when I saw my domestic help’s son wearing that t-shirt and my watchman’s son riding that old bicycle the other day. Seeing the scintillating smile on their faces was an absolute bliss.
Likewise, I would like to deep clean my life of laziness, inactivity and ineffectiveness to get rid of mess, disorders and complications. To add more energy and space to my home and in my life.
Study shows decluttering reduces stress and anxiety and increases self-esteem.
Life is stressful enough, our home should be a calm and peaceful place where we can breathe and recharge ourselves. A neat tidy and organized house not only fills us up with positive vibes and boosts our mood but also helps keep the negative energy and pessimism at bay.
Image source: by Neena Majumdar from Studio India Free for Canva
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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