The Writer in Me: The Mind Body Connection

I grew up as a child spending lot of time with books. What outcome could you expect in such a scenario? Someone who wants to write. And hence my life is now long years of reading, writing, and more writing. And the best place to visit all time has been the library wherever I lived.

It isn't surprising, is it? My earliest clear memory is of going to the District Library in Jorhat, a small town in Assam, India, where I spent most of my school years. That was the formative period of my life.

For some reason, I wasn't much into games and sports. I wasn't a weak girl. Somehow, that aspect of life never interested me. Later, after passing out from school, I became a yoga enthusiast. and right now, I regularly go to the gym and walk in the park, also bike sometimes. Haven't reached the half-marathon level. But this isn't that bad. It isn't about all head and body care. I do try to live a holistic life, taking care of my physical as well mental well being.

One thing I've learnt over the years is that, one cannot live just the way one likes, especially when it comes to the body, mind and spirit. Eating and drinking anything, at any time, or inputting anything into the mind, sleeping at any hour, no control in life... One cannot abuse any part of it. There is a clear connection between all these aspects.

Life continues because of balance. It's so important to take care of the body if one wants to use the mind. Writing is nothing else but using the mind to produce words from ideas. Dynamic ideas are born in an active energetic body. Just like an oiled machine works efficiently, similarly, a well maintained body (not just aesthetically, it's about health) works better than when it hasn't been cared for.

Health is wealth. I don't know who said this or from where it has come. The older I am getting, I realize the significance of good health more seriously. Everything in life is connected to health. As long as one is alive, health affects that person. It could be good health or bad health. When we talk of bad health, it brings up the image of a sick person, who cannot walk straight and tall, or someone in a hospital bed with pipes everywhere, or coughing an eyes watering.

These are just a few images that I get when I talk about bad health. a person who is in bad health is not in normal condition, is unable to perform optimally, and is a drag to herself and others surrounding her. The opposite scenario applies to a healthy person. She is full of energy and can apply herself to the task at hand with full focus.

Not that good health guarantees the best writing. Many other attributes also go into making a great writer, like life experiences, perception and empathy, power of observation, ability to interpret incidents in a writerly way, etc. etc.

But a writer in good health, and with better than average abilities is a boon to everyone. A society needs writers who write well.

It's Raining and I should be Happy in such Weather! But...

Since yesterday, it's been raining. Yesterday it was drizzling more than pouring. But then early morning today, I heard the heavy footprints of rains drops.

Drought is more typical of California than rain. Water has been a serious problem here for years now. But this year, it has been different. And the year end seems to be more different than anytime before. Looks like 2011 will be welcome with showers.

I was born in the rains. In July in Assam in India, where heavy rainfall is a way of life. And then over the years, have grown reading and seeing and experiencing floods. Have seen bamboo plant rafts during flash floods from the Brahmaputra in Dibrugarh while growing up.

But then, years later, when I spent a long time, another type of weather had dominated my life. Extremely hot, dry in summer, and cold in winter. So where was the rain? Occasional short spells that never continued over days. Like back in Assam.

And now, in California, the unending rains have brought back memory. Childhood, growing up years, etc etc. I should have been happy. Why not?

Because I am missing home. What to say? Parents, sisters, the sights and smells, the food and colors, the people and the festivals. It isn't easy to stay away from family.

My First Cruise

Recently, we went on a cruise on the west coast. We started from San Diego, to Catalina Islands, and then to Ensenada in Mexico, then back to San Diego. The ship in which we travelled, the Carnival Elation, was large, filled with passengers, teeming with activities, and overflowing with food. For a first time cruiser, all this made an instant impression.

I'd never been aboard a large ship before. If ever I was over water, it was on small boats and ferries. I've never had the need or the compulsion to be on a ship. And now, when by Equal Half suggested a cruise suddenly, although it took me abck, I agreed to him. I was anyways game to new experiences, and this, I presumed, would absolutely be a new one. And it did turn out to be so. It did not match any of my previous life experiences.

The simplest mismatch with everyday life was the water that I saw all around me. For someone born in Dibrugarh, Assam, where there was the Brahmaputra and river water and rain water most of the year, the large body of water of an ocaen, the Pacific Ocaen in this case, was simply uncomparable. It was deeper, wider, until the eyes could see. The horizon eneded in a thin line of water only.

So much water could be a cause of nervousness for someone like me, inexperienced with the behaviour of this kind of water. But there are advantages of being born in the Twentieth Century. You've seen so much of similar things on film and television, with lot of vicarious living, that almost nothing seem to be new or strange. The movie Titanic was my reference point for comparison of the real life ship with the films that showed so much of a ship during the story.