Have you been feeling like you need some downtime? I know I have! The frenzied pace of events of the past few months is finally catching up or so it seems. Festivities, changing seasons, social engagements, work, home and family priorities have all snowballed into a giant circle and I am constantly on the move! I know Supriya is swamped too and I offered to write all the posts for Aalayam this month. But for the past couple of days I have struggled to bring myself to work on a post and today I read this article in the WSJ blog titled “Five Ways to Take Control of Our Runaway Lives” where the author was making a case for breaking away from the frenzied pace of life.
One of the tips offered in the article was to do nothing and reflect and it got me thinking. How often do we schedule a “do-nothing time” in our daily/weekly or monthly calendars? Do we ever make time to “escape “ and I don’t mean a getaway or a vacation (believe me going on a vacation can be a lot of work too!). I mean escape as in do nothing, look within, reflect, sleep–in, enjoy a long drive or savor a steamy cup of chai. Simple things that let you take control and refocus..
The year is coming to an end rather quickly and I know many of us start making plans to nurture ourselves with healthy new year resolutions. Why not start early this year? It is o.k to hit the pause button when you really feel the pace heating up. A little down-time can go a long way in recharging our batteries and helping us to become more productive in the next leg . And yet, I need to constantly remind myself that it is o.k to slow down . I guess, we all put self-preservation on the back burner. We get caught up in trying to keep everything at home and at work running smoothly. Supriya will be talking about work-life balance in a later post and therefore I will defer the discussion on “balance” to her.
Here at Aalayam, we strive to
bring you beautiful inspirations to lead a wholesome life and in line with that
thought, I bring you images of Home (or I should say our former home) as a
reminder that we all need to unwind and relax and make time to nurture
ourselves. And what better place to
start than home? Cherish time with your loved ones, sit by the window and pay attention to the
pitter-patter of the falling rain drops, enjoy a good book by the fire - things that will rejuvenate you and help you move forward .
The holidays will be busy for all of us too and that is when we will
inadvertently be overextending ourselves and it may be well worth it to focus a
little on ourselves.
I am sharing some images of our
former home. It was our first home and a
rather modest home. But it was still a place where we cherished time with each
other as a family, dreamt happy dreams and created warm memories. Of course, I was not writing for Aalayam back
then and therefore I do not have a lot
of pictures. But this home was featured
on Priya’s blog and this is what I had written about our home then-
“Home
and entertaining are central to our existence and after a hard day’s work or at
the end of a busy work week, we love coming to a home where we can relax and
unwind. My husband and I have always taken pride in our home. Overall, our home
is a reflection of our ethnic roots. From art work in the Warli and
Tanjore style to the foot stool in the Rajasthani patch work style, our home is
filled with treasures that speak to our Indian origin. Even our choice of
furniture was largely guided by our Indian aesthetic sensibilities. We reached
for pieces with a lot of sculpting in it – columns and arches. We went for
darker tones and solid wood but the challenge was to balance style and
function. Also, you will see a lot of black pieces in our home and that was our
way of adding a modern twist to the antique styling”
If
you are a regular Aalayam eader, you probably realize I have carried forward the same accents, furniture and design sensibilities into my current home but the big
difference is color. Yes, we did a dramatic 360 with color in our current home
(intentionally)!
Home
means different things to different people. To me- it means an oasis! A place
where I can enjoy the simple pleasures of life like the warmth of a fire on a
crisp autumn evening or a quiet conversation or soulful music with my family.
I
hope as the year end approaches you all
will make the time to embrace what is important to you and find a happy
middle ground as you strive to balance the various demands of every day life.
Pardon
me as I turn down the frequency of our posts a little bit temporarily but please note that we are working on some
exciting posts for the holiday season!
I
will also announce the winner of our TJ MAXX home goods gift card give away
winner in my next post. Keep commenting, we are adding a surprise twist to the
giveaway!
