“Nobody objects to a woman being a good writer or sculptor or geneticist if at the same time she manages to be a good wife, good mother, good-looking, good-tempered, well-groomed, and unaggressive.” This quote by Leslie M. McIntyre appears as a sidebar in the pages of Julia Cameron’s wonderful book The Artiste’s Way. […]
Thoughts on Washing Dishes
Moving to a different country and culture puts us in a context and space completely different from all that we’ve known. This shift in perspective gives us a new way of seeing – we can see how our self has been shaped by cultural beliefs. We become aware of the fact that these beliefs are, in fact, not who we are in essence. But if we are not them, then who are we? […]
Anger – A Call to Action
What’s the best use of my time? What do you bring to the table? Is this person saying “we” when they really mean “me”? As a recovering nice girl and people pleaser, these are questions that I have started asking recently. These questions have uncovered a lot of anger. Anger that threatens to consume and spill out, but also anger that prods me into saying No to what I don’t want and helps me align with my values. […]
Is there a right prayer?
Jai Ganesha, Jai Ganesha, Jai Ganesha Deva
Maata Jaaki Parvati, Pita Mahadeva
Day before yesterday was my second Diwali here in California. Diwali, for those of you who don’t know, is a festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil and which is as significant to Hindus as Christmas is to Christians. In the evening pooja (prayer), my husband and I sang the Ganesha aarti. The prayer had been floating in my consciousness for days before. Well, not the prayer exactly, which praises Lord Ganesha, but rather a specific line in it that has been getting under my skin. […]
Show Yourself
In the Milpitas library, I meet Jennifer every Thursday and Friday and we go through our English lessons. I have been teaching her for more than a year now as part of the library’s volunteer tutor program. This time, we’ve picked up a book on inter-cultural communication and the chapter talks about the importance of self-disclosure when you talk to a person of a different culture.That strikes me as important. Here, in the Bay area, cultures collide and sometimes interact in wonderful ways. Talking directly about what you think and revealing who you are becomes important because people can have preconceived notions based on your ethnic identity. […]