From the other side of the cup

This evening, I went to the temple with my sister, her husband, and their kids. It was just a regular family visit, the kind we often take for granted. But sometimes, it’s in these simple moments that life teaches us the deepest lessons. After offering prayers, my niece .. just 7 years old, full of innocence and mischief  came to me and said softly, “I prayed for you… that you get a good job and settle well in life.” Her words stopped me. For a second, I didn’t know how to react. She’s so little, yet her heart already holds such pure love and thoughtfulness. Children don’t complicate their emotions the way we do. When they wish for something, it comes straight from their soul. In that moment, I realized how much of an impact our bonds truly carry. To her, I’m not just an aunt. I’m someone she looks up to, someone she wants to see happy and secure. And she carried that wish with her into the temple, making it part of her prayer. It made me think sometimes the most genuine blessings ...

 I never really paid attention to how much a home, or the people in it, could shape you… until I lived in one that felt different. Everything about that space had a quiet rhythm to it..peaceful mornings, soft conversations, no gossip, no raised voices. Even when someone they disliked did something wrong, they never poured energy into bad-mouthing. There was a kind of awareness in how they lived, and it reflected in every corner. I remember once asking, “How do you manage to stay so calm?” And they said something simple but so powerful: “A home holds energy. Every word we speak adds to it. We know what’s right and wrong, but not every moment gives us the strength to choose wisely. That’s why we need to be careful of what we carry and what we pass on.” That stayed with me. When I came back home, I didn’t want to forget that feeling. I started making tiny changes..how I spoke, how I started my mornings, how I reacted when something bothered me. Just trying to carry that calm into my o...

  I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that energy can’t be created or destroyed. It only changes form. And the more I think about it, the more it feels like something deeper than just science. What if the energy flowing through me right now isn’t entirely mine? Maybe it once belonged to someone from a hundred or two hundred years ago. A poet, a wanderer, a dreamer someone whose energy never disappeared, just shifted and eventually found its way to me. It’s a strange thought, but somehow it makes sense. And maybe that’s what deja vu really is. A glimpse of something my energy has known before. A place it’s already been. It makes me wonder how much of what I feel is truly mine. And just how deeply we’re all connected - across time, memory and invisible threads of energy.

  Caught the first bus before sunrise, half-asleep, fully unsure, yet curious about the day ahead. Just me, my bag, and a little courage. Landed in a place I’ve never been before. No maps could guide the vibe. Got into an auto, expecting silence or maybe some old film songs. The auto driver started opening up...He asked if I always travel alone. I smiled.. he smiled back. He started sharing pieces of his world.. how he believes solo trips change people, how his daughter wants to study in another city, how life feels when you're stuck in routines. Strangers, just passing by, yet sometimes they reflect something back at us - courage, kindness, a sense of belonging in the unfamiliar. Maybe we’re all just stories in transit..sometimes riding, sometimes driving, but always learning from the people we meet on the way.

Something happened on the train that hasn’t left my mind. A woman slipped while trying to get in.. just a second, maybe less and she was nearly gone. It wasn’t loud or chaotic, just terrifyingly quiet. A man beside her caught her arm and pulled her back like it was the most normal thing to do. But I kept thinking what if he wasn’t there? What if she had fallen? Everything we take for granted feels too fragile lately. One foot wrong, one second off, and everything changes. With the way things are unfolding in the world right now, nothing feels steady. It’s strange how we keep moving through routines like we’re promised time. Today reminded me we’re not. It didn’t feel like a “blessing” or a “miracle.” It felt real, raw, and too close.