Silver Bells and Cockleshells

I was telling a friend that clams, are a good source of protein and copper. And being inexpensive it's a good choice to make. He said "Yes but it is difficult to clean". I said "Oh it's really easy, just like 'hitikida avarekalu', you've only got to squeeze it a bit until the gunk comes out."

The next day I sat cleaning 500 grams of clams. It was very easy work. It took me an hour. And then I realized what my friend meant when he said the work was difficult. He had equated the difficulty of the task with the time that it took.

One machine can bake 5 buns in 5 minutes.

How many buns can 100 machines bake in 5 minutes?

We've been tricked into believing Time is scarce.

Seen through different eyes, we live a million lifetimes.

What's Your Hurry?

How about giving a moment or two, to read Verse 80 of the Tao Te Ching?

Tao Te Ching – Verse 80

If a country is governed wisely,
its inhabitants will be content.
They enjoy the labor of their hands
and don’t waste time inventing
labor-saving machines.
Since they dearly love their homes,
they aren’t interested in travel.There may be a few wagons and boats,
but these don’t go anywhere.
There may be an arsenal of weapons,
but nobody ever uses them.
People enjoy their food,
take pleasure in being with their families,
spend weekends working in their gardens,
delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
And even though the next country is so close
that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,
they are content to die of old age
without ever having gone to see it.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Difficulty of tasks is better equated with the skills required.

Time is rarely under our control.

But we can develop our skills.

And tasks that are not really difficult, but take a lot of time, are important as well. If they are working towards the health and well-being of yourself and your family.

Two months of choosing more of a life offline, has changed a lot for me.

No, I'm not measuring how extra productive I've become.

I'm just enjoying this simpler way of being.

The Week Ahead

We have wonderfully clear skies now in Bangalore. How are the skies, where you are?

Today if you look up at the moon, you will find a bright dot close to it. That's Jupiter.

February 28th on wards, for a week, there's a mighty line up. So many planets close to the Sun.

Right before and after sunset, if you look in the western direction, you can find Mercury, Venus and Mars. Close by, you can see Saturn. And though you can't see him, Neptune is right beside Saturn.

Do you find an energy shift since the beginning of the year?

The days are getting longer. Warmer. Very much hotter, where I live.

You could stay up a little later to enjoy the cool evening breeze. Everything is coming alive.

Considering the Solar Calendar, we are in the last couple of months of the year. It's a good time to enjoy the world around you.

Do go for a nice walk.

Take it easy, until we meet again.