In a personal storm of mine initially, my anxiety got the worse of me - I was a daughter possessed, since I am my boss I withdrew from new consulting assignments, stopped self-care/ love etc - no massages/colouring my hair or getting my mani-pedi done, not meeting people and so on. I have cried so many times and then again I feel happy when there is good news!! I feel physically and emotionally drained now! We are trying to practice living it a little and finding that calm!  

My learnings in the last four months, my circumstances notwithstanding have been Que sera sera; what will be will be…!!

How did it start? One evening, two months into this storm, two of our good friends, came over with a bottle of red wine and said we feel sorry for you guys and tell us what’s happening???  We had a good vent session and ended the evening by gorging on good Indian Chinese Food. Suddenly, we felt much lighter! 

This made me make a list of some simple practices that provided me peace and calmness during this chaos:

- gratitude for the parents I have, the charmed life I have lived and the close family bond that exists among us

- reflection about my learnings from my father’s beliefs regarding life, death and grief when his parents passed away 

- time spent with my daughter reminiscing about her grandpa (my dad), and celebrating his life

- listening to friends who had been through a similar experience in life urged me to look after my own physical and mental health 

- Re-living the warmth and affection for my elder brother after over three decades as we got to spend so much time looking after Dad, and he is phenomenal in getting everyone to keep the faith! 

- vent buddy in a batchmate from management days that gave me much comfort and solace (@Aneetha Rao Kasuganti)

- yoga and meditation sessions each week may not have been too regular but kept me very focused

- taking a break or a staycation

My husband who often says that I am the one who calms many storms in his life stood like a rock for me and helped me be mindful of the small little good things happening for us.

(This article first appeared on the WiP page on 16th Sept 2024. I am the founder of WiP which is a cohort of like minded talented women who help each other grow in a fun filled, judgement free manner!)