I am enjoying the last few days of having my mum and my dog here with me in Kolkata.
I got so much help having my mum here- both emotionally and for everything else. For one, I got to eat so much delicious home-cooked food (just yesterday we made momos at home)
For the past two months we have been a complete family- me, my mum, our dog Missy and our two cats Elsa and Ariel.
She has been particularly fond of Elsa and likewise, Elsa too is so fond of her that she’s always around her.
I clicked this picture this morning. We each have this box where we keep our morning routine ingredients- our diary, pencil bag, books and other notebooks. This is Elsa getting inside her box.
My dog stays with my Mum back in Siliguri which is my small hometown in the plains, at the foothills of Darjeeling and my two cats stay with me in Kolkata.
I’ll have to accompany her this time as we’re taking our dog by train and while I’m away, my kind friend has agreed to stay at my place to look after my cats.
Today I just want to share how we normally spend our mornings together.
My mother is my biggest supporter and she is equally invested in her personal growth and learning.
Some days I wake up before her and some days she wakes up before me, but we both follow our morning routine religiously.
She starts her day by saying her morning prayers and mantras and I start my day by writing in my diary and ending it with an affirmation for the day.
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Then I sit down in silence for 10-15 minutes or sometimes I listen to soothing meditation music.
When my mother is done with her prayers, she gets up to make our morning black tea while I get ahead with my next morning ritual- that is my morning read.
Currently, I am reading the book, ‘Start with Why‘ which is my first book for March.
She comes and then we have our morning tea with ‘Murai’ which in English is called puffed rice while we’re each with our books.
I give my mother books to read every month and my mom diligently asks for the next book to read after she finishes each one. She mostly reads all the books that I read.
Currently, she is reading ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport though she’s finding it a bit hard to read.
She also just finished the book ‘Steal Like an Artist’ which she says she loved.
P.S 10 books that changed my life
We don’t talk much in the morning as we’re both engaged in our own morning rituals side by side- me in my chair and table and my mum in bed at my bed table.
Oh! but when we hear “HAY KRISHNAAAA!!!” which is a man who always calls Krishna’s name as if Krishna is actually somewhere hiding, we can’t help but giggle.
This he calls out for a good one hour. He calls out God’s name almost as if he’s shouting and going after him as if he did something wrong.
Slowly as the sun is up and everyone starts to rise, we start hearing all sorts of noise from all sorts of people, and it’s amusing and even though ordinary, still extraordinary.
Anyway, after her morning read, my mum too writes one page in her diary and reads out her affirmations which she has written on the front page of her diary.
She keeps her past 5 year’s diary and past 1-year’s diary close to her and every day she reads about what happened 5 years and 1 year earlier exactly that day.
So right now she has her diary from 2019 and her diary from 2023.
Somedays she finds something funny and then she shares it with me.
In 2019 our lives had already started to change. We were no longer like how we were earlier – unaware and living without intention.
We saw incredibly tough times together, but we were both firm believers that everything would work out in our favour and that only abundance was in store.
Slowly and eventually it turned out that way. And here we are now.
Anyway after I read for 30-40 minutes in the morning, I then sit for writing till 9 am.
While I write, she exercises for a bit before me and I exercise after her (since we use the same yoga mat)
I exercise for 30-40 minutes after my writing session and after I finish with my workout, I always say some affirmations looking at myself in the mirror- words and affirmations that come naturally to me at the moment. I feel so energized after it.
I am also listening to this audio by Louis Hay – 101 Power Thoughts while I do my after-workout stretches for 5-6 minutes each day. Every day I start from where I ended the day before and this makes my day.
Then my mother brings me a bowl of fruits, porridge and half-boiled egg and that’s breakfast for us for most days.
After this, I sit for my morning prayer together with her and then I get ready for work.
For those of you who don’t know, I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology at a Government College in Kolkata and still not a full-time blogger.
I am glad my work schedule is convenient for me. Also, I stay extremely close to my work and I hardly take 15-20 minutes to get ready. And this is how I get some extra time in my morning routine.
But even after this, I have to wake up at 5 am and aim to wake up at 4 am again.
So this is mostly how we spend our mornings. These simple rituals are what help us set the tone for the day.
I would recommend everyone to start an intentional morning routine and give at least 1 hour to yourself every day.
P.S One hour doable morning routine
You don’t have to do a whole lot of things. Start waking up a little bit early to give a little bit of time to yourself before heading out for work or even if you stay at home.
If you stop scrolling your phone first thing after waking up and give even 30 minutes to a morning routine, it will make a huge difference.
It certainly made in ours.
P.S This was a part from my Mindful Monday Newsletter. If you liked what you read and want to receive my updates, join below. It would be wonderful to have you ❤️
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