That Which Matters
Ephemeral thoughts on eternal ideas
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Origin of TWM
Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least. Johann Wolfgang van Goethe The above quote from Goethe was the first of three triggers that inspired me to begin this blog. I came across these words during a time when I was just emerging from a dark phase of […]
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Yes to Life (Again!)
I was reading last year’s Jan 1 post – it left me wondering how much did I accomplish over the year, what has changed, and what I would write about at the start of this new one. Well, I had written about living intentionally, and I managed to do that more or less over the […]
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Mazaa Aa Gaya
A few weeks ago, a friend pointed me towards Coke Studio Pakistan, and I absolutely loved the songs I found on the channel. One thing led to another, until I found myself listening to the inimitable Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Amongst his many gems, this song in particular – Mere Rashke Qamar (“Envy of […]
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Life, the Universe and Everything
What a title for a book! And what a fantastic answer to that excellent question: 42! This morning I will change that answer to ’52’, because well, it is my birthday! Birthdays have always been a mixed bag of emotions for me. The very first one I had, literally the day I was born – […]
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The Bricklayer’s Song
I stumbled across this delightful song when my mother was diagnosed with cancer (again) and I needed time off to take care of her. I wrote to my then-boss asking her to reassign some of my responsibilities, and her response was a single word: Rubbish! As you might imagine, I felt hurt by her response, […]
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Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
One of my all-time favourite movies is Matrix. It simply blew my mind when I watched it the first time, and it was as much fun when I rewatched it for the umpteenth time a few days ago. If you have not watched it, please go do that right away, because there might be a […]
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Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water
As we go through life, eyes trained on the next goal or accomplishment, could we create space in our busyness to be a bridge over troubled water, for just one other person, animal, or tree? Featured Image: Photo by Tonia Kraakman on Unsplash
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The Life of Chuck
I had mentioned two months ago that I was excited to write this one. I had all the time in the world over the summer to tap into that excitement and to write about it, but I didn’t. The summer went by, and the excitement with it; it passed quicker than I had hoped for, […]
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From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
This book was one of my three inspirations to start That Which Matters in Jan 2023. For a while, I had been reading Arthur C. Brooks’ happiness column in The Atlantic and then I chanced upon his book: He talks about the inevitable decline in our professional lives by middle age, and suggests that the […]
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The Artist’s Way – A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
This is the second time I have picked up this remarkable course on self-discovery. I last did it in 2021, when I bought it as a New Year’s gift to myself. On the first page, I had then written: Dear Arvind, I wish this book unlocks the artist in you. I had worked through the […]
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The Buddha in Daily Life
Alright, I am finally here on this topic. I had created a placeholder for this post but never got around to writing it. I kept putting it off for some reason, not sure why. There were other things I wanted to write about in the meantime: There might have been some other reason for not […]