Pink Furry Socks And A Slight Change of Perspective

Winter

When I first moved to Vancouver, I thought I was well-prepared. I had researched well, read a lot about the place and tried to learn everything I could about what to expect. There was one thing I hadn’t expected. The brutal winters.

Canadian winters are infamous and I knew Vancouver comparatively had mild weather. In fact, that was one of the reasons we had picked Vancouver. What I didn’t know was that they were probably worse. My first winter in the city I got a rude shock. Vancouver winters aren’t as cold but they are dull, dreary and grey. It rains almost constantly for months and for days on end there is no sun at all. The sky is a dull grey and the whole city looks lifeless.

For someone who comes from a tropical country, the hardest thing to cope with is the absence of sunlight. We tend to take the sun for granted and I never knew how difficult it can be to cope without it. I started noticing my moods were dependent on how sunny it was outside. I never knew there was such a thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder or Winter Depression but when I saw it all around me, I understood it is a real thing.

Since that first year, I’ve always dreaded Vancouver winters. I grumble a lot throughout the season, complain a lot and just barely manage to get through those difficult months. I hated the winters so much that I seriously looked into moving somewhere else.

It is fall here and winter is approaching very fast. The days are already grey and rainy. I realized I wasted too much of my time and effort complaining about something I could do nothing about. I can’t change the weather and right now I can’t escape to a sunny place for the winter. There was only one thing I could do. I went to the mall last weekend and bought myself a pair of ridiculously pink furry socks and a few other pairs that are equally cute to brighten up my mood.

I can’t escape the dreary days but I can put on the furry socks and be happy about how cozy and comfortable I am. I can’t make it any warmer but I can thank my lucky stars I don’t have to leave the comfort of my warm home. I can be thankful that I can stay indoors, have access to unlimited steaming cups of coffee and spend my time baking, painting, reading or writing instead of focusing on something I can’t control.

Isn’t it wonderful how much difference a slight change in perspective and a pair of pink furry socks can make?

The Lost Art of Imagination

Always Be A Dreamer

“…Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive–it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

 

Of the hundreds of books I’ve read over the years, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is my absolute favorite. I’ve read the book countless times over the years. When I couldn’t get enough of it, I bought a collector’s edition set of all eight books and I read them all once a year, if not more.

 

What I love about the book is the simple, good life people lived in the early 1900s as described in the book. What I love even more about the book is Anne’s imagination. She daydreams and weaves beautiful stories in her mind. The stories may never come true but nobody could rob her of the joy in imagining them.

 

As kids, we all have wonderful imagination. We thought up interesting stories, imagined what it would be like to be a grown up and our play time pretend games were always special. If we didn’t know the answer to a question, we would just think up an answer. The thought-up answer was always, without exception, more interesting than the actual answer.

 

For most kids, imagination is brought to a grinding halt in school. We were encouraged to stick to the facts, learn about a bunch of dry historic events and were punished for daydreaming in class. If we made up an interesting story about something we were called liars. Worse, we were called dreamers. As if being a dreamer is an insult rather than a quality to be proud of.

 

By the time we are adults, most of us have no imagination at all. The only thing we can see is what’s right in front of us and that’s all we think about. The ability to think beyond, imagine and then create a reality based on those imaginations is truly a lost art. We stick to boring facts, cling to them as if for life and never let go. We never imagine what it would be like if we could just let go of what we know and think about what it could be like.

 

Every time I wake up to see the snow silently falling upon a hushed, white world I pretend I’ve woken up to find I was the only person left on the planet. Overnight, everyone disappeared and it is up to me to find out what happened to them all. It might sound stupid but that’s what I do. I use my  imagination freely to think about countless what ifs’:

 

What if there are parallel universes and a “me” on every planet living out a different life on each of those planets?

 

What if I woke up tomorrow with a beautiful singing voice?

 

What if my whole life was actually a dream and I’d wake up tomorrow to find I have a completely different life?

 

What if I make an online friend, meet up with her at a cafe and find out she’s my doppelganger?

 

Our minds are wonderfully weird and amazingly entertaining if we give them a chance. A little imagination can make a boring day interesting and can open up doors to new ideas that could lead just about anywhere.

 

 

 

 

A Letter To My Sisters

Sisters

Dear C & M,

This morning I got all nostalgic and was thinking about all the fun we had as kids. I was thinking about how lazy C and I were even back then. Remember how we used to only hide when we played hide and seek? I remember how all our neighbors’ always had their doors open for us, all the excitement of festivals and the joy we found in all the little things.

M, I have a confession to make. You probably already know this but C and I both found you very irritating back then. We couldn’t do enough to get rid of you. We used to hide on the terrace with our packets of chips so we never had to share any with you. We were the older ones so we were a bit snobbish. We thought it was embarrassing to hang out with younger kids. But all of that changed once you grew up. All your rough edges wore off and you slowly became a graceful, feminine woman who was easier to love.

I know there were a few years when we lost touch. I know that was nobody’s fault but my own. All those years when I moved away for college and then for work, I was caught up in my own little world. I should’ve kept in touch and I didn’t. When I wanted to, both of you had moved away and had lives of your own. I always regretted thinking that maybe the bond we had wasn’t strong enough to survive the years and the distance. I’m glad I was wrong.

C and I haven’t yet been able to spend a lot of time together in the last few years but we’ve once again managed to regain a part of that relationship. When we text I often feel that time has dissolved and disintegrated. I feel all these years never happened and we’re once again back home, back to that time when everyday was an adventure and everything was all right with the world.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was how my relationship with M has evolved. While I always loved you, I have to be honest and tell you I never thought you and I would ever be this close. Those few months we spent together recently changed a lot of things in my life and I’m sure in yours too. You were there with your laughter and your advice, your senseless gossip and your wisdom. For the first time in my life, I truly understood you and you understood me.

I think the three of us are very lucky.  Very few people in the world have the kind of relationship that we have. One that can be picked up where we left it, one that can never be dulled by time or distance. I think we’re lucky because we can talk to each other about anything at all without the fear of judgment. We’re lucky because we can’t find peace until we share every little piece of news with each other first. I know this is for life and I promise to do everything I can to make sure nothing changes that.

Lots of love,

Priyanka