Vinter Metanoia

Edit - I know its been wayy over 11 August but the deadline is extended so we can still take actions. Cheers! On March 2020, the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change revised the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). In a situation we find ourselves in- a climate crisis- this might seem like a good move. ‘Revised’ usually and is supposed to mean ‘Improved” or the like. But this isn’t true. EIA 2020 is worse for the environment. 1.  Environmental clearance is something like a permit given to anyone undertaking activities that interfere with the natural environment, from a large hydroelectric power-station to something as close to home like, well, homes. It makes sense to start the construction work after getting the permit after weighing all the pros and cons, right? But according to EIA 2020, it is legal to start projects before receiving the environmental clearance. 2.    A public hearing to consider the opinions of the locals is important to weigh th...

Planning and organising can be a great boost to our productivity. They can help deal with our schedules in the ever-busy human world. Mostly, we plan things out when we focus on  getting stuff done . For others, it's a way of life.  Being spontaneous, on the other hand, deals with getting  stuff done . Spontaneity is very liberating provided we have developed our inner moral code to be set on default no matter what. Here's why letting the wind guide us is a great boost to our living: 1. Freedom. Being spontaneous is agreeing with our natural feeling without any external constraint . When we dance to our own beat, we feel free from all the chains binding us to what is expected of us. 2. No Overthinking or Anxiety. When living spontaneously, we don't think of what we've done and what we're going to do. We just do . We live for the moment. 3. No Opportunity Missed.  As we don't think about the circumstances before jumping onto something (and it won't be anythin...

We've all heard people willing to motivate us say things like, "do whatever it is that makes you the happiest" or, "find happiness in everything you do." In the world where simple sorrows and hardships are glamorised to be taken way too seriously than how they need to be taken, is it implying that all of us must aim towards the ultimate goal of reaching happiness? Is this the ultimate goal? What is happiness? There have been many philosophies trying to define this word, and all agree it is way more than meets the pages.  Psychology Today , "Happiness is an electrifying and elusive state. Philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and even economists have long sought to define it. And since the 1990s, a whole branch of psychology—positive  psychology—has been dedicated to pinning it down." Positive Psychology ,   "Happiness is often known by another name in positive psychology research: subjective well-being, or SWB. Some believe happiness is one of...

Homo sapiens  have the privilege of bearing the weight of the most developed brain in all of evolution's story. But we keep using this perk of ours in ways that are anti-intelligent. Here's what humans have done as an effect of nurturing the myth that they are the most important things ever. 1. Environmental destruction.  The most pressing problem today is climate change. But are we going anywhere near solving this problem? It's one of those problems whose solutions are out there in the open but we've closed our minds into believing that it's impossible to find a cure just because the cure requires us to redesign huge parts of our lifestyle. 2. Speciesism. Not many practically are willing to accept that humans are also animals. The only time they do, they probably are in a conversation with scientific grounds. Just because humans have the most evolved brain does not mean we are less animal. With the same logic, it can be said that blue whales are the largest animals...

Humans have done so much with the motive of "leaving behind their marks on Earth." One of them is the introduction and application of the concept of "countries" and therefore, borders . I remember those few moments of silence while the term "CAA" was mentioned. Not the guilty silence, but the silence fuelled with ignorance.  What is a country ? According to Wikipedia, " The term  country  refers to a political state or nation or its territory." Why countries? - Humans have evolved as tribes with self-sufficient, complacent, and competitive lifestyles. This instinct holds true even now despite many being disconnected from this system. -Humans have used their most evolved brains to tie themselves to labels depending on race, religion, creed, and whatever else that has no basis to be factors of separation. Why I feel the concept of "countries" is facing its worst now (administrative units are better). Hatred. Stereotypes. Insensitivity. Wa...

Vin is my nickname and this makes me pronounce the word "winter" as it would sound with a "V." Also, winter is my favourite season as the chills promise a new start. It's a season of death. But death is not a bad thing at all. Death shouldn't be a taboo. It's just a change.  Winter is a season of change.  "Metanoia" also relates to change. Winter in the heart is metanoia. (It also rhymes with my name, though. But that's not the only reason) Guess I'm just very metathesiophilic. Change is a positive thing. The sense of vulnerability we feel when thinking that nothing is permanent is not limiting but freeing. It's like walking barefoot in grass knowing that the blades of grass are going to be stepped upon. It's feeling responsible and yet feeling free.  Follow me if you'd like to read more !! 

I knew I had to stop overthinking stuff happening in my life. So to compensate for all my extra thoughts, I almost totally stopped thinking. However close I could come to not thinking, anyways. And the experience was gooooooooood. Here's what I learned when I switched overthinking to underthinking unknowingly. 1. The impermanence of everything.  To stop overthinking, for me, is to not think about something that happened long ago. The incident then only exists to haunt us. But we don't have to as nothing is permanent. 2. Creativity outlets start to leak freely. Using art as an outlet is very relieving. Poetry, doodling, calligraphy, and zentangling were the outlets that I chose. They not only calm you but also lets you know more about yourself and the situation. You feel the situation instead of only thinking about it. 3. Feeling connected to our surroundings. When thinking, we draw lines and boundaries and restrict ourselves to whatever we've been made to believe all our li...

Religion is equivalent to a moral compass for many. For some, it's an identity. But there are some toxic parts of present religious institutions that could pull oneself or a community down while maintaining the illusion of "enlightenment." Many religious people know what to take from the religion of their choice and use it as a guidebook. But sometimes most people only take the concrete part of religion and follow practices that almost no moral guide would recommend.  Here are the reasons why I think that present religious institutions could make you a worse person than what you might think you are becoming . 1. Be good as it benefits you. Religions preach moral values and the society would benefit if everyone lived with empathy. But most religions place a reward for doing good deeds. It could be an afterlife or a next life. Being good only because you want to enjoy the serene fields of heaven or not end up resurrecting as a cockroach in your next life just makes empty pa...