Last month, I took a skillshare class by @mariandrew, which talked about many interesting ways of discovering yourself and your values in this world where external stimulation is extensive. She talks about building a life that is creative by exploring the vastness of our minds through art. 

An interesting concept that I came across in the course is called “An Observation Heart”. You basically have to draw a heart (your heart) for any season or time of the year, and divide it into sections reflecting on how you felt in that season of your life. 

I decided to make one myself. It’s called “My October Heart”. I want to share it in today’s newsletter, hoping that it encourages you to slow down and reflect on some important seasons of your life every once in a while. Through this, I also want to ask you to consider being a little more welcoming towards your feelings and understand how they impact your life experiences. 

Here’s a snapshot of My October Heart. 

Before you judge: Even though I don’t consider myself an artsy person, I find art to be one of the best ways to express complex things that can’t always be put into words. :)

Some introspection allowed me to understand why my October Heart looks the way it looks..

Over-joyous wanderers returning from far-off lands

Most people in their early 20s leave their hometowns and step into the real world: an ocean where life seems easy when you learn how to swim, but there are frequent storms, with waves higher than you were prepared to swim through.  

This month, however, is the time when these wanderers finally swim back to the shore, where they dreamed of learning to swim for the first time. 

There is familiarity. 

There is love. 

There is home! 

“Festive” smell in the air

The best way I’d describe it is this:

Home (where air pollution is an unwanted guest) + celebration + musky-sweet smell of the leaves.

Constant race with time as days feel like SECONDS!!

Last month I particularly struggled with productivity, as the weather initiated its slow transition into winter. Sometimes I started and ended my day trying to strike just one item off my to-do list. Definitely, a situation that left me feeling confused. 

Warning: sinusitis triggers all around

Excess pollution in the air!!

A never-ending loop of reflecting on the past and hoping for future

October is the month when most of the year has passed, and we are inching closer to the new year, a fresh start. I find this time to be extremely odd as I struggle with just being in the present. My mind’s full of complex thoughts like the following

“What is the most important thing I learned this year?”

“I started with a list of new year's resolutions, where did those go?”

“How can I make the most of the remaining couple months of this year?”

“How can I make the next year better?”

Inclination to things that feel 'Cozy'

Hot coffee, light full sleeves sweaters, warm yellow fairy lights, roads half-covered with shade from trees and half with sunlight, comfort movies, spring cleaning, cute indoor cafes. 

What does your October Heart look like?