Random Musings 😏, Part-17
Soul Letter #52
Hello👋 folks, Shubham here.
I am back with another edition of Random Musings.
The Last Thing I Did Before Deleting Facebook
I don’t exactly remember when I deleted my Facebook account. Maybe it was in 2017 or 2018.
However, I clearly remember the last thing I did.
I spent an entire day noting the birthdays of my friends on my personal calendar.
Try making 150-200 manual entries, you will get a feel.
I assumed it was a waste of time because I was leaving FB, but my friends were still there. We are part of several WhatsApp groups, therefore if one person wishes I will come to know.
Here is the amusing part.
Often I am the first guy to wish in the groups.
Before the advent of social media, people kept diaries to mark birthdays and other occasions.
The fact that someone took the pain to keep track of your special moments spoke volumes.
However, we have grown complacent now. If someone isn’t on these platforms or removes their birthdate, people rarely know.
I am pretty sure if you change your birthdate on your Facebook or Instagram, you will receive wishes on the updated date.
Funny enough, last month, one of my former roommates reshared my old birthday photo, and people called to wish me.
I am glad now that I made a birthday calendar.
Bookshelf 📚
I completed The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey.
The book was a recommendation from my brother. It is a gem for any sports enthusiast.
How often do you admonish yourself while playing?
Every mishit or poor judgment is accompanied by taunts “I am not good enough” or “I should probably never play again”. There is no end to the negative self-chatter.
Gallwey has been playing top-level tennis since childhood. By playing and coaching he discovered the innner game.
According to him, there are two minds, Self 1 and Self 2.
Self 1 is the name given to the conscious ego-mind which likes to tell Self 2 (you and your potential) how to play. Self 1 loves to tyrannize Self 2.
It’s funny how well we do in warm-up matches instead of actual ones. This is because Self 1 doesn’t care about these futile matches and Self 2 is allowed to play freely.
Our Self 2 has incredible credentials. However, we play crucial matches under the influence of Self 1 instead of Self 2, and that deteriorates our game.
The book is more about mindfulness. Creating a healthy peaceful relationship between Self 1 and Self 2 will yield the best results.
Self 1 is like a parent who should trust the capabilities of the child Self 2. If the former keeps controlling the latter then Self 2 wouldn’t reach its true potential.
In a couple of chapters, the technical stuff of tennis is repetitive.
My favorite quote is,
The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.
Along with how to deal with the mind chattering Gallwey also talked about winning, losing, competitions, judgments, and other elements of sports.
As someone who adores winning, I loved Gallwey’s take on winning.
It’s around 134 pages, do give it a try.
Say Hi to My New Love 😍
I am not a man of cars or bikes. I love gadgets.
My most prized assets are Kindle and Fitbit. And recently I added a new member called Google Nest.
I am a big sucker for old photos. If you find me under the sheet alone at night with my smartphone, I will be probably reminiscing some old memories.
There isn’t a feeling of regret, but gratitude. It’s been a privilege to collect these amazing souvenirs.
A digital photo frame had been on my list for a while now, and I finally own one.
Throughout the day, my favorite images keep running in the background just like the photo frames of Hogwarts.
It’s soothing to come back home after a rough day and see familiar smiling faces from college trips, hostel days, or some family functions.
For a moment I am teleported back to those instants.
Adding to the digital photo frame feature, it can play music, YouTube, set reminders/alarms, fetch info from the internet, and also have a key feature of telling time.
A special thanks to a couple of friends who brought it from abroad (they stated their efforts shouldn’t go unnoticed. I would have been even more obliged had it been a gift. Well, it can still be).
The only con is you have to keep it connected to a power source.
Hope you enjoyed this edition.
Signing off for today :) Until next time, Houdoe! 🙋♂️
Previous Soul Letters 🗞
Gift me a digital photo frame😁