I discovered Mari Andrew through Adam Grant, who calls her his favourite Instagram poet and her books and the things she posts have been a breath of fresh air both in terms of how she looks at life, the journey it takes us on as well as what happens inside us and our minds and how we can deal with it.

I was reading an excerpt from her latest book, "My Inner Sky" ( I can't wait for it to be delivered to me later this month), and it spoke of something I think we all need as a concept. She talks of the difference between "Present thinking" and "Positive thinking" and why Present thinking might be what our mental health truly needs. Let me explain,

The last year and a half have been a rising and falling tide of emotions for the entire world. We've all been through this together yet in such varied different ways and states. In this difference, while things have gotten better in some places, others have gotten worse, while some lives have bounced back, some are still struggling with a deep sense of loss. And as the usual tropes of "Positivity" swept in around us from time to time, asking us to stay positive and that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter by the day, many of us struggled to embrace that emotion. That's where Mari's perspective on current thinking makes so much more sense.

She says that to stay resilient, she needed to embrace how she was feeling now rather than embrace positivity that wasn't in her vision set. To be honest with oneself and explore one's emotions leads to a sense of relief and allows for renewal to become a possibility. As she puts it

" Present thinking brought beauty and goodness into my life, whereas positive thinking just made me feel like I was choosing the wrong emotional state."

So, embrace how you feel at this present moment and allow yourself to feel and heal as you genuinely can.

Weekly recommendations

Kicking this week’s recommendations is a fabulous look back at the phenomenon that has been “Keeping up with the Kardashians”. A show that didn’t just change television & the concept of celebrity but pop culture and world culture in so many ways

READ 👉🏽 https://lat.ms/3wf7kvy

Next, a fascinating look at “Radical” Gardeners in NYC ( A phenomenon im told is prevalent in many cities in India as well)

And then i revisited one of my favourite episodes of the Tim Ferris show where he talks to Malcolm Gladwell ( arguably one of my all time favourite writers)

Shameless Self Plug

I spoke to Shashank Mehta the founder and CEO of “The Whole truth foods” on my fitness journey and how its helped me evolve.

and then i had a conversation that i can only describe as “All ♥️ “ with Rytasha Rathore on the Varun Duggi show

Catch you guys next week

✌🏽

Present thinking trumps Positive thinking + …

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