Summer is here and let’s make the most out of it till it lasts. From my previous post, another idea strucked – a veggie version infused water.
All you need are carrots, slices of green cucumber and one of my favourite and most flavourful herb – a few rosemary leaves. Add water and refrigerate. Green tea and a few drops of lemon can also be added if you wish.
Serve chilled & enjoy!
Today I turn 33 (Hoorray!) and I want to celebrate myself. I am not much of a party person with a crowd of friends. Today, I took the day off from work and I don’t mind spending the day doing house chores, reading one of my favourite books and watching an old movie on Netflix.
So how do you really celebrate yourself? It is simply by realising you exist on this day and you made it from the storm. Turn off all your distractions and negative emotions and give yourself a pat on the shoulder. Tell yourself there is more to come but you did it! Pat! Pat!
The journey you share with yourself is not comparable to the other relationships you share with other people. It is the most important one. It is like a shadow that never leaves you and it can be the most reliable one. The other relationships should not take precedence over this one.
Therefore, it is important to focus most of your energy on this one. It does not mean you have to be selfish. Don’t get me wrong. People are important too. But if you don’t work on yourself first, you will not be able to manage your relationship with others. For example, I have trouble trusting people because I think they can harm me. But I never figure out why is it so easy for me to get hurt. It could be because of my own insecurities.
So the purpose here is to work on yourself to make yourself a much stronger and a better person. And the first step is to acknowledge what you already have. You have to celebrate your accomplishments and this is what birthdays are for! So Happy Birthday!
I find cacti fascinating. They are tough plants with limited resources. They don’t have everything yet they flourish in the most austere place on earth. They bloom with flowers and produce fruit (Prickly pear/Indian fig), which are used mostly in Mexican cuisine and in some European cuisines.
The fruit of the saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) are preserved by boiling to produce syrup and by drying. The syrup can also be fermented to produce an alcoholic drink. The bodies of some cacti are prepared and eaten like potatoes in upland Bolivia.The cactus fruit has many other uses. It is used in dye production, cosmetics, water purification, herbal medicine, fodder and as ornamental plants.
In Arabic, the cactus is called صبار ṣubbār; the related term sabr also translates to “patience” or “tenacity”. The allusion is to a thorny, spiky skin on the outside, but a soft, sweet interior, suggesting, though the Israeli sabras are rough on the outside, they are sweet and sensitive once one gets to know them. The cactus is also a symbol of strength and endurance as it is a plant that can really stand up to the test of time and the elements. They are given as gifts when someone is going through a tough time. In some cultures, they are grown to ward away negativities.
Cacti are alien types of plants because of their frightful appearance. But they are great examples of the notion that appearances are deceptive.
I relate to the cactus. As a woman in today’s time, I don’t relate to a pretty, beautiful and fragile flower that is used for decoration and needs to be taken care of. Cacti are independent and self-sufficient. The face harsh surroundings and store their own nutrients. Cacti are not only moody people. They are beautiful.
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Be a Cactus!
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Life of a Cactus 