Stories - Geet Vijayvergia

The Great Conjunction

Dec 27, 2020 | 6 comments

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On the 21st of this month, there was a rare Saturn Jupiter conjunction that happens once every 20 years. Why do I say rare if it happens every 20 years? That’s because it was the closest since 1623 and the closest observable since 1226! I didn’t know about all this, my cousin had called up to inform me about this. He was so excited while telling me all this, that even I got hyped up about the conjunction.

As I was waiting for the planets to align, I texted my friends telling them about the same. Two of them didn’t understand what I was saying. That was still fine. Another friend did understand what I was saying. He texted back saying that, “Where is it? I can’t see it, is it even there?”

I called him up to tell him about the direction where it could be seen and at what time. He responded, “I’m already in the southwest direction and there’s absolutely nothing here. You can see it, isn’t it? Why don’t you send a photo of it?” and there was a distinct sound of someone laughing in the background, probably one of his friends. I could send a photo, but I knew it was gonna come back asking for proof that it was Saturn and Jupiter, and not some random stars in the sky. A little upset, I left the conversation at that.

Maybe he was not able to see it. It could be cloudy at his place. It was a bit cloudy at my place too. But it doesn’t mean that if he can’t see it, neither can others.

This may not seem like something of much importance. And truthfully, it wasn’t. But the feeling of not being validated nagged at me. “Why was that?”, I asked myself. “Was it because my friend did not respond politely enough? Or, was it because he did not respond the way I wanted him to – with as much excitement as I was?

It could not be the former, because we talk to each other like that while lightheartedly bantering with each other. And that never hurt me before.

That’s when it became clear to me that I was upset because he didn’t respond like I expected him to. Somewhere deep down, I think I was looking to be validated. I was expecting that if I tell others about something I am excited about, they’ll be excited about it too. But that’s no law, is it?

I think all of us have been through this at one point or another. We’ve felt dismayed when whatever we are saying is not received the way we expected it to be. This causes us more anxiety and worry than what it’s actually worth.

The only way to escape this anxiety is spreading information, but not expecting it to be received in a certain way and being satisfied if it makes you happy. Don’t keep your satisfaction dependent on someone else’s validation.

Keep in mind, that the solution is not telling people anything at all.

If that happened, other people would not know about things they could potentially be very fond of – like I came to know about the conjunction because of my cousin.

So keep your enthusiasm for life high and expectations low 🙂

That’s what I had to say to you, the last time this year.

Wish you a belated Merry Christmas and a very Happy New year.

See you soon ❤️

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Perfection is Just a Result of Consistency

Dec 20, 2020 | 5 comments

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Hi

Honestly, I don’t have much today because I’ve considerably been busy. I know it’s no excuse but I’m me so I’m still gonna tell you, as well as myself, something.

You may not have reached your goal yet, but with consistent efforts you will be there. But mind you, consistency is the key word here.

Consistency is something that can never be emphasised enough I believe. Perfection is nothing but just consistent efforts compounded over time. Because when you are consistent you keep trying over and over again for a period of time. And in that repetition, you make tiny improvements that you won’t notice from one time to another, but that’ll be very noticeable if you compare the beginning witht the end.

It’s like a small child growing up. If you live with them, you’ll not know the day to day differences. But if you live away, and see them after a long time you’ll be like, “Ohhhh! You have grown up and changed so much.” (Basically the english version of ‘itna bada ho gya hai, jab pichli baar dekha tha toh itnu sa tha’)

My point here is just don’t stop because you aren’t getting results. Be patient. At least let your efforts get the time to flourish.

That being said, I know this wasn’t much or good but I am trying to be consistent. But the only crappy post is the one not written. So here I am. May edit this in the future to improve it.

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The Reward of a Good Attitude

Dec 13, 2020 | 8 comments

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The cravings for hot crispy french fries and burger can be strong on a relaxed Friday evening. Same thing happened to me.

I was done with my work for the day and wanted to just chill out and have something nice. Hence, burgers and french fries were ordered for everyone.

Pretty soon the doorbell rang and I dashed out to get the food.

Unpacking the warm packages, the order as well as the bill seemed a little short of what we ordered. Cross checking the order, we found out that the fries were missing 😢

My mum called the shop half mad and ready to ask for an explanation for the case of missing fries.

Upon asking, he told her that the french fries were finished and therefore could not be delivered.

My mother said, “At least inform the customer if a product is not in stock. The kids were expecting the fries.”

“So sorry mam, really sorry. What can I get delivered to you instead of the fries? Would spring rolls be fine?”

Covering the phone with one hand, mumma asked us if we wanted spring rolls and we nodded our heads enthusiastically.

“Fine, how much would that be?”

“Mam actually it’s 120 rupees, but you can give whatever you want. It’s about kids.”

After contemplating how much to pay for the spring rolls, we decided to give the full amount because it wouldn’t be right any other way to pay partially for it.

I went down to take the order and when I gave the delivery person the money, he refused to take it, saying that the shopkeeper had already told him not to take any money. After lots of convincing him, he took it.

After coming upstairs, we felt that the shopkeeper was such a nice person. He first of all accepted his mistake of not informing the customers about the order. Some shopkeepers on the other hand, don’t even recognise the fault on their part and this makes sure that a customer never buys anything from that shop again. He also tried to make amends as well as he could. The spring rolls cost him more than twice as much as the french fries but he was still ready to get them delivered for free of cost merely for customer satisfaction (which was surely achieved).

This is an excellent example of what a good attitude is and how it helps you. My mother had paid for the spring rolls just so that the shopkeeper could make a sale. And just because that person was polite, she did not want his loss. Her response probably would not have been the same towards someone else who spoke rudely and took no notice of their own mistakes. Plus it’s safe to say that we’ll order from the same shop in the future.

This gives a fair idea why one should have a good attitude in life. People are keen to form longer associations with other people who have good attitude. They want to be around such people. Also, people think about you, if you think about them; and I think this benefit tops the list of why we should have a great attitude towards people.

Magical Traits in People

Dec 6, 2020 | 6 comments

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You work very hard, don’t you? So let’s just give this week a break. Let’s steer away from the seriousness of our week and talk about something light. How about movies or books? Hope it works for you.

One of the universal fandoms which is loved by children and adults alike is the Harry Potter fandom. I have a feeling that almost one in every three people would agree and would have a big smile on their face right now.

However, there is another extension to the wizarding world (just in case you didn’t know), that is The Fantastic Beasts films and books. I have not dealt with them in a great detail but have seen the first movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was a combination of fun escapes and a matter of secrecy of the wizarding world. (Pardon me and correct me if I have, or will write something wrong. I haven’t been into Harry Potter for a long time).

However, my favorite part was the magical creatures themselves. Their distinct characteristics and traits that made them so different from each other, just like humans 🙂

Just look at Occamy.

It is a plumed, two-legged serpentine-bodied creature with wings that reached up to fifteen feet in height. The Occamy is extremely aggressive to anyone who approached it, and lives off of insects, rats, birds, and occasionally monkeys. It is extremely protective of its eggs, which are made of the most pure and soft silver. It is found in the Far East and India.

It’s turquoise skin and purple feathers are truly captivating. Apart from that, another one of its amazing traits is that it is choranaptyxic, meaning it grew or shrank in order to fit available space.

Isn’t it just astonishing how a creature can expand and shrink according to it’s environment?

It is pretty amazing, but slightly less than you think it is.

Because you have it too. Really you do. You aren’t much different than the occamy. Except that you don’t physically grow.

People, just like Occamies, adjust and adapt as per their requirement. You too can grow if you get the space to expand yourself. Or shrink if you are crammed into a small (mental) space.

What is there in your environment truly affects you.

But unlike Occamies, your environment does not dictate you. It’s the other way round. You can change the surroundings. You don’t have to shrink up.

You just have to make sure that you surround yourself with other people who want you to expand.

It’s your choice if you want to live among people, among surroundings that allow you to grow or make you shrink up.

Comment down below if you’re a potterhead too and if yes, who’s your favourite character.

One Step at a Time

Nov 29, 2020 | 1 comment

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There are times when some things feel too big to be completed. They seem like a mountain in front of you. They feel so overwhelming that it’s almost unimaginable to accomplish them.

You feel – where do I even start? How in the world will it even get completed? It’s so huge that I can’t even think of starting it.

And just because of that you tend to procrastinate it because you don’t want to confront it and look it in the eye.

This mountain could be something in your everyday life, like having tons of chores to do or having too much homework. Sometimes, even the issue of what to make for dinner may seem difficult to some (it does happen).

From what I’ve seen, every, and I literally mean every, person has experienced this situation at least once, and that is on the lower side. I have gone through it. In fact I go through it multiple times a month when I get a little too much homework or when I get a huge assignment that feels too difficult. Not kidding.

When we feel that an activity is too hefty to be done, we start to shy away from it. As a result, we avoid it and show resistance (reasons you can’t do it, if you wanna call it) to get it done.

The way out for such a case is simple. So simple that you might not take it seriously and fall again in the trap of things overwhelming you.

All you have to do is pay attention to the immediate next step. Just keep your focus on the next step. Only on the next step.

When you do that, your attention is not on the task, as a whole but on a part of the task. The next step gets your undivided attention which drastically improves your ability to perform it, since you’re now looking at a way smaller portion of work. The way forward becomes a short, clear path, rather than just haziness in a general direction. Plus, there’s less chance that you’ll get distracted because you only have to get done a small chunk.

You can put this is to practice literally everywhere you feel overwhelmed. You have too many assignments? Just choose one and stick to it. Too much syllabus? Pick a chapter and go with it. The thought of working out daily scares you? Just work out today, and think about tomorrow’s work out later on.

This is literally what I have done with my blog posts. I’ve written 34 posts (including this one) over a period of time. If someone tells me today that I have to write 500*34= 17,000 words, I’d start crying by the sheer stress because of being asked to write 17,000 words. It’s going to drive you insane to look at it as a whole. What I actually did was write only 500 words per week. That seems way more digestible and doable, that is why it is being done.

The main effort is to just divide things into smaller chunks and focus on the next step that is in front of you.

A Plate of Samosa for Your Mind

Nov 22, 2020 | 5 comments

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If you’ve ever noticed a crowded sweets and snacks shop, you will see that the shopkeeper doesn’t give a large quantity of samosas to any one person.

I also saw something like this happen recently. My uncle had gone to get samosas for our entire family. When he went to Kalu’s (because of course a halwai ki dukaan couldn’t get a more cliched name) to get 20 pieces, he got only 10 home. After coming, he told my grandmother that the shopkeeper wasn’t giving too many pieces to a single person. He was giving a few pieces to many people.

This didn’t exactly make sense to me. Because why does it that multiple customers are served instead of a few, if the money he’s getting remains the same.

My mumma then explained this to me, that it’s not always about the monetary value. In business, you also need to keep your customers satisfied. If he let some of his customers go empty handed, they could possibly buy from another shop and continue to do so in the future. This way he’ll be practically giving his customers to the other shop.

This tells us three things:

Sometimes it’s not only about the money you’re getting. You also need to check how you’re getting it. The shopkeeper would’ve got the same amount even if he sold all the samosas to a single person but that way he wouldn’t be able to satisfy his customers.
You need some foresight to keep your head up in the game. You need to pay attention to the consequences of your actions so that you play your next move accordingly.
You won’t get too many samosas no matter how much you try.

Comment down below and tell me if you like the covering more than the masala just like me.