To view this newsletter in the browser, click here                 Issue #162       A newsletter from Creativegarh to help you live a life of passion, purpose and meaning.         We become the stories we tell. Tell yours differently.                     One day, you find the weak-in-the-knees courage, the non-judgemental audience and the safe space to tell your story to the world. While letting one word roll over another, in a feeble, shaky voice, punctuated by tears and cuss words said in your mind, your story is complete. It’s been one hell of a ride. You added the drama, the narrative of victimhood, hid the parts of you that were the perpetrators, added more blunt edges to paint a hateful image of those who have hurt you, garnished it with some beliefs, leaving out the facts, added some spice of exaggeration and then there in the punchline of how you want to be saved. You expect a standing ovation but all you get is some self-pity, some tears, one nod of solidarity and one half-hearted hug. But the most intense reaction comes from within you, ‘how could this have happened to me?’           Life moves on. You get a chance to tell your story again. This time, the narrative is mellowed down, not peppered with expletives but a rather dull and tasteless story with some anger, some grief, some confusion, some hatred and a dash of victimhood, but not as pungent as before. The voice from inside comes back again, asking, ‘why me and what can I do?’           Then you tell your story again. This time, you sound like a broken record with dementia. You miss talking about the important parts, you forget the chapters that gave you grief, the sections on anger are replaced by apathy and an undercurrent of fear, as if the story itself is bored of being retold again and again. The voice inside says, ‘are we done yet, can we rewrite this now?’           And we are done in a way. The story, having been told so many times, holds no power over us anymore. But we are not willing to let go. It’s our safe space. Our narrative is frail and weakened, our story seems like an overwritten drama put together by an enthu cutlet who let her imagination smoke up and run amok, our characters seem out of sync and the screenplay is held together by lies. It’s a boring life, it’s a boring story, it’s a boring way ahead. It’s despair, gloom, it’s a dead end, there seems to be no way out.           That’s when the story, seeing itself being told off and not narrated anymore, takes the mic and speaks.           You can’t ever tell me wholly, she says, because you do not know me yet. And please don’t tell me as a lie, because the more you tell me as a belief and not a truth, I’ll never be your story, I’ll never be your friend. I am not done yet, I still have to be written more.           Till the time you don’t learn to heal and find wisdom from me, I’ll be your story of victimhood. But the day you choose to tell me as your healing journey, I’ll lead you to freedom. The day you are grateful for me being yours, I’ll lead you to awakening. The day you write the rest of me from a space of love, I’ll help you realise you. And the day you start thinking of me as your guru and guide, I’ll lead you to light.           We become the stories we tell. Tell yours differently.                 Life: The only kind of dying that keeps us alive.                     We are living in a transient universe. We are all temporary beings making permanent plans.           The whole universe is based on rhythms. It’s born, expands and then it closes and destructs to repeat the cycle again. The cycle of sarga, sthiti, pralay - creation, preservation and destruction - then becomes a state for everything and everyone in the universe. Every.           And it’s not that creation has to end for preservation to take charge, or preservation has to call it a day for destruction to start its shift. It’s all happening simultaneously at this very moment, like magic.           The cloud does not end being a cloud before it becomes rain. It keeps emptying itself of all the rain while being a cloud till it is no more a cloud. The rain doesn’t fall and then, only when every drop has fallen from the cloud, do they collectively decide to become the river. The rain becomes the river the moment it leaves the cloud. The river started becoming a cloud the moment the sun hits the river. Everything is dying, every moment. And the same thing is also coming alive and becoming something new at this very moment.           The tree is dying at this moment but it puts its aliveness into the world with its fruit and shade and being a home to hundreds of birds. The fruit from the tree is dying but it puts its seed into the world to bring it alive. The flower fallen from the tree is dying but it puts its aliveness with its fragrance into the world.           The tree doesn’t have to die to pour its tree-ness into the world. The dying of the rain keeps the tree alive. And the dying of the cloud keeps the rain in a state of aliveness and purpose. It’s all cyclic.           We humans are dying too. From the day we are born, we start our journey towards death. So while the tree and the fruit keep us alive, in our dyingness, we have the choice to bring our aliveness to the world with our poems, our music, our films, our art, our ideas, our stories, our ability to think and help, our books, our code, our designs. For as the poem dies, it lives on in someone whose life changed after reading it. The music will still bring alive an evening with friends. The story will become the go-to quote for someone’s life.           Come alive now instead of waiting for something in you to end before you start something new. Instead of waiting for all your problems to be solved before you choose to be happy. Instead of waiting for the next materialistic goal before you follow your dreams.             Our upcoming retreats                         Andretta Last 2 Seats Left 16th to 22nd November     To reconnect to your inner child at a beautiful hillside retreat with 14+ soulful individuals will make this a life-transforming experience. See you at Andretta!   More details     Reignite conversation     Munnar Last 6 Seats Left 7th to 13th December     Sitting amidst lush landscapes and misty mountains, Munnar offers the perfect backdrop for a retreat focused on self-discovery, growth and renewal of life purposes.   More details     Reignite conversation     Kasauli Registrations Open 4th to 10th January     The stunning vistas and holistic experiences at Kasauli create the perfect space for self-discovery and ensure this retreat is a transformative and unforgettable experience!   More details     Reignite conversation           This week, let's revisit     Athoor September 2023                         Experience a life full of purpose                     My purpose is to be a catalyst in shifting people's perspectives, to help them see the possible in the impossible.   Anitha Ranjit Munnar, October 2022         My purpose in life is to inspire creators.   Pravin Shekar Nainital, December 2021               For a daily dose of Creativegarh and our retreats, follow us here:                           Mantra Gold Coatings & The White Paper Creative         Sunita Somani         Pedal On               View Our Collabs for Joy                   creativegarh.com             You are receiving this newsletter because either you have subscribed to it through our website, interacted with us by filling an invite form or because you have asked us to put you on the database. 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