To view this newsletter in the browser, click here                 Issue #170       A newsletter from Creativegarh to help you live a life of passion, purpose and meaning.         When you stop searching for love, love sits within you.                     On a lazy Sunday morning, sinking into your favorite armchair, you decide to sit with yourself. You allow yourself to take a break from a season of achieving and step into a season that is only for breathing. You decide not to meet anyone today, but as you meet yourself, a doorbell rings in your depth.           Hope comes to pay you a visit. It settles down on the pouffe next to your heart and reminds you that better times lie ahead and that it will hold your hand, lead you, and uplift you - but only when you are ready to accept this very moment in its entirety.           Hope leaves you alone, and you shed a tear when you realize that patience is here. Sabr holds your hand and says that all beautiful things take time, but while you wait, can you also find the beauty in the present moment?           You thought it was going to be a quiet day, but quieter than anything, a blessing tiptoes into your room. You don't even notice it. But then, the blessing knows that it is rarely acknowledged or spoken about, and as quietly as it came, it doesn’t leave but stays in the room and becomes invisible.           And with a loud bang, burden walks into your den, as invisible as the blessing, but you notice it and allow it to sit on your chair, lap, shoulder, head, and chest.           While burden makes a home in your being, peace and calm saunter in to remind you that in all the chaos created by you, the only thing you should do is embrace calm. Calm melts into your arms, and peace leaves you with your new lover as it finds another room in you where chaos is about to settle in.           As you sink further into your chair, humility breaks your reverie, sits beside you on a couch, and whispers that you are not here to shrink yourself and become less, but to serve the universe and help others in need feel big.           And as humility turns to walk out, she bumps into confidence, who is here to remind you of your purpose, your you-ness, and all the gifts and talents you have been endowed with to help and serve others.           Kindness comes too, just to remind you to be more gentle and compassionate toward yourself, and to forgive yourself for the times you felt inadequate.           And finally, love comes to the door, gives you a tight hug, and permeates your being. From a very deep space within you, it tells you that it has made you its home and that you need not search for it outside of you or in others.                       You will suffer either way. So choose to suffer for something worthwhile.                     At some point in your life, something or the other sucks. Every experience in life will taste like shit. There is no life without pain - dukkha is inevitable. The question then is not if you’ll suffer, but what you’ll suffer for. If everything tastes like shit, which flavour of shit sandwich are you willing to eat? Pain may be inevitable, but suffering is a choice. And the happiest are those who give meaning to their suffering and learn the art of suffering well.           When you are at your lowest, and suffering has taken over your routine and sanity, run a self-enquiry and ask yourself this question: what am I willing to suffer for today? Pain is not the enemy, purposeless pain is.           Obsessed with comfort, convenience, and quick fixes, we are conditioned to avoid pain at all costs. In fact, we spend our entire lives not wanting the pain of anything, only to realise that the resistance to what is – to life and to pain only multiplies it.           We suffer then. We can either suffer from avoidance, stagnation, and mediocrity, or we can make a choice to make our suffering worthwhile – to suffer for growth, truth, and becoming who we are really meant to be.           Avoidance reinforces fear. The more you avoid discomfort, the more your brain labels it as danger. But when you choose the meaningful discomfort of discipline, honesty, vulnerability, or healing, your nervous system rewires. Pain then becomes a signal for growth, not a punishment. Avoided pain festers in the shadows, while embraced pain becomes wisdom.           Pain is the soul’s secret language to be heard. Motivated only to become whole and complete, pain is the only way the soft-spoken soul gets heard over the thunderous, booming cacophony of the mind and the ego. But the ego loves to turn the pain into suffering, for it gives it a story of survival to hold on to. Be conscious of the spiteful games of the ego. When you suffer consciously, with awareness and surrender, pain becomes the conduit for expansion.           The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The pain of truth or the pain of living a lie. The pain of saying goodbye or the pain of staying stuck. The pain of working out or the pain of neglecting your body. The pain of avoidance that shrinks you or the pain of purpose that expands you.           Every pain has a reason, and most of the time it is to nudge us towards our purpose. We become the advocate for what we overcome in our lives. And when you overcome pain and understand it, you walk the path of honouring your purpose. After all, the wound is also the womb of your becoming. And as Rumi said, the wound is where the light enters.           There is no life without pain. But there is a difference between meaningless pain and meaningful sacrifice. Purpose doesn’t remove suffering, it gives it a reason.             Our upcoming retreats                         Andretta Sold Out 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         Munnar Last 4 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 Last 5 Seats Left 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     Kasauli March 2023                         Experience a life full of purpose                     The purpose of my life is to bring joy and happiness to the lives of the underprivileged.   Mitul Doshi Kasauli, April 2023         The purpose of my life is to breathe new life into old clothes.   Ayushi Agarwal Kasauli, April 2023               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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