To view this newsletter in the browser, click here                 Issue #215       A newsletter from Creativegarh to help you live a life of passion, purpose and meaning.         Grow so quietly, even your ego doesn’t notice.                     We’ve always known that good ideas take time. Everything we create from a deep space of devotion needs to be held for a while, curated, nurtured, allowed to ripen at its own pace. There is a certain romance to this slowness, and somewhere in that long conversation between the maker and what is being made, something acquires soul.           And that is really how everything works in nature. Everyone hears a tree when it falls but no-one has ever heard a tree grow. No one applauds when a root pushes another inch through stubborn earth. There's no notification when a new leaf begins forming. No audience as the trunk quietly becomes stronger. For years almost everything important is happening and nobody can see it.           That's really how life also needs to unfold, far away from flash lights, away from documenting every tear with a reel, away from announcing every breakthrough in our healing journey. If you are building something, you don't have to announce it. If you are healing, you have to talk about it with a ‘Heal With Me’ series. If you have started running, Strava does not need to know. If you are meditating, the world doesn't need to know.           Life and healing happens in the privacy of our being. It happens on that morning when you chose not to react to something that would once have triggered you, and you are not waiting for everyone to clap. It happens when the boundary you finally learnt to draw didn’t make the news.           It happens when you spent thirty minutes writing when nobody was reading, the walk you took instead of giving up on your body, the apology you made, the forgiveness that took three years, the small promise to yourself that you finally kept. No standing ovation. No healing mehfil. No podcast appearance. No stories to be liked and shared.           One of the greatest signs of growth is that slowly, you stop needing anyone to notice it. There is a lovely kind of freedom in becoming without announcing your becoming. Maybe the highest form of peace is having no desire to be seen, validated or understood by anyone.           To no longer carry the exhausting responsibility of explaining yourself. To not need your goodness acknowledged, your growth recognised, your intentions understood or your choices approved. To know what is true inside you and let that be enough.           A tree doesn’t keep pulling its roots out of the earth to prove that it is growing. It simply keeps growing. And that's what inner work really is - not a new version of ourselves to display to the world.           We have spent so much of our lives using noise as evidence of significance. But some of the most significant things that will ever happen to us without anyone knowing.           Let people misunderstand your season. Let them underestimate what is happening beneath the surface. You don’t have to constantly dig yourself up to show everyone how beautifully your roots are developing. The noise isn't proof. The roots are.           Grow so quietly, even your ego doesn’t notice.                 There's wisdom in knowing when to not give wisdom.                     The wise should not unsettle the understanding of those who are attached to action. Instead, while acting with wisdom themselves, they should inspire others to act. ~ Bhagavad Gita 3.26           There is a certain temptation to be the first person to share something. We see a brilliant reel and immediately forward it to people. We discover a new idea and we bring it up at dinner. We hear a fascinating podcast, learn a new psychological term, stumble upon an obscure philosophy or discover a spiritual truth, and before we have even finished digesting it ourselves, we are already looking for someone to tell. Because somewhere, in being the first to share an idea, we get to own a tiny piece of it. There's a certain power in: I knew this before you did.           It makes us feel intelligent, informed, well-read, evolved, ahead of the curve. We become the person who discovers things, who knows things, who sends everyone the interesting stuff.           And then comes Krishna with an extraordinarily compassionate piece of advice. Just because you know something doesn’t mean the other person needs to know it right now. Wisdom is not merely knowing the truth. Wisdom is knowing when the truth needs to be spoken, how much of it needs to be spoken. Your greatest teaching is simply to live the truth. That's it. Not every argument needs to be addressed. Not every question needs to be answered. Not every discomfort needs a spiritual solution.           In this verse, he introduces a beautiful idea - buddhi-bheda - don’t disturb or shatter someone’s present understanding simply because you believe you know something they don’t. Meet people where they are.           If someone wants to make 10 crores, don’t tell them money is maya. Help them create value, build something meaningful and earn their abundance ethically.           If someone comes to meditation because they want their anxiety to disappear, don’t burden them with enlightenment. Let them find their ten minutes of peace first. Peace may become presence and then presence may lead them somewhere they never knew they wanted to go.           If your mother lights a diya every morning because she believes God will protect the family, perhaps you don’t need to explain non-duality to her. Let her light the diya. Maybe her devotion already knows something your philosophy is still trying to understand.           If someone is grieving, please don’t come saying that everything happens for a reason. Make tea, sit beside them, listen. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can offer another person is the absence of any form of spiritual advice.           And if someone is angry, don’t force forgiveness upon them because you have learnt to forgive. Chances are, at this moment, anger is the room they need to sit in before they discover the door out of it.           No, Krishna isn’t asking us to withhold wisdom. He is asking us to develop the wisdom to know when, how and how much of it to offer. Because people rarely transform because someone dismantled their beliefs in a brilliant argument. They transform because they encounter another way of being. They watch someone remain kind when they could have retaliated. Calm when they could have reacted. Generous when they could have hoarded. Humble when they could have taken the credit. They see something and quietly wonder, could I live like that too? Become an embodiment of your teaching and let them learn from how you live your life.           And when someone eventually comes to you and asks how you carry so much peace, perhaps then you can tell them what you have learned. Until then, simply carry the lamp.           If you have found the light, you don’t have to forcefully shine it into someone’s eyes. Walk beside them and let it quietly illuminate the road.             Our upcoming retreats                         Andretta Last 6 Seats Left 21st to 27th February     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     Bhimtal Registrations Open 14th to 20th March     Bhimtal offers a rare kind of Kumaoni serenity. This landscape creates the perfect setting for inner work, allowing reflection to unfold naturally.   More details     Reignite conversation     Kasauli Registrations Open 4th to 10th April     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 2024                         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:                         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. If you would not like to receive any more newsletters from us, please click here to unsubscribe.