Sattva: Issue 04
Don't hate food bloggers' grandmothers | Beat Sunday evening blues | How to listen well | The magic of the 2-minute rule
Sattva (सत्त्व) is a beautiful Sanskrit word that has many meanings—spirit, true essence, good sense, wisdom, quality of purity, energy, consciousness and mind, among other things.
Through this fortnightly newsletter, I want to bring to you all things good, which will make your life better. My focus will be on topics such as mindfulness, productivity, slow living and sustainability, accompanied by genuinely useful recommendations of products, books, music, links to read, and of course food and recipes. Through these, I hope to instil some Sattva in your life.
Why does everyone hate food bloggers’ grandmothers?
I won’t lie. Each time I see a viral tweet that reads “Keep your grandmother’s stories to yourself. Just give me the damn recipe”, I am vexed at the sheer entitlement of people who want free recipes but on their terms. They hate that bloggers write about the cultural and social context of the food that is being shared with them. For free. They have no inkling of things like SEO, which forces bloggers to create meaningful content that precedes a recipe. A lot of time and effort goes into cooking the dish, taking appealing photos, writing 300+ words and a recipe that works. Those who have a problem with reading the text or clicking on the “skip to recipe” button that most blogs have, should simply buy cookbooks and not trawl the internet for free recipes.
Why am I talking about this now? A couple of weeks ago, a few tech bros decided that “fixing” recipes on blogs would make for a lucrative business model. Their website or app would strip off all the text, and therefore context as well as authorship, from food blogs and give the user solely the recipe. “Your favourite recipes except without the ads or life stories.” was the tagline with which Tom Redman proudly announced this new venture on Twitter. His tweet was met with much flak. Their website was taken down within a few hours, and the founders tweeted that they were going to regroup to “reexamine their impact”. You can read about this in detail here.
Beat the Sunday evening blues
Even though in the present times, we are at home all days of the week - be it working from home or schooling from home, the residual effect of Sunday evening blues remains. It is possibly hard-wired into our brains. Today (as I’m writing this part on a Sunday) I’m feeling it in its full-blown version. I was trying to recollect what helps me overcome the blues. Here are some of the things that help me.
Music, either singing or listening. Like Maria Popova of the brainpicker.com says, “Familiar, beloved music – much like habit or ritual – is a remarkably powerful creative grounding force”. Have that feel-good playlist ready for such times.
A cup of your favourite beverage like tea or coffee
Playing with a baby or a pet
Going for a run or a walk
Calling your siblings, parents or grandparents
I have written about these in detail on my blog. Do give it a read and share your own tips with me in the comments. Beat Sunday night blues with these 12 simple routines.
How to listen well
This is one thing I am working hard on. It is difficult to have a conversation with anyone who does not interrupt you within two seconds of speaking. In the era of Zoom and Google Meet, it is all the most stressful. At times, we are interrupted, and at other times, we interrupt.
Even if you are polite to not interrupt when someone is talking, in your mind, you have already interrupted them a dozen times with your thoughts. So are we really listening? This is not just you, I find this happening to me all the time. My lack of mindfulness in the conversation irritates me.
To be able to genuinely listen and absorb, there needs to be a certain stillness of the mind, without the rush to superficially grab the point and make our counterpoint. We must tell ourselves at the beginning of a conversation that we are going to listen with 100% attention. That we will focus only on the words uttered and not try to make any inferences or arrive at solutions. We must start making our points only when the entire conversation from the other side is over. This can be a challenge when the other party speaks non-stop and for a long time. Treat this as an exercise in patience. Like any other good habit, this one takes practise, and I am determined to cultivate it.
Read this Twitter thread by @shreyas on the art of listening.
The magic of the 2-minute rule
This is inspired by David Allen’s bestselling book Getting Things Done. If any chore will take 2 minutes or less, then do it right away. For example, putting away things from your desk after work, washing up dishes after dinner, filling up a bottle of water, sending a quick response to an email. Each of these chores takes less than 2 minutes, but all piled up to be done together can feel like a mountain of work. This rule stops us from pushing easy to do things for later, puts us on the track of taking action and getting things done.
Do this: Look around you or look at your to-do list. See what can be done within 2 minutes and do it right now. Now feel that sense of satisfaction and joy 😊
30 days of walking update
In my last newsletter, I had shared my 30 days of walking goal for March. We are over the halfway mark. I have missed two days during this time because I was feeling under weather one day and swamped with work the other day. The good part is, I did not wallow in the misses. I am feeling happy about the days I did manage to put a tick mark against my walking goal. Did any of you take this up? If yes, how is it going? Do keep me posted.
My book Everyday Superfoods is out tomorrow!! Do check it out on Amazon or in your local bookstore.
A resource for a zero-waste lifestyle
Every fortnight, I try to recommend a zero-waste tip or cleaning tip. This week, I want to recommend a book that not only contains such tips but will also show you how to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle. Bare Necessities, by Sahar Mansoor and Tim de Riddler will show you how certain products that we use in everyday life, from personal care and beauty to the kitchen, are harmful to us and the environment. The book also explains to us the alternatives we can switch to. Sahar runs a company by the same name that sells some of these products. Website: https://barenecessities.in/
I would love your feedback on the newsletter. If you like what you read, please share it with your family and friends. I am grateful for your help in reaching my newsletter to a wider audience. See you in two weeks time!
Nandita Iyer
Books: Everyday Superfoods | The Everyday Healthy Vegetarian
Blog: https://saffrontrail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/saffrontrail
Instagram: https://instagram.com/saffrontrail
Facebook: facebook.com/saffrontrail
This newsletter may contain affiliate links for some products. As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission if you purchase something by clicking on my link, at no extra cost to you. It helps support the newsletter.
None of the product mentions are sponsored unless explicitly mentioned. Thank you :)
Image credits:
Drinking Tea : https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4044838
Two Ladies in a conversation: https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-two-ladies-in-conversation-mughal-school-north-5781721
Delayed response, but don't know how I missed, felt so sad when reading the cutting down of cultural history, most of the times I try a recipe when it has a cultural heritage, I love yhe stories which is told , two minute rule was amazing . Will practice it. Loved the whole issue. I barely read other news letter. But I never miss your newsletter.they have something fresh always♥️♥️
Getting right into the 2 min rule, the newsletter is a delight dear Nandita!