God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.
Voltaire
Like all good things, let’s start with a story.
The Story
On a planet called Earth there were beings called humans. They were born, they eventually died and what happened in between those two events was this thing called life.
Most humans went to school, then college, then got a job, maybe started a business or held a home together. There were leaders, politicians, homemakers, entrepreneurs, ceos, artists and many other such definitive identities adorned by these humans during their lifetime.
Every human had dreams. Some big, some little.
All humans felt heartache, grief, anxiety, loneliness, and other such emotions that were common to the human experience.
Many humans simply drifted through life and at the near end realized that they never really lived.
Few of these humans were privileged and wise enough to pause and ask the question – how do I want to live my life?
We don’t beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully – for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we’re born and the time he shows up.
Randy Pausch
These few lucky humans could see that big dreams were made from tiny little steps. They knew that their big dreams had to protect their little daily joys, not take away from it.
They knew that discipline was freedom, self trust was a superpower and how they spoke to themselves was a daily devotion to co-creating their higher selves. They knew that prayer was powerful in both situations – when they were flying high and also when they were on their knees.
They knew that human connection was a song to their soul, and boy did they love for their soul to sing! True pleasure, they knew, was not momentary but what stayed on long after the experience was over. They romanticized their days so their morning cup of coffee and their morning drive to work were both equally pleasurable because of how they painted the picture in their head.
No, they weren’t delusional. They were practical, because they knew they had a choice to decide how they wanted their days to pass, and these days would pass by anyways.
Of course they knew that life sometimes was tough and brutal and caused pain. That the world was often crazy and presented many battles that needed to be fought. And so they committed to letting go of the fight within themselves.
Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
Saint Augustine
And oh they knew how to play and have fun and create their own bliss no matter what the circumstance.
For they believed that savoring every little delight that life had to offer, was the only way to create a dream life.
These humans learnt the true art of joyful living, or joie de vivre as the French call it, which was simply the art of enjoying life. They delighted in simply living their life.
And so these humans lived well.
In living gratefully through lack, they moved towards abundance. In feeling every heartbreak, they moved towards healing. In embracing every challenge, they moved towards strength. In celebrating their failures they moved towards success. In letting their mistakes mold them not make (or break) them, they moved towards courage.
In rewriting every limiting story, they discovered their beautiful ‘after’ stories.
In living each day as a love letter to their future selves, they were slowly nurturing their health, growing their wealth, building their joy and creating their unique masterpiece of life. In being alive, engaging and dancing with the present they were slowly building their better futures.
Through all its contrasts, this way of living was beautiful. Just like life.
Other humans needed to live like this too, with a focus on lifestyle, experiences, and active engagement with life rather than a passive existence. Earth and all its earthlings would be a kinder, wiser place to be if only more humans would simply nurture their big dreams, enjoy the little delights of daily life, and live well.
And so, the story of Big Little Living began.
Dear reader,
I’m so glad this site found you.
I reckon you’re a human made of many dreams and contrasts learning how to take life with a pinch of salt (and maybe some Tequila)!
I envision that you’re learning to love both the rainbow and the rain, the snickers and the salad bar, the mirrors and the glass cabins, the canvas and the conference room, fate and faith…and the list goes on.
If this is you, and you’re working on yourself (for yourself), so you can live a better life and have a damn good time doing it, then you’ll feel right at home here.
Think of cozy nights around a warm fire exchanging stories of growth, inspiration and better living, with friendly companions on the same journey.
I hope, that this blog can become that space that you can turn to and return to, while you’re going through metamorphosis. Growing, but needing to love yourself as you are. Evolving, but also accepting all parts of you. Sometimes a conflicting journey, made so much easier with well travelled companions along the way. Welcome, to the adventure 🙂
The Blog
The ‘Stepping into Better’ category will help you improve yourself and your life , ‘Beautifully Human’ will help you feel less alone through the highs and lows of this human experience, and ‘All Things Awesome’ will help you explore little joys through travel stories, culture and cuisines, creative experiences, books and more.
The articles here are a blend of personal experiences as well as insights and wisdom from wonderful people that I’m privileged to know and meet. I hope they will empower, enlighten and entertain you as you get in touch with yourself and explore the co-existence of self-development and joyful living, as we all navigate “adulting while nurturing the child in us.”
I’ve always believed that
“One person’s recipe, could be someone else’s meal 🥙
One person’s music, could help someone feel 🎶
One person’s writing, could help someone heal ✍️
YOURS TRULY, KANIKA
Through these article, I hope to help you heal, feel or make yourself a meal 🙂
Think of me as your companion on your journey to better living, growth and discovery, your guide on the side, that friendly observer of people and habits, and the girl next door who shares with you learnings from the people she’s privileged to know and meet.
Let these stories walk with you and remember to take what works, leave what doesn’t and add what is uniquely your own!
I’m so happy that you’re here!
A Song
I’ll leave you with one of my all time favourite songs, Live is Life by Opus. The song embraces the beauty of life when everyone gets together and looks out for one another.
When we all give the power
We all give the best
Every minute of an hour
Don’t think about the rest
And you all get the power
You all get the best
When everyone gets everything
And every song everybody sings
And it’s life (na-na-na-na-na)
Welcome to the adventure!
Till the next one,
Much love,
Kanika
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