I do an exercise daily. It is called Morning Pages. It is a wonderful exercise I found in Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. The idea is that you write 3 pages every morning as soon as you wake up to let your subconscious flow into it. You can write whatever comes to your mind. To-do lists, your worries, your anxieties, your goals, your dreams, philosophical musings, anything. Whatever comes in those 3 pages, you write. Morning pages help me de-clutter most of my subconscious chatter. If not written, The chatter would go on for the whole day hindering my productivity. As a byproduct of writing morning pages, I get to use my fountain pens, inks, and papers. Morning Pages is a zen activity. It takes me 45 minutes to get those 3 pages written on paper. I write them as soon as I get up, even before brushing my teeth.

I was writing my morning pages, and I caught a thought. What is my idea of relaxing? For some people, it is coffee, for some it is lounging on a beach, or for some, it is freshness and music. The ways are many. My idea of relaxing is this – Driving on a low traffic road, for a whole day, morning to evening, with no destination in mind, with no plans in hand, all the worries and life – forgotten at home. I feel at peace. I have enjoyed so many trips like these. Like the new Samruddhi Highway, barren, deserted, boring, me at 100-110, not speeding, super slow. Truly, I feel at peace. The same taste I had when I was on the ECR from Chennai to Rameswaram. Same when we were traveling through Gujarat and Rajasthan.

So my idea of peace is not books, or workouts, or trivial things. It is driving on a barren deserted road. It may taste like a dark bitter espresso, but it has the most wonderful after-taste.

Peace.