Diwali

The festival of lights 💖

8 long months later, I am home now to celebrate the biggest festival in my country - Diwali. A festival that marks the victory of light over darkness, that brings families together, and that puts a festive spirit in the hearts and minds of those who celebrate it.

It also marks the beginning of a new year in the Hindu calendar. A new year - full of new beginnings and new milestones.

With a new year on the horizon, one can’t help but contemplate. In this contemplation, as I sit here in my bed in my parents’ home that kept me safe during the 2 years of COVID madness, I feel a deep sense of gratitude.

Gratitude that I am back here with my loved ones.

Gratitude for you, my reader - for giving my words and thoughts the valuable time of your day.

Gratitude for these festivities.

And finally, gratitude that we are all here in this moment. Back when this new decade started and brought its storms to us, many of us thought that the darkness of those storms would last forever. And yet, here we are - finding new ways to live our lives.

Light conquers darkness. Families come together. The festive spirit finds its way back to us.

It is with this gratitude that I wish you and your families a very Happy Diwali. May the light of this gratitude shine bright even in your darkest moments.

Alright, the poem begins in 3… 2… 1!

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Lights that glitter, lights that shine.
Lights that look so very fine.
Lights that glimmer, lights that glow.
High above, and down below.

Brightly gleaming, everywhere.
Festivities in the air.
This festival of lights is here,
it makes all darkness disappear.

They're talking to you, all these lights
as they flicker and shine.
"Go on," they say, "write for your life,
a new story divine."

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That’s it! This was edition no. 82 of Hello Universe, thanks for checking it out!

Check out Some Fun Stuff below. Today’s video recommendation is really close to my heart, and all the poetry fans of Hello Universe will specially enjoy it:

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Some Fun Stuff:

This is where I share something cool to read, something cool to listen to, and something cool to watch! The underlined words are links that you can click to visit the recommended content.

1. Check out “Meco”: If you’re a regular reader of Hello Universe, you are probably subbed to a lot of other newsletters as well. I know what that means - an inbox full of newsletter editions that you keep waiting to read. Enter Meco - an app that frees up your inbox and helps you read all your newsletters in one place.

I recently spoke with Sean, Meco’s cofounder. In this conversation he shared with me his vision for helping readers access the content of their interest in the most user-friendly, frictionless way possible.

I like Sean’s vision and thought it was important to highlight the good work him and team are doing with Meco. Give it a shot and let me know in the comments if you like the app!

2. Listen to “Eddie” by Red Hot Chili Peppers: You know how much I love RHCP. Their new album “Return of the Dream Canteen” is like a melodic treasure full of tasty treats. “Eddie” is my favorite song in the album so far, not least because it puts on full display the talents of everyone in the band. Listen now!

3. Watch this video about Attar’s “Conference of the Birds”: Fariduddin Attar was one of the foremost Sufi poets. The renowned poet Rumi cites him as one of his literary influences. Attar’s “Mantiq-al-tayr”, known in English as “Conference of the Birds”, is his most impactful creation. It has had a lasting influence on all of Sufi literature, and literature across the world at large.

This video by my favorite theological YT channel “Let’s Talk Religion” shares the essence of this legendary poem. Our host Filip from Sweden is a religious scholar. He shares with us a summary of the poem’s story, and some beautiful phrases which are deeply thought-provoking.

Check it out now!

That’s it for this week. See you next Tuesday!