gm-reflection

  If we ever want a softer future, maybe it starts in smaller places, not with policies, movements, or big ideas, but quietly, in the ways we relate to each other. Maybe it begins with noticing how easily we take from someone else’s life, even when we believe we’re giving. I started noticing this a few months ago. Someone who’s been helping me with many personal things -someone I trust - asked me to start tracking my daily routine. We had been talking about my habit of going to sleep late, and he seemed convinced he could help me manage my day better so I'd sleep earlier. His intention wasn’t just to observe but to improve, to guide me toward better habits. I know he meant well, but I felt a quiet pressure in his request. It wasn’t harsh, but it was steady. I felt it in my body before I understood it clearly. I didn’t want to comply. Initially, I didn’t question it; I just noticed the resistance. Still, out of respect, I tracked my routine for two days and sent it to him, even th...

I was talking to Tatai, my nephew, today. He is a PhD student at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune, India. He’s close to finalizing his thesis proposal and preparing to defend it. We were talking about his study pattern. For him, big ideas come easily, but the details are challenging to concentrate on. It’s a familiar place for me. Midway through, almost casually, he asked if he might have autism. I didn't respond immediately. I'm not a psychologist. Instead, I said something simpler: maybe what you're calling autism is just you. That shifted things. Soon we were discussing neurodivergence—not as a diagnosis, but as a way of acknowledging different ways of thinking. Tatai struggles with details unless they're clearly part of something bigger. He doesn’t fit the picture of someone who sits crunching numbers all day at a keyboard; neither do I. I'm the same way. Whether that's ADHD or something else wasn’t the point. The point was realizing that ...