Before the World Starts Demanding Things From You


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16 January 2026


There is a brief window each day when the world has not yet asked anything from you.
No replies. No explanations. No performance.
In that space, you are not a role. Not a responsibility. Just a person breathing, existing, unfinished.
Most people rush past this moment. They fill it with noise, headlines, messages, borrowed urgency. And then they wonder why the day feels heavy before it even begins.
But if you stay there a little longer — not thinking, not planning — something settles. The mind slows. The heart stops racing ahead of the body.
This is not discipline. This is mercy.
Life does not need you alert every second. It only needs you present when it matters.
And presence begins here, before the first demand is made.


Rajat Ch. Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam
India

I Didn’t Feel Like Talking Much Tonight


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15/01/2026


I didn’t feel like talking much tonight.
Not out of sadness — just fullness.
The day had said enough.
I listened.
Some evenings are meant for reduced sentences.
Fewer explanations.
Short answers that feel honest.
If you’re quiet tonight, let it be natural.
Silence doesn’t always mean distance.
Sometimes it means rest.
Tomorrow will find its words again.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

Djenné, Mali — A City Rebuilt Every Year


All rights reserved by the author — 15/01/2026


Djenné is a small town in Mali, West Africa, known for something unusual.
Its great mosque, made entirely of mud, is rebuilt every year.
Not by experts.
By the community.
Men, women, children — everyone participates.
It’s not restoration; it’s continuation.
Cracks appear with rain and time.
No one complains.
They return and fix it together.
People in Mali are proud of Djenné because it shows that heritage isn’t frozen.
It survives because people show up — again and again.
Some places stay alive by being rebuilt, not preserved.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

A Morning That Didn’t Promise Anything


All rights reserved by the author — 15/01/2026


This morning didn’t promise anything special.
No sense of victory. No warning either.
I noticed small things instead —
the way the kettle took longer than usual,
the sound of someone opening a gate outside.
Sometimes mornings are not about becoming better.
They’re about remaining available.
Available to work.
Available to listen.
Available to make small corrections as the day moves.
If today begins without excitement, don’t rush to fix it.
Some days are meant to be carried, not celebrated.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

The Day Is Allowed to End Like This


All rights reserved by the author — 14/01/2026


Nothing dramatic happened today.
And that’s not a complaint.
The evening arrived without asking for a summary.
Lights switched on.
Sounds slowed down.
Some days don’t need reflection or regret.
They just need to be put down gently.
If you’re tired but not unhappy, let that be enough.
Not every day has to justify itself.
Tonight is simply allowed to end like this.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil — Where the Desert Holds Water


All rights reserved by the author — 14/01/2026


In northeastern Brazil lies Lençóis Maranhenses, a place that confuses first-time visitors.
At a distance, it looks like a desert — endless white sand dunes.
But between them, during the rainy season, form clear freshwater lagoons.
Locals know this rhythm well.
They wait.
They return when the water comes back.
This landscape is not dramatic for effect.
It simply follows its cycle — dry, wet, dry again.
Brazilians are proud of Lençóis Maranhenses because it refuses to behave predictably.
It shows that even the harshest-looking places can carry life quietly.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

I Woke Up Before the Alarm Today


All rights reserved by the author — 14/01/2026


I woke up before the alarm today.
Not because I was energetic — just because sleep had finished its job.
The room was quiet in a way that felt earned.
No rush. No urgency.
I stayed there for a moment, not scrolling, not planning.
Just breathing and listening to nothing in particular.
Some mornings don’t need momentum.
They need permission to be slow.
If your day hasn’t begun with enthusiasm, that’s fine.
Starting gently is also a way of starting.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

Things I Didn’t Finish Today


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13/01/2026


There are things I didn’t finish today.
Messages left unanswered.
Thoughts left midway.
Earlier, that would bother me.
Tonight, it doesn’t.
Evenings have a way of softening unfinished edges.
They remind you that nothing truly ends at night — it only pauses.
If your day feels incomplete, don’t correct it now.
Let the evening hold it gently.
Tomorrow can pick it up again.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

Sumba, Indonesia — Where Time Still Walks Slowly


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13/01/2026


Sumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, far from crowded itineraries.
Here, houses rise with tall thatched roofs, built not for style but for living.
Villages follow ancestral rhythms — farming, weaving, tending animals.
People in Sumba don’t hurry conversations.
They sit.
They listen.
Traditional ceremonies still matter here, not as performance but as continuity.
The past hasn’t been packaged; it is practiced.
Sumba makes Indonesians proud because it refuses to rush into modern noise.
It proves that progress doesn’t always mean replacement.
Some places survive by slowing down — and Sumba does that with quiet confidence.


Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile

The Morning Didn’t Ask Me Anything


All rights reserved by the author — 13/01/2026


The morning didn’t ask me how I was feeling.
It just arrived.
The sky was there.
The sounds were familiar.
Time moved as it always does.
Some mornings don’t invite reflection.
They simply expect participation.
I didn’t search for meaning today.
I followed routine — brushing, walking, sitting quietly for a minute longer than usual.
There is comfort in mornings that don’t demand explanation.
They remind you that life continues even when you don’t narrate it.
If today begins without excitement, accept it.
Continuity itself is a kind of strength.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Instagram: @rajatchandrasarmah5
YouTube: Converse With A Smile