~ Growth Is A Silent, Invisible Thing ~ . Growth Is A Quiet Affair;  a Day-to-day Phenomenon. . Growth

~ ‘Little House In The Forest’ Showed Me The Joys Of Mindful Living ~

I feel K-Variety shows have a way to help you tap into your Zen. My encounter with them has made me fall in love with how positive, uplifting and fun they can be.

'Little House In The Forest' is a special one among the litter. I received the link for the first episode from my friend who'd just stumbled upon the show and was already head over heels for it.

I won't lie, she had very good reasons to be.

What the show is about:

The central theme of the show is around how simple, mindful living can actually boost people's happiness.

We have 2 celebrity subjects in the show: 1) Subject A: Park Shin Hye 2) Subject B: So Ji Sub

The subjects are brought to individual cabins, set in different parts of a forested area and they are given various tasks through the days. These tasks are actual experiments in helping them discover happiness and calm in the everyday.

Our celebrity subjects are then required to do these tasks and share their honest experiences on how effective these experiences were for their overall well-being.

The tasks are simple yet really soothing to watch, but what makes the show fun is the distinct personalities of the celebrities.

The Guests:

Subject A, Park Shin Hye is cheerful, likes playing music when she's cooking, loves to eat and is a thorough maximalist (her weekly pantry that she gets from the city is proof of this).

USP: Park Shin Hye's attention to food is superb to watch. She thoughtfully plans her meals and ravishes them with respect and contentment. She cooks up the coolest menus and is quite proud of her flavors.

Subject B, Ji-Sub is a quick contrast to Shin Hye. He's quiet, unintentionally funny, likes to eat but isn't ballistic about it and needs very little to live well (his luggage i.e. a medium sized rucksack is proof that he's probably a modern day monk in hiding).

USP: Ji Sub surprises you with his sensitivity to things. At first, I did confuse his introverted personality for aloofness but he's brilliantly creative. He has this knack of building things out of thin air, such as a simple towel rack, a footstool and my favorite, a hammock.

I love him more because ramen is his favorite meal in the whole world (*take all the brownie points*)

We also have some random cuties who appear on the show. One of them is Bong, the cloud-white dog who will only follow human orders if there's food involved in the bargain. He's shamelessly selfish and won't chill around with the guests even when they ask him to stay for company. He likes sunny, windy days while sitting in grass and is also quite fond of flowers.

Side note: He has a hilarious first encounter with Ji-Sub where the two of them take offense and depart with sorry disappointment.

Then there are the cows. Yes, cows. These creatures of the nearby forests wander into the meadows that surround our guests' cabins and they often take a liking towards the camera.

However, when our guests get friendly with them, they find themselves and their homes surrounded by an entire herd that refuses to leave (oops).

And last but not the least, the narrator that comes in with a calming synopsis of the tasks, explains their meanings and pulls you in to try them as well.

The Tasks:

I especially enjoyed the experiments of happiness our celebrities received. A few of my favorites among them were:

1. Decorating a part of the cabin with your own unique art: Shin Hye painted a flower meadow around her window ❤

2. Taking 3 hours to prep, cook and enjoy lunch: Ji-Sub had a slow, barbeque style meal outdoors and enjoyed it with the surrounding mountains and clouds.

3. Capturing the colors of the rainbow through photographs of objects around them: The two of them traveling through the surrounding woods to notice flowers, dew drops and streams to capture these colors is very beautiful to watch.

4. Building a little something for the cabin as a goodbye gift: I loved Shin Hye making a cute bird nest outside hers for creatures to come and give the cabin company in her absence.

5. Turning off your smartphone post 6 p.m.: Ji-Sub was a stud as had switched his off from the morning itself (lol) while Shin Hye almost had a panic attack without hers for the evening. 

6. Going for a solo picnic.

There were a total of 44-46 tasks that the guests performed and there were glimpses of the omitted ones in the last episode (the director's cut).

What I Liked:

1. I loved the theme of the show in itself. It is positive, nourishing and very beautiful to see simple living in action.🌼 2. The celebrity guests, who with their contrasting personalities make the tasks so much more fun to watch. 🌼 3. Bong the doggo.🌼 4. The various happiness tasks that can be done even when if you're living in a city. 🌼 5. The resourceful nature of Ji-Sub who lives calmly even when he spends a winter night without electricity. 🌼 6. Shin-Hye's meal combos and her manner of eating. 🌼 7. The beautiful, simple and well-structured cabins in the woods. 🌼 8. The woods. 🌼

What I Didn't Like:

1. I feel they could have shown more tasks rather than just the select few.

My Learnings:

1. Happiness is not faraway. It is right here.

This is the biggest message that the show gives out. It displays how happiness is day to day affair and how we can welcome it where we are, without needing to head off to a cabin to look for it.

2. Who you are is enough and you deserve rest.

Both our celeb guests warm up to the idea of rest which for them, is such a stark contrast given their hectic lifestyles. I love Ji-Sub's evolution through the show: how he slowly gets more comfortable showing who he is onscreen, sheds off much of his shyness yet is naturally himself.

3. Listening to yourself requires you to sit down with yourself first.

If you really want to get in touch with your feelings, you have to let go of the mental clutter of thoughts and sit down with yourself. Letting go of excess to focus on what's important enhances your time and gives it an enriching, peaceful quality.

My last thoughts: 

This is a BEAUTIFUL show. One that deserves your time and one that is perfect if you want a feel-good watch. It adds value and purpose and helps you make better choices to live more fully.💕

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Image Credits: 1 - burnsocial.com | 9: Channel Korea |

“Y’all treat 30 like our lives will be over by then. 30 is extremely young. Some people just start new dreams in their 30s. Most are finally figuring out how to live fully in their 30s. Our 20s are not the peak. Not even close.” - Kaya Nova

“It’s okay if every weekend doesn’t lead to big moments and campfires and laughter that carries on for hours and hours. Some weekends maybe quiet, still, with plenty of room to contemplate. And in that contemplation, there is room to grow. So hold those weekends dear. Don’t see them as less or as threats to the more exciting times. There is beauty and truth even in the seemingly mundane.” - Morgan Harper Nichols

I may not have the wisest words to say but I do want to spread love. That’s the guttural calling I cannot ignore, despite the days when a safe, known life feels easy. 

I do not know what adventure awaits but I can already feel the stirrings of something beginning. Something warm, something exciting, something to make me smile from the inside.

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Sometimes, the easiest way out is to cave in to what your heart already knows but what your mind is too afraid to take a leap for. 

Today, more than ever, may we take that leap. 🌸

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©anvidoshi

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Image 1: @duxuebing 

It’s the middle of a working Tuesday and here I am, sharing a little love note from the beautiful Japanese (YouTube) series ‘Kitchen for Singles (2019)’. 🌸

Hope it makes your heart warm.

~ Meguru and Yori constantly inspire each other to be better people. Even though Meguru feels like the wiser one, Yori has a quiet strength to her.  She may not speak her musings out loud, but her actions display her experience and wisdom consistently. I find her a reliable anchor in the relationship she shares with Meguru--- someone he can share and learn from at the same time.~🌞

‘Hotel Del Luna’ Showed Me That Sometimes, You Get To Choose Who You Call ‘Family’

I wasn't ready to see IU on screen. I wasn't ready for that killer walk in a purple high-slight gown with a rifle in hand. I wasn't ready either for a drama world filled with magic, humor and sass. But it happened and there I already adding 'Hotel Del Luna' to my 're-watch' and 'favorites' lists.

The Story:

The story commences with Jang Man Wol, a 1000-year-old woman for whom the flow of time has stopped. As a manager of 'Hotel Del Luna' (a pit-stop for souls to rest and move on from the earthly realm to afterlife), Man Wol is snooty, obsessed with money, high-end fashion and the latest cars.

In comes Koo Chan Sung, a Forbes-listed hotelier who's bound by a curse to work for Del Luna and hence, he comes to be the 99th caretaker (private secretary) of Jang Man Wol.

We now enter the world of spirits and their stories that deal with our deep attachment to the past, need for revenge, the beauty of letting go and the very scientific bearings of karma. These are wonderfully conveyed in the drama through humor, sensitivity and wisdom.

The hotel staff consists of 3 primary ghosts: Kim Sun Bi, a misunderstood Joseon scholar with a tainted name, Choi Seo Hee, a wronged mother seeking vengeance and Ji Hyun Joong, a brother who is waiting to step into the afterlife with his still-living baby sister.

What I loved:

~ Man Wol's potty mouth + impeccable wardrobe + kind heart 🎃 ~ Beautiful stories of spirits' healing  🎃 ~ The bubbly deity Ma Go Shin and the superbly deadpan Grim Reaper Sa Shin 🎃 ~ The interplay between past and present of each character's story 🎃 ~ Korean mythology and magic 🎃 ~ Man Wol & Goo Chan Sung's love 🎃

Learnings:

1. "Do not judge a book by its cover."

The saying particularly fits Man Wol's character which on the surface, seems selfish and self-centered but actually houses a lot of compassion and justice within. With every episode, through Koo Chan Sung, we come across various layers of Man Wol's personality which seem otherwise absent. This taught me to look beyond what I perceive people to be and allow myself the chance to really know them.

2. Choosing what's best for the one you love is an act of deep courage.

This is my favorite part of Man Wol and Koo Chan Sung's connection. They choose what is the best for the person they love and help them bloom into the best versions of who they are. While it seems like the obvious thing to do, it is far from easy but this is exactly why true love is termed 'selfless'.

3. And while you're here, live. Do not simply exist.  Time and time again, whether it is through the stories of the ghosts or through Man Wol, I learned the power of living each day to the fullest. Which includes lots of laughter, walking your own path, ticking of that wish-list of dreams and loving people deeply.

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GIF Credits: | GIF 1: Quora | GIF 2: @foriu​ | GIF 4: J’Marei, Soompi | GIF 5:  Shine Smile | GIF 6: Bir Otakunun Dunyasi | GIF 7: Tumblr | GIF 8: Aghasewatchtv | GIF 9: Giphy | GIF 10: El Blog de Wendy

~ You must create a habit to make time for things that nourish your soul ~ 🌼

~ I want to hug Japanese dramas because they enliven my heart like flowers in spring. ~ 🌸

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Some more beautiful wisdom from ‘Kitchen for Singles’ 🌸