| Sunday, 02 November 2025 |
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Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
Dear reader, good morning! Do you know about the Japanese concept of “Shinrin-yoku”? I inadvertently indulged in it a few Sundays ago.
It was the Sunday before the Deepavali weekend. I was sitting in our east-facing balcony with the newspaper. I could see the clear, piercing blue skies so characteristic of Bengaluru winters. Yellow, brown, and tiger-striped butterflies were fluttering around the bright foliage, backlit by the sun’s rays filtering through the dappled branches of the water apple tree in our backyard. For some reason, the white butterflies were the only ones dive-bombing. They’d first ride up effortlessly with the currents, then tailspin down at high speeds, spiralling like the paper propellers we used to make as kids in school. They’d pull back a few feet before hitting the ground, and then soar up again. There were lots of dragonflies, too. Overhead, a kite soared lazily, perhaps searching for a meal or maybe just admiring the luridly red flowers of a Flame of the Forest like I was.
I could feel a gentle breeze on my face and skin. I could hear birds chirping all around (the three most common ones I’ve seen are the Cuckoo, Oriental Magpie Robin, and Bulbul). I could smell the freshly laundered set of sheets drying on a nearby stand. It was a multisensorial experience. A “nature bath”.
Which is what “Shinrin-yoku” is. It was magical. The same things that have always been around me, just connected together differently—almost like a different reality.
And that is what I want to talk about today.
Here’s everything we have for you in First Principles this week:
1. Reframing your reality
2. Pick of the Month 📚
3. Peek-a-boo 📸
1. Reframing your reality
How many times a month, or even a week, do you find yourself on the defensive inside your own head, against your own thoughts? “Too many to keep count” is my answer. Here are just a few from recently:
– “Your inbox has unread emails from three weeks ago. When are you going to get to them?”
– “The new project at work should have started last month. When will you get to it?”
– “There are so many unread books on your table. When are you going to read them?”
– “The pipeline for your podcasts is virtually non-existent. Are you planning to not have one at all?
– “Your injury is taking too long to heal. Are you sure you want to continue working out and risk making it worse?”
– “By now, you should have interviewed and hired all the critical people for the next year. Will you even be able to do it this year?”
What do they all have in common?
I enjoy reading The Ken because it is informative, the articles are well researched, well written, without the spin and bias. I admire The Ken team for their dedication to getting closer to the true picture.
Hari Buggana
Chairman and MD, InvAscent
Transparent, Honest, Detailed. To me, The Ken has been this since the day I subscribed to them. The research that they put into each story and the way it is presented is thoroughly interesting. Personally, I’ve always had a great time interacting with the publication and reading the stories.
Harshil Mathur
CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay
The Ken has proven naysayers wrong by successfully running a digital news publication on a pure-subscription business model in India. They have shown that discerning readers are willing to pay for well-researched, well-written, in-dept news articles.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited
As a designer, it’s easy to get lost in the craft of building products. As a business owner however, keeping up with a rapidly changing landscape is key to saying relevant. The Ken doesn’t just help me stay on top of what’s happening in India(and beyond), but makes it fun to do so.
Rahul Gonsalves
Co-founder and CEO, Obvious Ventures