When I was a kid, I often saw my father help a child polishing shoes by the roadside or the sweeper picking up the garbage or the poor child whose clothes seemed torn or... Well, the list could go on.
I found this a most remarkable and energizing influence in our family life. This ability to give freely and wholeheartedly may not have been unique to my family but the manner in which it was done was extraordinary.
My father was not so rich that he could just throw away money. Yet he maintained that we were among the more fortunate blessed by Almighty and we must always be grateful for this. We must do what we can, when we can, and where we can- as much as we can. Most importantly, we must do... for doing... not for the results- the fame or the reputation or the money... We must feel the need that we fulfill for others and we would indeed feel fulfilled ourselves.
It was a strange philosophy but it taught us that a good deed was from the heart... not for any ends. His classical advice was that your left hand must not get to know that your right has done something good.
When I see so many people sharing about the good deed for the day, I wonder... When one hand must not know that the other has given, how do people share their 'good' deeds? Do people do good for doing good or for bragging that they did?
I do my share of 'doing good'. I follow my father's advice. I do not talk about it.
I think it cuts both ways. Maybe, as a single person, doing my little bit I am not making earth shattering difference to the world. But to the few who are touched by me, and the few who touch me, each experience is profound.
Do you like to 'brag' you did something good? Or you ... just... do... it??
Do you have it in you?
Remember the Incy Wincy spider? It has been one of the most lasting nursery rhymes even in my children's memory. Incy Wincy climbs up the spout and the rain washes him out. When the rain is over and the sun is drying up everything... Incy starts on the climb again.
Persistence.
Stick-to- it-iveness.
And Resilience.
Observe the spider building its web- thread by flimsy thread. The work of art may take some time to build but it always looks awesome. (We...lll...!!! It inspires the kind of feeling you look at it with!)
And were you to compare the web's strength with what we percieve to be one of Modern man's stronger inventions- steel... we would find the web is stronger. If you take enough threads of the web and bind them together to the same diameter as the steel cable you want to use for the comparision. Something about the Young's Modulus as I remember from my high school days. You might break the steel cable but the web? Nah!
Have you ever seen a spider trying to find its way up a bathroom sink or the kitchen sink? It is diligently working its way up the slope, slipping, going back up, slipping again and keeping on going. The spider does that. Admirable. The you turn the tap on and the water starts flowing. The spider has now to move against the current. What does it do? Does it give up and flow with the current, go down the drain, quite literally? No, sir! Not the spider. The spider digs its "heels" in and just hangs on. The spider does not struggle against the deluge. It does not try to fight against the current. It does not waste its energy. It stops. Period.
The tap is turned off and the spider starts crawling again.
Even Dory had this to tell everyone in "Finding Nemo"- Just keep on swimming...
And Nike? Just do it! Nike's words have been an inspiration for countless people all over the globe ever since 1988. It has been one of the longest running campaigns. nike defines what the central philosophy for any achiever should be. Just... Do... It...
There will be times when you feel everything is going your way. You are unstoppable. Nothing can go wrong and nothing does. There are other times when nothing is going your way and you just cannot break the inertia of being a dead weight. Everything is bleak. If life did not have its ups and downs, it would not be life. The EKG that represents the heart's activity also keeps going up and down. A flat EKG is death.
So be like the spider. Dig in if you can not do anything else. Stop everything that you are doing and rally your energy, gather all your force... wait... Then- Just do it!
Persistence.
Stick-to- it-iveness.
And Resilience.
Observe the spider building its web- thread by flimsy thread. The work of art may take some time to build but it always looks awesome. (We...lll...!!! It inspires the kind of feeling you look at it with!)
And were you to compare the web's strength with what we percieve to be one of Modern man's stronger inventions- steel... we would find the web is stronger. If you take enough threads of the web and bind them together to the same diameter as the steel cable you want to use for the comparision. Something about the Young's Modulus as I remember from my high school days. You might break the steel cable but the web? Nah!
Have you ever seen a spider trying to find its way up a bathroom sink or the kitchen sink? It is diligently working its way up the slope, slipping, going back up, slipping again and keeping on going. The spider does that. Admirable. The you turn the tap on and the water starts flowing. The spider has now to move against the current. What does it do? Does it give up and flow with the current, go down the drain, quite literally? No, sir! Not the spider. The spider digs its "heels" in and just hangs on. The spider does not struggle against the deluge. It does not try to fight against the current. It does not waste its energy. It stops. Period.
The tap is turned off and the spider starts crawling again.
Even Dory had this to tell everyone in "Finding Nemo"- Just keep on swimming...
And Nike? Just do it! Nike's words have been an inspiration for countless people all over the globe ever since 1988. It has been one of the longest running campaigns. nike defines what the central philosophy for any achiever should be. Just... Do... It...
There will be times when you feel everything is going your way. You are unstoppable. Nothing can go wrong and nothing does. There are other times when nothing is going your way and you just cannot break the inertia of being a dead weight. Everything is bleak. If life did not have its ups and downs, it would not be life. The EKG that represents the heart's activity also keeps going up and down. A flat EKG is death.
So be like the spider. Dig in if you can not do anything else. Stop everything that you are doing and rally your energy, gather all your force... wait... Then- Just do it!
When did it all change?
This is a real sms I received from a friend... It set me thinking... When did it all change? And did it change for all? Are there more people out there who really are doing what they wanted to do all along? Is this just mid-life crisis? Have a look...
I am sitting 'n thinking
thinking hard about life. How it changed from a simple college life to the strict professional life.
How the pocket money changed to huge pay cheques. But the happiness became as little as the pay cheque became bigger.
How the local jeans changed to new branded wardrobe but there are less occasions to wear these clothes.
How a single plate of samosas changed to a full pizza but there is less hunger for food and more for something to do.
How the bike always in reserve changed to a car with a full tank- always on and ready to go. Only there are no more places that we want to go.
How the ta by the road side changed to Cafe Coffee Day/ Barrista... but the thirst is never satisfied and the shops are always so far away.
How the limited prepaid card in the mobile changed to post paid limitless package but we have less people that we really want to call up and talk to.
How a general bus ride changed to third class train tickets to First class AC to flights... but there are less vacations for enjoyment and more of those business trips that we do not want to make.
Further, this friend goes on to say...
I want to go back to the time when "getting high " meant "on a swing"
... when " drinking" meant Coke or even Fanta
... when dad was the only hero
... when "love" was a heart felt hug from mom
... when "dad's shoulder" was the highest place on earth
... when "worst enemy" was your sibling who fought with you
... when the things that "hurt" were skinned knees
... when the only things "broken" were your toys
... when "goodbyes" meant "See you tomorrow"
Anyone out there who feels like this?
Anyone out there who wants to change the way they are living but find their "life" pulling them deeper and deeper into the quagmire we have begun to call "life- style"?
Anyone who wants to make a difference?
Anyone who wants to reconnect? with life and love and sibling rivalry and the rest?
Please...
Come forward...
Let us start a movement...
We can... can we not?
I am sitting 'n thinking
thinking hard about life. How it changed from a simple college life to the strict professional life.
How the pocket money changed to huge pay cheques. But the happiness became as little as the pay cheque became bigger.
How the local jeans changed to new branded wardrobe but there are less occasions to wear these clothes.
How a single plate of samosas changed to a full pizza but there is less hunger for food and more for something to do.
How the bike always in reserve changed to a car with a full tank- always on and ready to go. Only there are no more places that we want to go.
How the ta by the road side changed to Cafe Coffee Day/ Barrista... but the thirst is never satisfied and the shops are always so far away.
How the limited prepaid card in the mobile changed to post paid limitless package but we have less people that we really want to call up and talk to.
How a general bus ride changed to third class train tickets to First class AC to flights... but there are less vacations for enjoyment and more of those business trips that we do not want to make.
Further, this friend goes on to say...
I want to go back to the time when "getting high " meant "on a swing"
... when " drinking" meant Coke or even Fanta
... when dad was the only hero
... when "love" was a heart felt hug from mom
... when "dad's shoulder" was the highest place on earth
... when "worst enemy" was your sibling who fought with you
... when the things that "hurt" were skinned knees
... when the only things "broken" were your toys
... when "goodbyes" meant "See you tomorrow"
Anyone out there who feels like this?
Anyone out there who wants to change the way they are living but find their "life" pulling them deeper and deeper into the quagmire we have begun to call "life- style"?
Anyone who wants to make a difference?
Anyone who wants to reconnect? with life and love and sibling rivalry and the rest?
Please...
Come forward...
Let us start a movement...
We can... can we not?
What kind of a world are we living in?
16 year old school boy killed by gym instructor! Screamed the headlines. The roar was deafening and the pain immeasurable. What could be the reason for this senseless killing?
The abductors were known to the victim. They met him at the local gym he went to. One of them was even a twice over Mr Delhi. "All for a few dollars more"? Abductetd a mere forty meters from home! Are our children safe anywhere?
What can we do as parents and responsible citizens to make this world a safer place for our children?
Educate them. Worry not about the effect such education can have on their innocence. It is needed to equip them with the knowledge that there are times to raise alarm and times to fight back. They need to know that such elements that can harm them may be atlarge and nothing can replace them.
Train them. The children need to be well trained in the art of self defence. Any such art not only strengthens their body, it also trains their mind towards resilience and focus. In a country like Israel, where each citizen goes through the army training, no one can touch a woman or a child and get away with it without punishment. This type of training also instills a discipline and law abiding population.
Be alert. Adults need to be alert, too. Someone who saw the incident could have thwarted the attempt. It can happen to anyone. My children. Your children. Anyone. If you see anything extraordinary, trust your own instinct as much as you want the children to trust theirs. Do not be afraid to raise alarm or even rush to the defnce of a threatened citizen- man, woman or child.
Demand accountability. If even half of our working population in India just started doing their own work , our society would be remarkable. If we want security agencies to provide security, we should not accept any less from our Government and from the police. We should, at the same time, also take responsibility for our own micro environments and ensure local safety in zones of influence aound us.When you demand, have the sense of responsibility to give in equal measure- both co-operation and social justice and accountability.
Stand together. We have suffered for ages because we were busy fighting each other. This allowed outsiders to invade and stay on so easily and for so long that we lost our own sense of self worth and strength. It is now time to start small groups of togetherness that can start a movement that spreads like a forest fire- slow to start but with a very little effort and very little wind gets out of control.
WE NEED TO MAKE OUR LOCALITY, OUR CITY, OUR COUNTRY A SAFER PLACE .
And only we can do that. Not our police. Not our government.
If each one of us is able to encourage just three to five people to respond to the situation with courage and resilience, and each of those is further able to do it with as many more, we will have started a movement that will be unstoppable.
I will. Will you? And you? And you?
The abductors were known to the victim. They met him at the local gym he went to. One of them was even a twice over Mr Delhi. "All for a few dollars more"? Abductetd a mere forty meters from home! Are our children safe anywhere?
What can we do as parents and responsible citizens to make this world a safer place for our children?
Educate them. Worry not about the effect such education can have on their innocence. It is needed to equip them with the knowledge that there are times to raise alarm and times to fight back. They need to know that such elements that can harm them may be atlarge and nothing can replace them.
Train them. The children need to be well trained in the art of self defence. Any such art not only strengthens their body, it also trains their mind towards resilience and focus. In a country like Israel, where each citizen goes through the army training, no one can touch a woman or a child and get away with it without punishment. This type of training also instills a discipline and law abiding population.
Be alert. Adults need to be alert, too. Someone who saw the incident could have thwarted the attempt. It can happen to anyone. My children. Your children. Anyone. If you see anything extraordinary, trust your own instinct as much as you want the children to trust theirs. Do not be afraid to raise alarm or even rush to the defnce of a threatened citizen- man, woman or child.
Demand accountability. If even half of our working population in India just started doing their own work , our society would be remarkable. If we want security agencies to provide security, we should not accept any less from our Government and from the police. We should, at the same time, also take responsibility for our own micro environments and ensure local safety in zones of influence aound us.When you demand, have the sense of responsibility to give in equal measure- both co-operation and social justice and accountability.
Stand together. We have suffered for ages because we were busy fighting each other. This allowed outsiders to invade and stay on so easily and for so long that we lost our own sense of self worth and strength. It is now time to start small groups of togetherness that can start a movement that spreads like a forest fire- slow to start but with a very little effort and very little wind gets out of control.
WE NEED TO MAKE OUR LOCALITY, OUR CITY, OUR COUNTRY A SAFER PLACE .
And only we can do that. Not our police. Not our government.
If each one of us is able to encourage just three to five people to respond to the situation with courage and resilience, and each of those is further able to do it with as many more, we will have started a movement that will be unstoppable.
I will. Will you? And you? And you?
Now back to the trigger...
And as promised, I shall get back to the original train of thoughts...
When an organism's body is invaded by foreign living matter- virus or bacteria etc, it gets sick. The body mounts a reaction to fight and kill the invaders. The invaders are harmful to the body because they compete for the same resources for survival and sustenance. The body, as in humans, for example ( this is easy to visualize), we mount a reaction of fever, depletion and tiredness. We may throw up and vomit, we may collapse from lack of energy and eventually, if we are not able to kill the invader, we get killed.
Now, consider the macrocosm... the universe. We are invading the earth, competing for the same resources that make the earth what it is. We are simply taking away and not replacing- like parasites that invade our bodies. The earth is fighting back! The fever (global warming) and the throwing up ( floods, volcanoes) and the trembling (earthquakes) are happening more and more.
Either the earth will succeed in surviving, will kill the parasitic invader who is becoming a nemesis or will die out taking the invading organism (us) with it!
Who or what is to say that we are primary forms of life and the bacteria/viruses that cause the flu or the malaria or the meningitis have any less right to survival than us? What makes our killing these with vaccines and antibiotics justifiable and their life killing us unjustifiable. And what makes the earth any less living than any of us? What if the earth is an entity that has been infected by us whereas the other planets are pristine and healthy? Living and pulsating entities?
Is that not an interesting point of view? A really fantastic leap from the microcosm to the macrocosm?
Either we must learn to survive in a symbiotic relationship, whereby we contribute as much to the earth's survival as we take away from her or we must perish- whether the earth's immune reaction kills us or her own death takes our lives away, too.
When an organism's body is invaded by foreign living matter- virus or bacteria etc, it gets sick. The body mounts a reaction to fight and kill the invaders. The invaders are harmful to the body because they compete for the same resources for survival and sustenance. The body, as in humans, for example ( this is easy to visualize), we mount a reaction of fever, depletion and tiredness. We may throw up and vomit, we may collapse from lack of energy and eventually, if we are not able to kill the invader, we get killed.
Now, consider the macrocosm... the universe. We are invading the earth, competing for the same resources that make the earth what it is. We are simply taking away and not replacing- like parasites that invade our bodies. The earth is fighting back! The fever (global warming) and the throwing up ( floods, volcanoes) and the trembling (earthquakes) are happening more and more.
Either the earth will succeed in surviving, will kill the parasitic invader who is becoming a nemesis or will die out taking the invading organism (us) with it!
Who or what is to say that we are primary forms of life and the bacteria/viruses that cause the flu or the malaria or the meningitis have any less right to survival than us? What makes our killing these with vaccines and antibiotics justifiable and their life killing us unjustifiable. And what makes the earth any less living than any of us? What if the earth is an entity that has been infected by us whereas the other planets are pristine and healthy? Living and pulsating entities?
Is that not an interesting point of view? A really fantastic leap from the microcosm to the macrocosm?
Either we must learn to survive in a symbiotic relationship, whereby we contribute as much to the earth's survival as we take away from her or we must perish- whether the earth's immune reaction kills us or her own death takes our lives away, too.
Life? What really is it?
Something my husband said the other day set me thinking...
We, as doctors can have an objective view of often distressing issues and can effectively detach our emotions from some situations while maintaining a mental involvement with them. This allows us to avoid DIStress and deal with other's illnesses more objectively.
After more than fifteen years of being a doctor, I have not been able to master the art of detachment. I still cry with a sick child and still feel sorry for a dying patient. I still feel fascinated by the enigma of what really changes in the moment of death.
I have always been fascinated by the question... It is the same chemicals, arranged in the same visible formation and yet in one moment the 'electricity' goes off! The Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, carbon, etc are still there. But the vital force simply... switches off.
Where is the switch?
Where is the source? and where does it go? Does the body change in any way other than losing its ... aaahhh... LIFE?
Interestingly, there was a study done by some scientists to find out if they could identify the entity called LIFE. They found out that the body becomes fourteen to twenty grams lighter in the moment of death! The obvious conclusion was that the soul is something that weighs as much!
It is as difficult to solve the mystery of mind and the brain... The structure that is nearly ninety percent water, looks like a dirty jelly, is protected by our skull, and appears to be the seat of control of all our bodily functions, works through endless, ceaseless electrical activity, the tiny currents drive innumerable chemicals through microchannels- This STRUCTURE is the brain. The thoughts and the activity, the feelings and the consciousness, even the subconsciousness- are the MIND.
The hardware is the body. The software? Life?
Random thoughts, these. The trigger? Left somewhere in the maze of my mind. I might write about it next... Are we infecting the earth?
We, as doctors can have an objective view of often distressing issues and can effectively detach our emotions from some situations while maintaining a mental involvement with them. This allows us to avoid DIStress and deal with other's illnesses more objectively.
After more than fifteen years of being a doctor, I have not been able to master the art of detachment. I still cry with a sick child and still feel sorry for a dying patient. I still feel fascinated by the enigma of what really changes in the moment of death.
I have always been fascinated by the question... It is the same chemicals, arranged in the same visible formation and yet in one moment the 'electricity' goes off! The Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, carbon, etc are still there. But the vital force simply... switches off.
Where is the switch?
Where is the source? and where does it go? Does the body change in any way other than losing its ... aaahhh... LIFE?
Interestingly, there was a study done by some scientists to find out if they could identify the entity called LIFE. They found out that the body becomes fourteen to twenty grams lighter in the moment of death! The obvious conclusion was that the soul is something that weighs as much!
It is as difficult to solve the mystery of mind and the brain... The structure that is nearly ninety percent water, looks like a dirty jelly, is protected by our skull, and appears to be the seat of control of all our bodily functions, works through endless, ceaseless electrical activity, the tiny currents drive innumerable chemicals through microchannels- This STRUCTURE is the brain. The thoughts and the activity, the feelings and the consciousness, even the subconsciousness- are the MIND.
The hardware is the body. The software? Life?
Random thoughts, these. The trigger? Left somewhere in the maze of my mind. I might write about it next... Are we infecting the earth?
English? Logical!?
Can anyone let me know who thought up this masterpiece? It found its way into my mailbox. Anonymous! It always brings a smile to my face! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Most of the rules of English have exceptions! IS it not?
ENJOY!!!
I take it you already know,
Of tough and bough and cough and dough.
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps. Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead - it’s said like bed, not bead,
For goodness’ sake, don’t call it ‘deed’!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt). A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there’s dose and rose and lose –
Just look them up – and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword. And do and go and thwart and cart –
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start! A dreadful language? Why man alive!
I’d mastered it when I was five.
Most of the rules of English have exceptions! IS it not?
ENJOY!!!
I take it you already know,
Of tough and bough and cough and dough.
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps. Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead - it’s said like bed, not bead,
For goodness’ sake, don’t call it ‘deed’!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt). A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there’s dose and rose and lose –
Just look them up – and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword. And do and go and thwart and cart –
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start! A dreadful language? Why man alive!
I’d mastered it when I was five.
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