Space and light and rain

I loved the spouting coconut
It got a special place
I loved the casuarina shoot
It got a special place

The coconut and casuarina shoot
Shared a common garden
The sunlight shone for both
And so did nourishing rain

One grew a thousand leaves
Tiny needle shaped and small akin
One grew a few giant leaves
Majestically waving in the wind

Phenomenal beauty of the casuarina
Its oxygen was shared for free
In perfect harmony with the loveliness
Of the superb amazing coconut tree.

So different, my two cherished trees
And yet loved by God so much the same.
A fully fulfilled potential each
‘cause someone cared, each in a special place

The huge diversity of each of us
Is to be celebrated in every way
But all deserve the care and rights
To reach their full potential day by day

So let's give to all children dear
equal space and 'light' and 'rain'
full potential for each to achieve
Diverse, but how we all would gain!

Home

Few years back my mentee, a postgraduate student married
I wished him sincerely to become the second best husband,
the second best father in the world.

You may ask: why the second best?
Here is the answer:

I want to be the best father in the  world
I want to be the best husband in the world,
the best brother, the best uncle in the world
I want to have a home full of fun
full of love, full of harmony
full of inspiration.

Kindness revolution

The kindness revolution
An exponential chain of increasing acts of kindness
randomly performed by an ever increasingly rapid increasing number of people

It is just around the corner
The crooks will feel only shame
Politicians may be the last to jump on board
But no-one will be opting out in the end

Peace and happiness
are to be found in kindness

Soon everyone will be aware of that
and all will join the....

KINDNESS REVOLUTION

A small poem: 

Tired at night, I went to sleep
I slept tremendously deep
I slept a very long time

I woke up in October of 2110
and some history books of then
were laying in that room of mine

How exciting it was, how queer
to read the history of the coming years
I was in for quite a surprise

The heroes of the 2010's history books
were labelled as what they were, just crooks
Heroes in 2110 were nobody else than the wise

There were some wise people, so clever
who brought to us kindness and wisdom forever
these were the heroes of 2110

Among the heroes, prophets and thinkers were found
poets of wisdom, their names all around
Sages and wise ones from way back,2010

In 2110, from what I could read
there was no longer hunger, no more greed
thanks to the poets sharing wonderful words

I prayed to go back to the time when I had started to sleep
I wanted to share that news, so good, so profound and deep
I was happy to wake up in the now, my prayers were heard

So here I share the wonderful news at last
That greed and hunger will soon be a thing of the past
it all 'll have started in 2016 during spring

History books of the future mention a kindness revolution
Starting in May 2016, affecting all subsequent evolution
Isn't that a wonderful thing?

Herbs

I love herbs and spices
I know many herbs have a positive effect on health
I know many herbs can have also a toxic effect on our body.

Not everything that is natural is good for us.
Foxglove is a beautiful flower. It contains chemicals that can have helped heart patients a lot.
In the right dosage, these chemicals are truly beneficial. But if you find foxglove in a field and go and consume it, these same chemicals may cause you to die. The dose is all-important.

This is true for most natural products. Green tea taken in moderation is good for health. Taken in exessive amounts, there are well-documented cases of liver failure.

The wisdom I want to share here is that before you go on and take the advice of those selling herbs for granted, do your own search and do ask your doctor about the potential benefits and harms that such natural products may cause.

Many herbs are sold only for profit, with those selling not caring too much about the science behind it. I know some of the sellers truly believe in the benefit of what they sell, but they may not have enough understanding of science and how the body functions, for you to just take their convictions and explanations at face value.

The body is very complex. Eating natural food is so much better than the extensively processed foods. But do eat most things in moderation. If it comes to supplements, and the so called herbs, do be careful.

Proper research is NOT the testimony of a few (often heavily rewarded) users.
Proper research is NOT the "expert" opinion of someone who has direct financial gains from selling the herbs.

Herbs are natural!
Not everything natural is good for our health!
All mushrooms are natural, some are toxic.
So is it with herbs!!

The first leaf

The living fresh greenness
of the first leaf of spring
Sure a perfect sign she is
of the most wonderful thing:

Soon the whole crown of the tree
will be covered with a luscious bed
of fresh, green leaves for all to see
How much nicer can it ever get?

The amazing moment
of the first bud of a flower bed
unfolding into a full rose
a sign of a wonderful thing:

Soon the full flower bed
will unfold into a feast
of adorable  colours
countless flowers in their full glory

and so is too the living fresh kindness
of the first humane act done today
sure a perfect sign it is
of the most wonderful way:

Soon the whole wide world
will be engulfed in a kindness sea
Quick go and spread the word
Nothing better could happen for you and me :)

Glorious opportunity

Yesterday it was Martin Luther King Jr. day in the USA

Here is a wonderful quote of this extremely brilliant man

a defender of non-violence, an activist with a real passion

with a dream:

"We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization," Martin Luther King, Jr.

and one more:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hatred cannot drive out hatred. Only love can do that" Martin Luther King, Jr.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. "
- Martin Luther King - See more at: http://www.mlkonline.net/enemies.html#sthash.Rty9EVAJ.dpuf

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. "
- Martin Luther King - See more at: http://www.mlkonline.net/enemies.html#sthash.Rty9EVAJ.dpuf

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. "
- Martin Luther King - See more at: http://www.mlkonline.net/enemies.html#sthash.Rty9EVAJ.dpuf

Have you read his speeches. 

If not, please go and read.

I have a dream. Perhaps the most wonderful speech ever given by any member of mankind

His Nobel price acceptance speech. A gem

The speech before the night of his murder. Superb.

Take a few minutes to read it. 

Sooo uplifting, so beautiful, so inspirational.

here is a link to his speeches: 

http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches.html

I will share here a little (crazy) secret  of my own mind:

In my wildest dreams, I want to give in my life a speech with an impact like his ones. 

In my wildest dreams, I want to have an impact on the love in the world as he had.

I know these are extreme dreams, but somehow these dreams remain alive in me :)

A little comfort

11.30 pm.
I just came back from the hospital.
Counseling parents of a baby with multiple abnormalities at birth.
Sad. So sad to talk about all the problems that the baby faces.
So sad to see the parents holding back the tears.

Tomorrow the father has to leave for a mission with the army
The mother stays in the hospital to be near to the baby.
She was staying a special room for people accompanying patients provided by the hospital.
I know these rooms are not the most comfortable to spend the night.
So I tried to get the mother a bed in our facility for mother and baby, rooming in.
I guess I was lucky, a bed was available for the mother.

There was no smile, but the expression of deep sadness on the face of the mom, showed some relief, at least she will spend the night in a more comfortable place.

Sometimes as doctors all we can do is trying to make it a tiny bit more comfortable..
And just a little comfort in the most difficult of situations can make a difference, worthwhile pursuing.
....

Saying yes

There have been many people asking for help.
Some were genuine
Others were not

Looking back now
The only times I regret
was when I said no.

I do not regret helping the genuine ones
I do not regret helping the cheaters
I do regret when I said no.

Surely sometimes we have no choice but to say no
Sometimes we are not in a position to help
But if we can help, I really think we better say yes :))

Scenarios

If we reminisce about the future,
the future of any aspect of our life
be it work, be it family, be it our community,

many of the potential scenarios for the future seem to be bleak


However there are most of the time an equal or even larger number of lofty scenarios
that are also possible and have also the potential to become true.

While we cannot ignore the bleak scenarios, it may be a good idea
to keep our focus on one of our favorite rosy scenarios.

This will allow us to work positively towards them
If we keep our minds set on what we really want,
our mind will detect opportunities that are sometimes
lying in half hidden corners.

Our mind will focus on the good outcome
and this will arm us with the "sharpest" weapons to fight the doom bringers
I mean her sharp in a very figurative way, 'cause I am a strong believer in non-violence.

So keep our mind focused on what we want.

Keeping our focus on what we want
will increase our chances of getting it tremendously.

The big aim

The workplace is a place where many of us spend close to half of our waking hours.
How important, it is to make the work place a place of joy and happiness and satisfaction.

If we manage to achieve this for us and our colleagues, the chances are great that we will have a smooth running workplace.

Surely some rules need to be observed.
But these rules need to serve the people in the work place
and not the people in the workplace to serve the rules.

Outcomes need to be achieved. 

Leaders need to inspire the people to achieve these outcomes
while enjoying the workplace, where they spend so much time

Many more things can be achieved when people feel they can be creative and actively involved in developing their own talents to contribute the common success of the workplace.

The big aim is to achieve great things, but one of these great things is surely happiness and job satisfaction.

Rat race

I just read
a poem about a mother of 11
dying alone and lonely.

The crazy rat race of greed and desire
makes us forget the true values of life.
Let us get quickly out of the rat race
or risk to remain rats forever.

The above is what my emotions provoked in my mind as initial reaction to the story.
I think the story is a great reminder for all grown up children,

Nature

Today I read again (a part of) Emerson's essay on nature.
Emerson was a great observer and here is a wonderful quote of the essay:

"In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows."
Isn't this beautiful and so real? Haven't you experienced this too? 

Here is the beginning of the first chapter (the one after the introduction):

"To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime. Seen in the streets of cities, how great they are! If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.

The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence."

I love to read Emerson. Somehow he strikes a chord with my own way of thinking, with my own connection to the nature and the universe. Every time I read or reread one of his essays or addresses, I discover some new truths, some new ideas in them. His writing style is not easy to understand, at least not for a person with English as second or third language like me. But upon rereading the same thing often a hidden truth comes clear. 

The first paragraph of his introduction this essay is also something that contains some superb wisdom: 

" Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs? Embosomed for a season in nature, whose floods of life stream around and through us, and invite us by the powers they supply, to action proportioned to nature, why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe? The sun shines to-day also. There is more wool and flax in the fields. There are new lands, new men, new thoughts. Let us demand our own works and laws and worship."

Ignoring the wisdom of our ancestors would be something that pushes us back into the stone age, but ignoring our own conscience and insights and poetry would limit our own development and progress so much, it would be like neglecting the purpose that our Creator gave to  our own lives. 

The essays of this very clever philosopher are freely available online.

In our head

Are you tired?
Are you tired right now?

Thinking about being tired can make us tired.

If you feel tired, try to take a deep breath and say silently:
I am full of energy
I am full of energy
I am so full of energy that I will do what I am doing right now,
not only in a good way,
but in the most excellent way possible

I do not deny that sometimes we are genuinely tired,
but even then with a deep breath and a small self talk
we can get amazing boosts of energy!

I am so full of energy now,
that I will read another ten soul sprinkles :)

Why is it so difficult

(inspired by M. Williams)

Why is it so difficult to forgive and forget?
Somehow the ego has been hurt
and somewhere it feels good to us to hold on to this hurt.
If we release the  hurt, it looks like we lose the right to something.
As long we hold on to the hurt, we have the imaginary right for revenge
As we hold on to the hurt we have the right to complain,
and receive the pity of other friends who are close to us.
The right to hate, to be angry.

Now, is the right to revenge, to complain, to receive pity, to be angry,
is this right a game of the soul or a game of the ego?

If we give up the hurt, if we find it in our heart to truly forgive and forget,
we 'll give up all these nasty ego-rights and privileges.
The ego is not too happy about that and calls out: "NO".

The hatred, the complaints, the revenge hinder our own progress, our own growth.
The ego does not care too much, as long as it can have its own perceived dominion.
The hurt we cling onto has the potential to make the culprit feel guilty
If the culprit does not feel guilty, we can search revenge and make him or her feel sorry.
Our ego feels superior, feels good if it can make someone feel worse than itself.

Hatred never heals. it continues as a negative emotion to damage our peace, our own happiness.
So is with revenge, and the right to complain.

What does our soul want?
It is time, high time to sit quietly, think about all our grudges, all our anger
Have a small fight between soul and ego and then,... let go, just let go of the right
to all these nasty things, let go and forgive, let go and forget.
Start anew and experience the friendship.
Start anew and get true peace of mind,
that very essential component of happiness.

Have you with your whole heart and soul ever forgiven?
How did that feel at a soul level? at a heart level?
If you are like other people, it will make you feel great, relieved, filled with peace of mind.

The negative emotions burn our skin, our mind, our heart and soul.
I wrote a small poem about this for my two sons:
dont-touch-it (You can click on this previous post in the blog or read it below)

 

Have you seen a fire?
I mean a big one with high flames?
Any human touching it
Will suffer intense and lasting pain

Such is the law of nature
Nothing else could happen or be
Touching flames causes pain
Isn't that easy to see?

Hatred is also like fire
It burns upon every touch
Pain is intense and lasting
Excruciating destruction, so much

Such is the law of nature
Nothing else could happen or be
Touching hatred causes pain
It is not difficult to see

And so is also anger
A blaze of uncontrolled heat
You touch it and bad burns
Are the only outcome to meet

Such is the law of nature
Nothing else could happen or be
Touching anger causes pain
It is not difficult to see

Lies of any nature or kind
Like smouldering ashes so hot
Touch lies and you suffer
Lies may seem OK but they're not

Such is the law of nature
Nothing else could happen or be
Touching lies causes pain
It may not be easy to see

Honesty love and kindness
Are like a cool breeze on a hot day
My boys, these laws of nature
Are here forever to stay

Light

If everyday in this promising new year,
we manage each to give to at least one person a little light,
I think we will have all a wonderful year.

The beauty of giving light,
is that we do not lose anything in giving it.
Lighting a candle of a friend,
makes two lights, it just doubles.

Imagine the doubling every day.
Can you see the enormous effect by year end?
2 to the power 365 is exactly
75153362648762663292463379097258784876021841565066235862633311089030688803667470 190838367948312598497021919232
that is how many lights we can expect if we double up each day!!!

I wish you a fantastic 2016