A Good Life

As the year comes to an end, it's time to take some time and analyse the baggage we are to carry with us into the new year. Let us carry the good stuff into the new year and make a conscious effort to change the bad to good in the new year with dedication and determination because somethings take time to change, they don't happen overnight. Let us pledge that in the new year we will replace worries with faith, replace anger with forgiveness, replace hate with love, replace jealousy with inspiration, replace illness with a health lifestyle, replace enmity with friendship, replace greed with generosity and in general replace all bad with good. Let us ensure we make 2018 a bright, happy and sparkling year for ourselves and for everyone we come in touch with. With hope and prayer that may the new year bring lots and lots of happiness, good health, prosperity, peace, unity, love and fulfillment of all good wishes, here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in advance!! ...

I searched for God in various buildings and in halls, But could not find him anywhere, Maybe I had the wrong address, For I could not feel the divine in there. I searched for God in various institutions, But all were lead by heads of men, When I asked them where would I find God, They said 'put some money in the chest, we will speak only then." I searched for God in various chants, I said them out, clear and loud, All I found was an aching throat and disturbed neighbours, May be God doesn't want to hear what ever I was saying aloud. I searched for God in various rituals, Burning candles, incense sticks and coal, In the rising smoke I tried to catch a glimpse of God, "your heart may not be pure, or you haven't yet received the call of God", I was told. Disappointed I took a walk down the lane, A hungry boy there was asking for food, In the smile on his face, as I shared my food with him, I saw a glimpse of God, I thought may be God res...

Eight laps to go, Max has had a superb race so far. Starting from the back of the grid he worked his place up to second place in scintillating style. It's been a hard race on a wet track in rainy conditions and this Superbike race promises to be a cliffhanger. Robert leads the race, about 6 seconds ahead of Max. Robert is a tough customer, known to be very difficult to pass. Max has an important decision to make, settle for second or make a bold run for victory. "Max you have done well. Hold your position", came the call from the team over the radio. "But I can go for victory", replied Max. "No. No. Copy", came the response, "the conditions are treacherous, your tyres would be worn out after that long run and neither man nor machine would be in the position to go for it. Play it safe". Max was disappointed. "Copy that", came the response. He switched off the radio. A few deep breaths as he maintained his pace and followed Robert,...

A young man had just moved into his new home. His new home had a cozy house and a beautiful garden attached to it. In fact, this was the theme of the pristine town, all the homes had gardens attached to them, one beside the other and on either side of the roads, it looked like a town within a big garden. Sitting on the porch of his house, the man admired the beauty of his garden everyday. Not very meticulous in the maintenance of his garden, some days he would forget to water the plants and some days he would over do the watering. Soon his plants began to wilt and the lustrous green changed to pale yellow. He saw the gardens of others surrounding his own and saw theirs were as beautiful as ever, plants were green and so was their grass and beautiful flowers had blossomed. After a few days the man's dad arrived to spend a few days with him, his dad was surprised to see a virtually dead garden. He said nothing but just observed his son's behaviour everyday. His son would alw...

Nestled in the valley of high mountains was a quiet little village. The village had surreal beauty and the people there were kind. Rich in generosity and care, not so much in material wealth, the pious people of the village had built a beautiful prayer hall right on the banks of a beautiful and peaceful lake. The priest of the prayer hall would often go out for walks alongside the banks of the peaceful lake. On one such walk he saw a young boy sitting by the lake with a basket beside him. The priest couldn't help but notice the boy's hands folded as if in prayer. He walked up to the boy and asked him what he was doing. The boy replied, "my family has not eaten fish in many months, I wish to get some fish from the lake. I believe and have faith that God is the one who provides, so I'm asking him for the fish". The priest smiled, put his hands on the boy's shoulder and explained "It is true that you must believe in God, but he can help you only if you he...

Raja is a majestic lion, he was little cub when he was brought to the circus. Innocent and unaware of the ways of the world, he was to now be brought up by humans and other domesticated animals at the circus. Just as a human child who grows up in this circus of urban life believing all he sees to be the reality, Raja too was to accept this life as his reality. Raja was given a lot of love, he was an adorable little cub after all. At the same time he was told that this was his world and that everything outside was beyond reach. He was taught to 'fall in line' or face the 'consequences'. Like the human child who is loved, protected and also taught the norms of the world, Raja was a trained lion. He would follow the routines of all the others in the circus being sure this was the only right way to live. He was satisfied as he played around with the other animals. He was given rewards to perform tricks, just as we all get in our lives as well, and he happily performed th...

Often in life we come to a situation that leaves us wondering, "How did it get to this?" It might be a very good, strong and positive situation that you suddenly find yourself in or it may be a really negative, troublesome and difficult. In either case we can apply the "Reset theory" and move  on. The Reset theory basically means to reset your current situation as the starting point. 1. Don't sit on past success There are times when we find ourselves in a very good situation, may be because of hard work or may be because of good luck. In either situation it's not advisable to sit on past success. Yes, you must bask in the glory of success, but then it's also the time to get a move on. Reset your current position as a starting point and propel yourself forward using the confidence of your success. 2. Don't crib over past failure So not everything is going to work out the way you want it to. You may get to a point where in spite of the hard ...

Each emotion has its own energy, each action has its own energy. When you are confident, the positive energy of your confidence is strong , when you are in doubt  the negative energy of your fear is strong. We are always surrounded by conflicting energies. What ever we try to achieve, there is an energy that pushes it forward, while there is always a conflict energy resisting it. What outcome we achieve will eventually depend on the strength of the particular Energy, the stronger energy always wins. Sometimes the conflicting energies are within ourselves and sometimes the opposing energy comes from outside, which ever the case, the result will always be in favour of the stronger energy. Have you even fallen ill and yet managed to head out to work and felt better? Here the positive energy of your will power overcame the negative energy caused by the illness. I will take the liberty here of calling the illness an external negative energy. How many times have we doubted our faith...

There was a bright teenage boy who used to live with his parents. They lived in a building in the suburbs. He was a brilliant student and good at whatever he did with the only flaw being that he had a streak of jealousy. He always wanted an expensive cycle which his father had not bought for him. As a result he would be envious of every other boy or girl who got a new bicycle. In his jealousy he would cause some or the other damage to the new bicycles of others, may be puncture the tyres or break the pedals. People of the building knew this and so did the mother. His father on the other hand was a very good and friendly man. Always helping others and always considerate. One day he bought his son a new bicycle. He thought of giving it as a surprise to him. So without informing his son, he got the cycle and kept it in the building. The son on returning from college saw it and in his envious streak damaged the cycle. When he reached home his dad took him down for the surprise, but wa...

I always looked for a perfect world, A never ending search for a world I could call paradise. Situations and people were never right, As I searched for perfection and angels, in paradise. As I woke up one morning to the news of someone's demise, I realised I'm still alive, I'm blessed, may be I'm already in paradise. As I hurried for work cribbing about rush hour, I saw some unemployed desperate for work, I thought I'm blessed to have work, may be I'm already in paradise. I ran after the train, grabbed the hand rail and got in just in time, There I saw a man without arms and legs, I thought I'm blessed to have working limbs, may be I'm already in paradise. As I took time off work to have lunch sitting by a window at office, I saw outside someone poor and hungry, I thought I'm blessed to have food on my plate, may be I'm already in paradise. As evening came it was time for coffee, gossip, complaining and cribbing, Until I heard...

As I left for work one day I realized something poking inside my right shoe. I twisted my leg to see what's there but saw nothing, being in a hurry I decided to make a move and check it later. I reached office and removed my shoe to check and still found nothing visible. "It must be a nail I can't see, maybe I'll have to remove the insole and check or may be go to a cobbler", I thought and wore the shoe again. Not having got the time to get it checked I continued to wear it everyday. In due time I got used to it. I knew how to adjust my foot inside the shoe, my stride and the angles at which, when I place my foot down,  it hurts and adjusted accordingly so it wouldn't bother me.  After about a week or so while sitting in the train and looking at the shoe I realised how in life we adjust when something isn't right. Like the nail in the shoe, in life we have such situations, relationships, people, memories etc which do us no help and only keep 'pok...

A couple took their kids to the park to play. They went frequently to that park and people knew them there. As they entered the park the watchman and gardener walked up to the man to shake hands but he backed off, waved and moved on. As the kids went about playing, the man who wasn't in a good mood started complaining to his wife about how he was not being treated well at office and among friends. Somewhere others were respected more because of their better financial status and somewhere others were looked up to more for their contacts. "People are not treated on merit these days", he said,  feeling frustrated as he spoke. His wife smiled and said, "Do you see our children play?" he also smiled and said "yes, they are having a great time with the other kids!". "Do you know why they are having a great time?" she asked and went on to answer "Children are innocent, they do not care about who the other kid is. If they like playing with ...

A group of climbers had gathered at the base of a mountain. They were staring at a peak that was difficult to climb, many would make it to the top but many wouldn't. As they gazed at the mountain top they noticed a man swiftly climbing up taking in his stride the steep slopes and the near vertical cliff. "He's awesome and lucky to have such skills", they murmured. Their guide on hearing said, "Awesome for sure, but lucky, no, he's worked very hard to hone his skills", he said. "His name is Karan, let me tell you his story". "Many years ago Karan came here as an amateur climber. With neither the knowledge nor the endurance to scale the mountain he injured himself at the first attempt. He returned six months later, fit again and ready to go. This time also he failed. His stamina was just not enough to take him to the top, he was forced to turn back midway. But he did not give up. He returned again in another six months and yet again was n...

In a small village lived some children who loved going to a newly opened school just outside the village. They would merrily walk to school and back home. Their route took them through some farmlands and some forests. Along their route, in a small Hut lived an old man who loved to see the kids going to school. He was sure that proper education would be the path to success for these children. To encourage them he would often give them some sweets to eat when they were on their way back home. While all the kids sat in a group to enjoy their delicacies one would prefer to sit alone and have. One day as he was seated under a tree, he got surrounded by a troop of monkeys. They rushed down grabbed the sweets and dashed off into the trees. For the next few days this episode repeated itself. The desperate boy tried to different things like sitting under a different tree or trying to run away as soon as he saw the monkeys, but all in vain. The more he tried to run away or avoid, the more e...

A young boy wanted to learn swimming and enrolled himself at a class. He started training in a shallow pool with his instructor and soon learnt how to swim. He thoroughly enjoyed it, though he always remained on the shallow side where he was comfortable. He would often look at the deeper side of the pool contemplating whether he should go there. "I am comfortable here, I don't know how deep that side of the pool is. Am I that good a swimmer?" he would think to himself. With these cloud of doubt he would never venture to the deeper side. One day his coach told him. "You will never know how deep it is unless you go there. Also it's not about how deep the pool is, it's how well you can swim. Have faith in your abilities and then you always have your coach looking after you!". The boy swam to the deeper side with confidence in his ability and trust and faith in his coach. The boy also learnt the lesson for life. You never know how difficult a situatio...

At a time when ships used sails, a young captain was assigned the responsibility to take a big ship across the ocean. He took a good look at his ship while it was safely anchored at the harbour. He and his crew boarded the ship. He took a good look to check if everything was OK. He prepared his ship and was ready to set sail. The winds had also picked up and were favourable now but the young captain was a little nervous to take the ship out of the safety of the anchorage and decided to wait a little longer. As he waited he mumbled in self doubt. A senior crew member noticed this and approached the captain. "The winds are favourable sir, set sail now.   The winds will not always be favourable, they will die down in a few hours, you need to make the most of it while they are favorable and can work to your advantage. The ship is safe at harbour but it was meant to sail across the oceans, self doubt will only hold you back. Have faith in yourself and get going now, seize the mome...

In a village lived a little boy who loved the rains and the cold, pure and clear rain water. One day he decided to collect some rain water for his family, friends and himself. He sat outside his home waiting for the rains. When it started to rain he ran inside his house and started searching for a container to fill the water in. By the time he found it the rainfall  had stopped. Dejected he went in and threw the container in some corner. The next day he again waited for the rains. Again when it rained he ran inside his house but could not recollect where he kept the container. Again the rain stopped by the time he found it. Dejected he went and sat outside his house, crying. A wise man who was passing from there asked the child the reason for his trouble. Upon hearing the story the wise man smiled and said "That's how life is. You have to be prepared for an opportunity when it comes. If you are not prepared and run to get organized later, it might get too late and the oppo...

One day as I was taking a round of the factory during maintenance day I saw a young engineer inspecting the machines. He would rotate all wheels, move all levers up and down and check the functions. I followed him around and realized that when a wheel/lever would squeak he would open up its bearing, do the necessary greasing and oiling and fix it up again and this is how he finished his maintenance work. Again I went for a round during the next maintenance day in the following month. I realized that a senior person was inspecting this time. To my surprise he would open up all the wheels/levers where there were bearings or joints and do greasing and oiling. I walked up to him and asked him "Sir, your junior only greased the Squeaky Bearings but you attend to all. Why is that?". He politely replied "He's inexperienced sir, just because a bearing does not squeak does not mean it does not require proper maintenance". He smiled and carried on with his work. It was...

Bikers would agree riding in the rain is ecstasy but as all coins have two sides, there's a flip side to this as well. Riding in the rains on city roads can be dreadful as well. Snails come out during the rains and the city traffic seems to adopt its pace. En route from South Mumbai to the suburbs you come across some wonderful sights, the beautifully lit up Dargah of Haji Ali, the beautiful view of the Sea link as you cruise down Worli sea face, people enjoying the rains and gusty winds at Juhu Beach etc all as you enjoy the rain hitting your face through the open visor of the helmet but look out as you see a rainbow in the puddle ahead of you. That's oil on the road, every bikers worst enemy. Heavy traffic hinders your pace as well. The bike has to be maneuvered through traffic in a way which I feel if you look from the top would look like sand granules flowing through pebbles when poured from the top. But at least we are moving. Rains bring a completely new challenge ...

Speak to others in such a way that if they talk to you in a similar manner, would make you feel happy. Speak about others in their absence in such a way that if someone spoke the same about  you, you would be not feel offended. As Dalai Lama beautifully said : "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”

If someone takes a step towards a wall or a tree  he/she is moving closer by just one step at a time. If someone takes one step towards you, you can also respond by taking a step towards him/her, you are neither a wall nor a tree. That way you move closer to each other two steps at a time, quickly reducing the gap in between. #FoodforThought

Life is like driving on the expressways. Sometimes  you know you are on the wrong route and heading in the wrong direction but still you must continue to keep moving forward in order to find an exit from the wrong route and head to the right direction. By merely sitting in one place you will never be able to change and get back on the right route. Always keep moving, always be alert to opportunities for change. 

Once there was a small tree in a forest. It was surrounded by a lot of big trees so competition for sunlight was always fierce. The leaves falling from the bigger trees would often be seen around the small tree. Life did not seem too good for the little chap.  One day a group of big deers came grazing to the area. The little tree was scared as it was the smallest one there and easily accessible to the deers. True to its fear the deers ate its leaves and to make matters worse they would shit right there near the base of the  tree.  Situation was grim and the tree sad. Not knowing what to do it waited patiently and held on. Slowly as the deers moved around, they buried the feces and the leaves under the soil. As the tree's roots touched these it realised this was just the manure it needed to grow. This seemingly ill fated things were going to be the ones to propel it upwards.  With renewed hope and determination it started changing the negative conditions...

The seed must be buried in darkness into the earth before it sprouts and makes for the light. It must get really hot and dry before the rain comes to relieve the parched earth. It gets darkest, just before sunrise, after which the earth is lit up sunlight, the source of life. So when the going get tough and everything seems dark, have faith. Have faith that God is preparing you for the light and for the shower of his blessings. Have faith that good and easy times are just around the corner!! Endure the tough times and  indeed good times will come. Keep faith, be strong. Gd Mrng 🌤 Have a good day!

If only we could appreciate as easily as we criticise. Observation of people and situations around have forced me to believe that we are living in a society where we have probably become very negative. Whether it's trying something new, encouraging someone or appreciating someone, we are too apprehensive. What is funny though is that to give out something negative, like scolding someone, pointing out their faults or discouraging from trying something, we don't think twice. Think about how many times we scold or taunt someone who is late, and how many times have we appreciated the punctual? It's like they say, when a goal keeper lets a goal in, he is remembered for that, not all the saves he made before and after that. But to evolve into a happier we should start thinking and being more Mindful about situations. Everyone's bound to make an error sometime or they other, be considerate at such times, and appreciative when they deliver. Let us make a conscious effort t...

With faith and courage in your heart, Make dedicated hardwork life's part, No obstacle then is too difficult to break apart, All you need to do today,  is to make a start!! Gd Mrng 🌤 Have a good day

The relationships between the sun and the plants is one where the sun gives, the plant receives and in return it just gives a smile of gratitude in the form of a flower. Yet every morning the sun rises and continues to give precious life giving light to the plant. Not everyone is going to be able to return what you give or do for them, but still continue to do, that's what true relationships are. Always wanting to receive something in return is a business deal. Gd Mrng 🌤 Have a good day

The greater the mountain you have to climb, the greater will be the obstacles and greater will be the strength required to overcome them and reach the top. You always have two choices, either lower your ambition, or increase your effort and give it your best. Go for the latter coz if you believe it, then you can achieve it.

Woke up today with a thought of changing things around. I picked up my phone and thought what can I do, should I write something or should I call or msg people asking them to change? As I thought, the black switched off screen of my phone gave me my answer... I saw my reflection and realized that's where the change must begin.. It's me who I have to change first!!