Time

Last Monday, six books of plays written by Suchita Narvekar were published. The books are scripts of successful plays that have completed many shows. Speaking on the occasion, she mentioned that an acquaintance remarked, ‘Six books? You wrote six books? You must be having a lot of time at your disposal.’

It is pertinent to note that Suchita is a player of many parts: an enterprising entrepreneur, a passionate theatre person, a popular jockey on radio, a responsive and socially conscious citizen and a super active person. Obviously she has her plate full! Yet she was able to find the time to write and publish her plays.

Time is a resource that is equally available to everyone. Yet some like Suchita can find the time to do many activities while others seem to repeat the refrain, ‘I have no time!’ Pedro says that every time we declare that we don’t have time, it means that we don’t how to or we don’t want to. While the former is about time management skills, the latter reflects the resistance coming from our attitude.

If we all have the same hours to the day, everyone is equally advantaged to do the things we want. Hence the cue lies in the desire to do things. Hence, persons like Suchita find the time to do many diverse things as they are driven by a passion to do those things. And if we do all the things we like, we lead fuller lives. Eventually it is the busy who can find time because they are motivated to do so!

Fill up life with purposes born of passion
Find the time to involve in many actions!

~ Pravin Sabnis

Cheerful Choice

Facial expressions are a response to a stimulus. They are signals of emotion and social intent as a reaction to a situation or event or an individual or even a thought. However there are times when this choice is sans stimulus. This is reflected in what I like to call the neutral expression.

The neutral expression is one you wear without any stimulus, not even thought. It is the visual that others notice when you are by yourself. You could be walking, waiting or watching, all without knowing that you are being observed. It is the face that a candid camera would capture.

Some wear a blank expression, some have a persistent frown, some seem gloomy, some seem tired, some seem seething... but there are ones who seem perpetually pleased. Their eyes are alight with bliss. The smile curve is never reversed without reason. Being with such persons is a boon as their cheer is infectious.

Being cheerful cannot be a single choice of wearing a beaming expression. We need the internal trigger of positivity. We must be at peace with disappointments and doubts. We must look forward with hope. We must let go of hate and vengefulness. We must unlearn conditioning that introduces negativity in our attitude.

We cannot choose our situation at all times. We cannot choose results to our efforts. We cannot choose reactions of others. But we can choose positive thinking… of belief and hope… never mind the stimulus or the absence of it. Our neutral expression can be sunny even when we face darkness born of fatigue or failure… we will be enthused and energized… and so will others who see us!

Never mind the stimulus or the lack of it…
The choice to be cheerful is worth every bit!

~ Pravin Sabnis

Altruism

Yesterday, my facebook friend Pramod Kudchadkar passed away after losing out the battle with illness. His eyes (cornea) were donated along with his body to be useful to someone else. The cornea will help two persons have their sight restored and the body will aid many directly and indirectly. Truly an act of altruism by the one who pledged and the family who honoured that pledge!

The word ‘altruism’ was devised by French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as altruisme, as an antonym of the word ‘egoism’. He derived it from the Italian altrui, which in turn was derived from Latin alteri, meaning ‘other people’ or ‘somebody else’. It is about selflessness as a practice born of the concern for others.

Altruism is when an individual performs an action at a cost to himself but it benefits another individual, sans any expectation of reciprocity or compensation for that action. It is pertinent to note that altruism is different from sentiments of obligation which are predicated by relationships. Altruism is beyond relationships and hence it benefits others.

This world will be a better place if more and more of us choose acts of altruism. This ethical creed insists that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. Besides other ways of helping others sans any expectation, it includes donation of blood while alive and pledging of eyes, organs to be donated after death. Like Pramod let’s choose to be useful to ones who we don’t know, even when we are no more!

Death cannot deter true benefit to others…
If altruism is chosen over burial or embers!

~ Pravin Sabnis

Precious Gift

A wandering woman found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller and she opened her bag to share her food. He saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.

However, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. ‘I've been thinking,’ he said. ‘I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone.’

Sharing could involve collective use or outright gifting of one’s possession. We find it easier to share joint use, but find internal resistance if asked to part with valuables… be they resources, knowledge or skills. So often, for most of us, sharing is a comparative and reflexive activity. We give gifts to only those who give us gifts.

We are seized by insecurities towards our possessions. Consider knowledge for instance. Those who readily gift knowledge to the others are more worthy than the greatest of scholars who refuse to share their knowledge. In my occupation, the most admired trainers are not the ones who are the best at what they do; but ones who have ‘nurtured’ other trainers.

The ability to gift without any preconditions of transaction leads to a great treasure. By letting go, we liberate ourselves. By sharing, we enhance our relationship with the other person. By gifting, we empower our attitude and abilities. Such an attitude of unconditional sharing is the most precious gift that we can possess.

let go of the insecurities of possession
precious is the gift born of liberation!

~ Pravin Sabnis