Socials

Yesterday, Samraat Club Panaji organised a get-together of members and families. Since the pandemic, some members had met on occasions for meetings or club projects. But the get-together with family was happening after over 15 months.

 Family get-togethers mean songs, jokes and games. It was like before… a joyful informal atmosphere exclusive for Club members and their family. Of course, it was online but the need to meet each other was met.

 Besides food, clothing, shelter; humans ‘need to connect with other’ human beings. It helps connection (physical or emotional) that create. Regular connection with others gives us a sense of well-being that allows for self-care and bolsters self-esteem.

 Such connections best happen in ‘socials’ amidst family, friends and organisations. We are able to discover and disclose facets of each personality. The connections get better as all of us are ‘social’ animals.

 Most social organisations like Samraat, JCI, Lions, Rotary and Giants employ ‘socials’ to help bonding among members, But it is pertinent that ‘socials’ should not disturb other circles. Hence it helps to involve family members too.

 ‘Socials’ are not about indulgent partying. They must serve the purpose to connect with others. We must reclaim the child in us and others that leads to individual as well as collective joy. Even in virtual space the impact remains real!

Socials help connect with the other

Do it online if restraints are a bother

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Slow the pace

A young man was running to his meditation class. A wise master stopped him in his tracks. The young man pleaded, ‘Master, please let me go… I have to rush to get to my relaxation class.’ The master calmly replied, ‘You cannot relax if you rush!’

We have to step out of the race and relax. It is called the Rat Race of hustle-bustle, slam-bang speed. Rush, rush, rush seems to be our anthem of life. It isn’t good for us. In fact it harms our bodies and minds.

Sure, we may be getting ahead and ‘living the dream,’ but at a huge cost. We are exhausted and worn out. We miss out on many little joys on the way as we are hurtling at a furious pace. We must halt and take the time to consider our life’s journey.

We must escape the vice of hurriedness. We must enjoy the slower side of things. To be calm even in the midst of a world of chaos. To slow the pace of life and relish every second. Slow the pace. Such beautiful words that are full of meaning and purpose!

Keep going to your destination. Keep living your dream. But do not rush such that you miss out on the joys of living. Do not speed such that you suffer a breakdown. Slow the pace. You will find yourself refreshed and leading a fuller life with happy moments.

Quit the exasperating rat race

To truly refresh, slow the pace!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Go to know

The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 film on the journey of a 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who went to become the iconic Marxist guerrilla leader ‘Che’ Guevara. It based on the trip diary of the young man who had taken a break from his medical studies.

The film recounts the 1952 expedition, initially by motorcycle, across South America by Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado. Besides being a road movie, the film is a coming-of-age film; as the adventure, initially of youthful pleasure-seeking, unfolds into life changing experiences.

Through the poor peasants and the inmates at a leper colony where they stay, the duo witness first-hand, injustices that the deprived face. They are exposed to social classes they may have never encountered otherwise. As a result, the trip plants the initial seed of cognitive dissonance and radicalization within Guevara.

Alberto said of the film, ‘it shows what we were, which was two young men who went looking for adventure and found the truth and tragedy of our homeland.’ And that is the most pertinent message of their trip. The truth is out there and we have to go meet it.

So often, so many of us build up our understanding on single perceptions from a static position. We must to step out of our comfort zone. We must wander to encounter and experience the predicament of underserved and deprived human beings.

Our privilege prevents us from noticing the obvious discriminations. It is only when we live alongside the strugglers that we understand the injustice of it all. It is the experience that will lead to understanding and empathy. Attempt for solutions will follow.

Step out to truly know…

With an open mind, Go!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

One

On December 1, 1955, Rose Parks was seating on a bus-seat secluded for blacks. The driver demanded that she relinquish her seat to a white passenger. Parks refused and her subsequent arrest and trial for this act of civil disobedience triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

It was one of the largest and most successful mass movements against racial segregation in history, and launched Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the organizers of the boycott, to the forefront of the civil rights movement.

Her role in American history earned her an iconic status in American culture. Her actions have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world.

We insist that ‘an individual cannot make a difference’. Rosa Parks taught a significant lesson: the power of one… the power of individual initiative. She did not wait for people to join. She had the courage to stand up for what she believed in.

Anyone can swim with the tide. It requires conviction and character to move against the tide. However she did not rest with individual action. She moved beyond to involve and consolidate the collective. The power of one increases with the addition of other ‘ones’.

But the onus is on the first one to take the first step. It may seem insignificant but when one stands for the right value, we add meaning and purpose to our life. We must own up to the aligned action that we know is for human good.

One does not remain a solitary intention
when collective gets together into action

~ Pravin K Sabnis