Moon

The moon has no light of its own. It is a cold, rocky body, its surface covered in grey dust. Yet on a night like Kojagiri, it becomes the brightest thing in our sky. But, it is borrowed light.

The sun is the only great lamp in our solar system. It burns with its own energy. Moonlight is sunlight that has travelled a huge distance, struck the moon's surface and bounced back to the earth.

Moonlight is about 4,00,000 times dimmer than direct sunlight. Our eyes can adjust to it, which is why a night under a full moon feels bright. Our eyes find it as gentle, not harsh like the sun.

The moon teaches a quiet lesson: you don't have to produce your own light to illuminate the darkness. You just have to be positioned well enough to reflect someone else's, and to share it with those around you.

The sun is the real lamp that burns bright all day long

The moon is no less, ruling the night by reflecting strong!

~ Pravin K Sabnis 

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Partisan

The term comes from the Italian 'partigiano': a member of a party. In a democracy, parties need loyal members to organize, campaign, debate ideas and govern. The partisan shows up, volunteers, votes and defends his party's say. Political movements have depended on partisans who refused to be neutral.

Partisans turn negative when loyalty overrides judgment. Data is judged not by its accuracy, but by whether it helps or hurts one's own side. Many partisans are motivated more by dislike of the opposing party than by affection for their own. 'Hyper-partisanship' or 'tribalism' leads to institutional erosion too.

In everyday life, we navigate partisan pressures. Family, workplace, organisations and online algorithms reward taking a clear side. Being non-partisan can mean being uncommitted or disengaged. At the same time being partisan is often being irrational, unjust and unfair to the other side.

It is not whether you have a side, it is important as to how you hold it. Does being partisan make you open minded or close minded? Does it make you demand more from your own side or only from the other side? 

A healthy partisan says: 'This is my party, my cause and because I believe in it, I will hold it to its highest principles.' An unhealthy partisan says: 'This is my party, therefore whatever it does is right.' In that distinction lies the difference between a tool for democracy and as a threat to it.

Even when wrong, partisans cheer their team

Support your side, not the deviant scheme!

~ Pravin K Sabnis 

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The Elephant in the Room

An elephant standing in your room is impossible to miss. But if everyone pretends it is not there, the conversation continues around it. The phrase describes an obvious problem, difficult issue, or unspoken truth that is being avoided.

We know it. We see it taking up all the space. Yet, no one says a word. That is the elephant in the room... a truth so obvious, so large, that its very presence is ignored precisely because acknowledging it would be uncomfortable.

In a family, it might be a failing marriage that everyone knows about but no one discusses. In an organization, it is often the real reason a project is failing, a toxic manager no one dares to name, or a budget cut everyone suspects is coming. In society, it can be caste, corruption, climate change, or mental health... issues too big to ignore, yet too awkward to address directly.

There are reasons why we ignore the elephant in the room. Pointing at the elephant makes you the disruptor. People fear being labelled rude, negative or disloyal. Secondly, if we name the problem, we will have to do something about it. Pretending it doesn't exist feels safer than taking responsibility.

Social politeness is a major handicap. We are trained to be nice. Organizations often value harmony over honesty, so we choose polite silence over difficult truth. But, the energy spent ignoring the elephant is far greater than the energy required to address it.  

Every room has an elephant at some point. Mature people are those who learn to point to it quickly, kindly and courageously. Ignoring only makes the room smaller for everyone else. Acknowledging the elephant is an act of respect... for the truth, and for the people in the room.

When the elephant in the room is out there

Do not pretend otherwise, choose to dare!

~ Pravin K Sabnis 

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It is Okay!

These are the words that can either heal the other or hurt the one who utters it. We say it when someone spills or breaks something. When a friend cancels at the last minute. When someone apologizes for something that actually hurt. 

We say it because it is easy, because it smooths the surface. We want to be seen as kind or we may want to move on and beyond. However while saying 'it is okay' is a powerful act, it should not be misdirected.

It can be the most generous thing to do. It is forgiveness without a lecture. It is telling someone: You are human. You made a mistake, and it is okay. When someone is drowning in guilt, it can be the rope that releases both persons.

The problem begins when we say it even when it is not okay. You do it to avoid conflict. To keep the peace at the cost of our own peace. You end up teaching people that your boundaries are negotiable. 

We must learn to say it honestly. Saying 'it is okay' should be a conscious choice, not a reflex. It is okay to not be okay. And it is a joy when it truly is okay.

Choose to say or not to say

Those lovely words 'it is okay'

~ Pravin K Sabnis

 

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When? Then!

So often we choose 'I will be happy when... only then!' When I make a crore. When I have my dream car. When I get a coveted award. When? Then!

Psychologists call it the 'Arrival Fallacy'. Robert Holden called it 'Destination Addiction'. In simple terms, it is happiness deferral, meaning ignoring the small joys in the quest of the larger version of stated happiness.

The concern is not just that you are unhappy now. You begin to miss the only place happiness can actually happen... inside an ordinary, unfinished day in smaller but sure ways.

It is not about lowering goals. It is about refusing to make your well-being conditional on achieving them. If we reach the desired destination, we simply create another, thus deferring happiness to an even later date.

Aristotle said happiness is an activity, not a prize at the end. It's how you are while you live, not what you get after. So choose to enjoy the joys on the way instead of waiting for another day!

Defeat the trap of deferral by waiting for a later 'then'...

Lots of joys are found if we don't postpone the 'when'!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

 

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Role model

There are sincere persons who are aligned to defined responsibilities towards sustainable living. And there are self-declared environmentalists who are superficially interested in the environment. This tribe is interested in being seen as persons who care.

Their environmentalism is not about sacrifice. It is a curation. The norms they propose are for others. Their own consumption is framed as essential, conscious, offset. They are obsessed with symbolism over substance. 

Real environmentalism is boring, local, and humble. It is cleaning a beach without filming it. It is fixing things instead of replacing them, wasting less, consuming less quietly and living a sustainable life. It does not need a label, a hashtag, or a moral superiority complex.

As teachers, preachers, and leaders, we show the way to students, listeners, and followers. The question is whether we walk the talk and inspire by example. The question is whether we are role models to what we ask others to do.

Role Models, they say...

Walk the talk, every way!

~ Pravin K Sabnis 

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Correction

It is said that even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Its frozen hands match the repeating 12-hour cycle during both the morning and evening.

A clock that is wrong every time is the one that is running but on the wrong time. It is putting in the efforts but is just off enough to never accidentally show the right time.

That makes it seem worse than broken. A broken clock tells the truth twice by doing nothing. The wrong clock lies constantly by trying but repeating the error of being off time.

This is a good metaphor for people too. There are ones who keep doing the wrong thing because they are off track. It is important to start right and if not, we must get back to the right track.

However, not doing anything is not recommended even if you are right by some coincidence on random occasion. Most importantly, even if you are on the wrong track, you can always make the course correction. 

Don't play dead just to be right by chance

If the move is wrong, correct your dance

~ Pravin K Sabnis 

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