New Year is a time for making new resolves. Whilst most resolutions are consigned to the dustbin, some survive due to the sheer sincerity of those who own them. And amidst the latter, lie certain resolutions that connect worthy dreams to committed action beyond the occasional occasion... my friend, Rodney was owner of one such worthy resolve...
When Rodney built his house, he decided to dig a well. His decision was in sync with his deep connect with a self sustainable approach towards resources, energy and ecology. But what was pertinent to note was that Rodney decided to dig his own well. For months, he would use spare time to dig out the hard rock behind his house. He is reached a considerable depth all by himself.
Most of us would love to have a well in our backyard. Some of us would invest in getting it dug up. However, very few would dig their own well. And most of these few would include farmers, tribals and others who work with their hands. The rest of us would have pushed ourselves on to the glorified platform of thought competencies with long wish-lists but a reluctance to put our efforts into action.
We need to ask ourselves what is it that we do to realise what are worthy wishes. Do we repair our own stuff? Do we clean up our own mess? Do we back our wishes with aligned actions? While wishing for something worthy is good, it would be better if we choose to ‘dig our own well’... like Rodney is doing!
Even if our resolve is worthy enough to tell
... it will BE BETTER if we dig our own well!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, January 2, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
LAST STEPS
Last Saturday recorded the demise of a dynamic socialist and freedom fighter, Shamrao Madkaikar, at the age of 101 years. While much can be written about his immense contribution to his various causes, this Monday Muse chooses to focus the primary reason for his longevity... nurturing by his son, daughter-in-law and family members.
Shamrao showed immense passion for life, but it was the round-the-clock care and attention that helped him live well. He was confined to a wheel chair in his final years. Yet he was surrounded by support that only true love can bring. His son, Narayan seemed to be repaying the debt of parenting by playing the father to his own father.
The Hindi film, Baghban had posed the pertinent query, “If a man helps you to walk your first steps in life, why can't you help him walk his last steps?” Though Narayan had no hesitation in parenting his parent, our society has too many elders without care-giving assistance. Not just physiological needs, emotional needs too are short-changed.
To be better at parenting parents, we must revisit the things we did while parenting our children... overt depiction of love, encouragement, patience, tolerance and unwavering support. Surely that is the least we can do to those who helped walk our first steps in life... by helping them walk their last steps with dignity, love and caring... like Narayan did with his father, Shamrao Madkaikar.
Now it our turn to BE BETTER at parenting
by helping walk the last steps of the aging!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Shamrao showed immense passion for life, but it was the round-the-clock care and attention that helped him live well. He was confined to a wheel chair in his final years. Yet he was surrounded by support that only true love can bring. His son, Narayan seemed to be repaying the debt of parenting by playing the father to his own father.
The Hindi film, Baghban had posed the pertinent query, “If a man helps you to walk your first steps in life, why can't you help him walk his last steps?” Though Narayan had no hesitation in parenting his parent, our society has too many elders without care-giving assistance. Not just physiological needs, emotional needs too are short-changed.
To be better at parenting parents, we must revisit the things we did while parenting our children... overt depiction of love, encouragement, patience, tolerance and unwavering support. Surely that is the least we can do to those who helped walk our first steps in life... by helping them walk their last steps with dignity, love and caring... like Narayan did with his father, Shamrao Madkaikar.
Now it our turn to BE BETTER at parenting
by helping walk the last steps of the aging!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, December 19, 2011
PURSUIT
It is quite a common site to see dogs chase vehicles that pass by. Once an amused observer asked a dog owner, "Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?" The owner coolly replied, "That is not what worries me. What bothers me is what he would do with the car if he ever caught one."
So often, so many of us behave like that dog who pursues a meaningless goal. And since success eludes us, we keep getting agitated and stressed out. Eventually pursuit itself becomes the main occupation while the thing being pursed remains consistently elusive.
For everything we set off to pursue in life, it would be better if we ask ourselves the fundamental questions of the relevance, the need and the worthiness of the goal that we chase. For every pursuit, we should be clear about what we would do when the pursuit ends in a result.
Pursuit of the meaningless is a habit that merits a avoid
Let’s BE BETTER at ensuring that goal is not a void!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
So often, so many of us behave like that dog who pursues a meaningless goal. And since success eludes us, we keep getting agitated and stressed out. Eventually pursuit itself becomes the main occupation while the thing being pursed remains consistently elusive.
For everything we set off to pursue in life, it would be better if we ask ourselves the fundamental questions of the relevance, the need and the worthiness of the goal that we chase. For every pursuit, we should be clear about what we would do when the pursuit ends in a result.
Pursuit of the meaningless is a habit that merits a avoid
Let’s BE BETTER at ensuring that goal is not a void!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, December 12, 2011
PURPOSE
“I am not really a cartoonist. I just draw!” – Mario Miranda
Mario Miranda died yesterday. Surely his impressive body of work as well as his inspiring life will continue to delight and motivate so many of us. It is pertinent to note that the above quote of Mario illustrates his clarity of vision of what he did and what he set out to do... to draw!
To draw had always been an irrepressible instinct for Mario. As a child, he would use charcoal bits from the fireplace or mud to draw on the walls of his house. His mother bought him a book and Mario’s picture diaries kept getting compiled. Eventually, he turned his passion into his profession. Nevertheless, he did not allow his original purpose to be doused at the altar of his profession.
Most doctors set out with a purpose to serve, most lawyers set off with a purpose to ensure justice, most teachers set off with a purpose to share learning, most journalists set off with a purpose to unravel the truth, so on and so forth. However, down the line our purpose is diluted by cynicism or complicity or lure. Like Mario, we need to be better at being true to our original purpose.
We need to ask ourselves whether we have forsaken the original purpose for whatever we set off to do. It is a primary responsibility to our inner self to be aligned with a path that is worthy and a cause for satisfaction and happiness. For we have seen that Mario lived a fuller life by not disconnecting from his original purpose... to draw!
to BE BETTER at staying true to original purpose...
Remind yourself why you set off on this course!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, December 5, 2011
BULL’S EYE
There is a story of the FBI being called into a small town to investigate what appeared to be the work of a skilled sharpshooter. All over town, many bull’s-eyes had bullets that had penetrated the exact centre of the targets. When the investigators finally found the man behind the shooting, they asked him how he had been able to shoot with such accuracy. His answer was simple: First he shot the bullet, and then he drew the bull’s-eye around where it had hit.
Often, the temptation is to rationalize our lives in such a way that no matter what we do, we flatter ourselves that it’s okay. Instead of living our lives with precision and clarity of focus, we chose a delusory approach to living. We choose to construct a self-laudatory Bull’s Eye around our aimless or wayward attempts.
When we position the target around our result, we deceive not only others... we deceive ourselves. Surely it would be better if goals are pre-determined and pre-declared. The Bull’s Eye must be identified before the actions, to hit target, are unleashed. Otherwise, we will be diverted from the attitude and approach to hit the real Bull’s Eye!
to BE BETTER at the Bull’s Eye game...
first set up target and then take aim!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Often, the temptation is to rationalize our lives in such a way that no matter what we do, we flatter ourselves that it’s okay. Instead of living our lives with precision and clarity of focus, we chose a delusory approach to living. We choose to construct a self-laudatory Bull’s Eye around our aimless or wayward attempts.
When we position the target around our result, we deceive not only others... we deceive ourselves. Surely it would be better if goals are pre-determined and pre-declared. The Bull’s Eye must be identified before the actions, to hit target, are unleashed. Otherwise, we will be diverted from the attitude and approach to hit the real Bull’s Eye!
to BE BETTER at the Bull’s Eye game...
first set up target and then take aim!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, November 28, 2011
HALF TRUTH
A sincere sailor got drunk, one night. This was the first time he had done so. The captain recorded it in the log, "The sailor was drunk tonight." The sailor knew this comment would affect his career, so he the captain to add that it only happened once in three years which was the complete truth. The captain refused and said, "What I have written in the log is the truth."
The next day it was the sailor's turn to fill in the log. He wrote, "The captain was sober tonight." The captain read the comment and asked the sailor to change or add to it explaining the complete truth because this implied that the captain was drunk every other night. The sailor told the captain that what he had written in the log was the truth.
Both statements were true but they conveyed misleading messages. Obviously they were half truths. So often we resort to half truths for a variety of reasons: carelessness, selfishness, to evade or pass on the blame. Never mind the reason, the result is the same: deceit.
We must be better at both, understanding as well as communicating the complete truth. We also need to examine the implications of our perceived truths. Surely if we can realise the result of what maybe a careless half truth, we will be more careful in our responses. For a half truth can be as dangerous as a lie.
Beware of the implications of half truthfulness...
Let’s BE BETTER at careful responsiveness!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
The next day it was the sailor's turn to fill in the log. He wrote, "The captain was sober tonight." The captain read the comment and asked the sailor to change or add to it explaining the complete truth because this implied that the captain was drunk every other night. The sailor told the captain that what he had written in the log was the truth.
Both statements were true but they conveyed misleading messages. Obviously they were half truths. So often we resort to half truths for a variety of reasons: carelessness, selfishness, to evade or pass on the blame. Never mind the reason, the result is the same: deceit.
We must be better at both, understanding as well as communicating the complete truth. We also need to examine the implications of our perceived truths. Surely if we can realise the result of what maybe a careless half truth, we will be more careful in our responses. For a half truth can be as dangerous as a lie.
Beware of the implications of half truthfulness...
Let’s BE BETTER at careful responsiveness!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Monday, November 21, 2011
FORESIGHT
On the same day, Pedro and Ladro joined a wholesale enterprise. Both worked very sincerely. In due course, the boss appointed Ladro as sales manager but Pedro remained a sales rep. A disheartened Pedro queried with his boss about the injustice meted out to him.
The boss assigned Pedro to find out if any melons were being sold in the market. He returned with an affirmative... when asked the rate Pedro went back to get the information. Next, Ladro was given the same assignment... he returned with a host of details: the number of melons on sale, the rate, discounts offered on big purchases, inventory and quality details, etc. Pedro decided not to resign but to learn from Ladro.
It is pertinent to note that successful persons are more observant, think more and understand in depth. Every moment, they see beyond to foresee the larger picture. Every day they look beyond the day to foresee the year. And since the difference between a year and a day is 365 times, their foresight becomes a crucial ingredient in their success.
Too often we shrink the possibility of foresight to just notice only the immediate. We need to ask ourselves, how far have we seen ahead in our life? How thoughtful in depth are we? After all, those who see beyond the limiting frame are also able to stretch the success probability because they choose to be better at foresight.
See beyond, think deep and do what’s right...
let’s BE BETTER at stretching our foresight!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
The boss assigned Pedro to find out if any melons were being sold in the market. He returned with an affirmative... when asked the rate Pedro went back to get the information. Next, Ladro was given the same assignment... he returned with a host of details: the number of melons on sale, the rate, discounts offered on big purchases, inventory and quality details, etc. Pedro decided not to resign but to learn from Ladro.
It is pertinent to note that successful persons are more observant, think more and understand in depth. Every moment, they see beyond to foresee the larger picture. Every day they look beyond the day to foresee the year. And since the difference between a year and a day is 365 times, their foresight becomes a crucial ingredient in their success.
Too often we shrink the possibility of foresight to just notice only the immediate. We need to ask ourselves, how far have we seen ahead in our life? How thoughtful in depth are we? After all, those who see beyond the limiting frame are also able to stretch the success probability because they choose to be better at foresight.
See beyond, think deep and do what’s right...
let’s BE BETTER at stretching our foresight!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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