Sandwich generation– monday muse (17 May’10)

SANDWICH GENERATION

Upon completing his training in restoration and conservation, Victor Hugo Gomes returned to Goa to take charge as curator of the Musuem of Christian Art at the Seminary of Rachol. His research made him realise that years of accumulated wisdom in agrarian practices, traditional implements, tools, arts, crafts and the valuable artefacts in and around the state, was being neglected or left to decay.

Victor went on to embark on an arduous and remarkable journey of visiting and collecting items of Goa’s rich cultural heritage. His ethnographical Goa Chitra museum is not just a fantastic collection of ancient artefacts. Adjacent to the museum is a 3-acre field that has been created using traditional organic farming methods and allows visitors to actually use some of the implements on display within.

It all began for Victor with an awareness of being part of a sandwich generation. A sandwich generation is the crucial link between major transitions in society. It stands on the threshold of time, as an increasing dependence on technology and mass manufactured products push out time-honoured tools and practices. The real loss, as Victor says, is about losing evidence of the sustainable lifestyles of our forefathers.

Victor and his wife Aldina, inspire us to be better at carrying on the legacy of long-established wisdom and practices. It is up to us in the sandwich generation to ensure that the collective wisdom of sustainable living, acquired over the ages, is not lost to the future generations due to wrong choices in our lifestyles. If cannot add, may we at least maintain the worthy legacy of forefathers and pass it on to the next generation.

It will BE BETTER if the sandwich generation…
Will make the connect with sustainable action!

- Pravin K. Sabnis
Check out http://www.goachitra.com

CURTAIN CALL

In stage shows, at the end of a performance when the performers return to be recognized by the audience for what is called a curtain call. One by one, actors, dancers, musicians and backstage artists assemble on stage to receive their rightful applause from an appreciative audience. However, the tradition is not restricted only to stage performances. In sports contests, sportspersons who perform well return to the field of play after a big play or at the conclusion of the game for recognition. In movies, the curtain call showcases the film's end credits through clips, stills, or outtakes of the various players.

The concept of a curtain call came to mind after hearing of the shocking news came of a friend who died last weekend. Some spoke, some wrote about the tragedy of a youth dying young; about his achievements and the legacy of a life cut short. But sadly death permits no curtain call. The one who is dead cannot bask in the warm appreciation or even affectionate criticism by the ones who miss him.

Hence it is important that we give performers the benefit of appreciation through a curtain call, while they are alive. What we speak or write in their memory has meaning only for the family, friends and community and others, not for the one who is dead! Hence it is necessary that appreciation of a worthy effort or achievement is immediate.

However curtain calls are not about lavish felicitations or eloquent tributes or awards. As any stage performer would tell you, curtain calls are about unadulterated appreciation. Nothing more. Nothing less. Hence it would be better if the deserving get called for the curtain call as often as they perform!

May the curtain call happen every time it is deserved…
Let’s BE BETTER at appreciating before life is severed!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

JUST ASK!

A Zen tale tells of three monks who practised meditation together, sitting by the side of a lake. One day, one monk opened his eyes and stood up to say, ‘I forgot my mat.’ Instead of walking around the lake to their hut, he stepped onto the water and serenely walked across the lake! Upon his return, the second monk declared, ‘I forgot to put my clothes to dry.’ He too walked across the water and returned the same way.

Now the third monk decided to test of his own abilities. He rose to declare, ‘your learning cannot be greater than mine… I too can match any feat you two can perform!’ he rushed to the water's edge to walk across it. He promptly fell into the deep water. Wet but undeterred, he climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. The other two monks watched as this went on for some time.

After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said, "Do you think we should tell him where the stones are?"

Just because something appears easy for others; it may not be so for us. Disproportionate pride in our perceived abilities arises from a snooty attitude that makes us presume that we can easily do what others do effortlessly. In the quest to be better; we belittle the method and attach undue and bloated importance to our own capabilities.

So many things can be emulated successfully, only if we were willing to be humble learners! Pedro says, ‘avoid assumptions; to learn, simply ask’. After all, that’s how we learnt to do so many things in our childhood. Let’s shun childish arrogance and embrace childlike humility and eagerness to ask and learn…

May learning by humble asking never make us queasy…
sure, we can BE BETTER at doing what others find easy!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

TALENT

What really is talent? Can a person with a melodious voice be described as talented? Surely not until an audience appreciates his singing! When we speak about somebody’s talent we are obviously talking about a proven performance, not about a latent quality. And hence technique and temperament will determine what can be certified as talent.

Among young children, it is easy to notice an instinctive flair for singing, drawing, story-telling and dancing. With inspirational nurturing, natural flairs can be developed into skills. But competitive comparisons with the performances of other children often results in a lack of belief. And hence adults often declare that they cannot sing or draw or dance!

John W Gardner wrote, 'There are those who perform great deeds and those that make it possible for others to perform great deeds. There are pathfinders and path preservers. There are those who nurture and those who inspire. There are those whose excellence involves doing something well and those whose excellence lies in being the kind of people they are, lies in their kindness or honesty or courage.'

Earlier 'talent' referred to expertise or achievement of a pre-determined objective. Today 'talent' denotes broader nuances of leadership potential, abilities to straddle varied functional areas, cultures and geographic boundaries - all in a seamless manner. Real talent needs the development of soft skills, values, the ability to work in teams, to think out of the box, and importantly, the willingness to learn and share.

Each of us are owners to many a talent

Let’s be better at developing the latent!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

GREAT DAY

One of the best lines of wishes that I picked up from my favourite teacher, Fr Gatti was, ‘Have a great day!’ Before I met him the best wish that I heard was ‘have a good day’. Instinctively to me it was akin to a hopeful wish that only good things should happen. However, Fr Gatti’s wish resonated with resolve and inspiration to make the day great.

So how does one make a great day? It is pertinent to learn the lessons from little children. Babies can gleefully play with empty boxes and other trivia. For them, the sights of a bright flower or a chirpy bird or a gushing stream or a splendid rainbow are all triggers of great joy. A day of play with friends and family, whether outdoors or indoors, are occasions for certifying it to be a great day.

Surely, we were the same when young. Yet so often, we adults wait for our ‘great days’ without realizing that the day that went by and that the day that comes will be great days only if we look upon them as such. We tend to set too many criteria for happiness: ‘when I get this’, ‘when I have more money’, ‘when I have a better house, better furniture, so on and so forth’ and we forget to live every day, enjoying today.

We should be more like children who truly live in the moment! As we get older, we distance ourselves from the approach of enjoying each and every day. We must retain our child like attitude of living each moment to its fullest and making a better and greater day! We need to realise that more important than money and material are the valuable moments of time invested in enjoying simple pleasures.

Learn from the child, life’s little joys seem to say

Let’s BE BETTER at making possible a great day!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

TURBULENCE

‘Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors’ - African proverb

The test of the skill of a sailor is his ability to manage the challenges of a rough sea. And the biggest challenge of them all is in the mind. Will self-doubts overcome belief? Will wild winds blow holes in our purpose? Will the bumpy waves drown down perseverance?

Surely the strongest trait of character lies in the value of perseverance. The dictionary explains perseverance as steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief or a purpose. Yet, so often we are derailed by the changing tracks of chaotic challenges. So often, our craving for peace results in running way from turmoil. We choose to play blind, deaf, mute and lame to the unrest in the circumstances.

Craving for selfish peace in the midst of turmoil is akin to sterile thinking. It will never enhance your acquired skills. On the other hand, the biggest achievements in arts, science, and also in our history, are the outcome of turbulent thoughts taken head-on by resolute minds. Those who can literally ride the rough seas are the ones who will be better at developing their abilities and actualise their potential.

Come on now; do not sing the loser’s song,

Let’s be better at taking turbulence head-on!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

LAST LECTURE

The Carnegie Mellon University had an academic tradition where top academics were invited to deliver a hypothetical ‘last lecture’. The speaker had to share the pick of his wisdom with the world as if it was his last chance! However in 2007, when Randy Pausch stood up to speak, it was no hypothetical situation as he was actually facing death!

A month before the lecture, Randy’s pancreatic cancer, after a year of surgery and chemotherapy, was confirmed to be terminal. However, in his ‘last lecture’, Randy shrugged off pity. He didn’t speak about death; he spoke about life and of living a more fulfilling life, by simply achieving childhood dreams. He offered insights from his childhood and important lessons he wanted his kids to learn. He reiterated the need to enjoy everything we do and to live life to its fullest before it ends.

On 25 July 2008, Randy succumbed to pancreatic cancer, but his book based on his last lecture continues to inspire. He said that he would rather have cancer than be hit by a bus. After all, if he died suddenly, he wouldn't have had the time to spend as much possible time with his family and getting their life ready for his death and beyond. Knowing that he was going to die resulted in enhancing his remaining life.

To be better at living the life that we really want to live, we must put together our ‘last lecture’… our thoughts, if we knew we had few days to live. We need to reconnect to our childhood dreams that lie hidden in the maze of complexities that are created by our desperate dash towards materialistic goals. When we envision our ‘last lecture’ and allow it to align with a mission, we will find true meaning to our lives.

Our last lecture can truly be our guiding mission…

To BE BETTER at living life in sync with our vision!

- Pravin K. Sabnis