Active

Pedro was at home as the factory where he worked had shut down. His life had lost its steam as he awaited the restarting of the factory. He would literally drag himself even for simple chores. His hair was unkempt… clothes were crumpled… garden was full of weeds… his house and life were a mess.

One day, Pedro had new neighbours… the elderly couple had retired from their respective professions. Yet they seemed full of life. They were up and about early in the morning… always well groomed… growing vegetables in the garden… repairing, cleaning and doing something or the other!

Pedro was surprised at their zeal and zest. He asked them the secret of their joy. He was surprised with the answer. The couple had lost their only daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren in a road accident. To escape the pain, they chose to keep themselves active and busy. Since they had retired, they found out new things to do.

The lady said, ‘we have retired from our work but we chose to not retire from life! We lost our family but we still have each other. Instead of looking at what is gone, we looked at what we have and what we can create’. The man hummed a Hindi film song, ‘Jeevan chalne ka naam’ (Life is about moving on)…

Pedro learnt the value of being active. The word suggests activity, applying it to anything implies some sort of motion or action. A person might be physically active, not sitting around and doing nothing, or mentally active, working the mind. But the main thing is to be active. And doing different things makes it even more fun!

It is not good to stay static especially when you are feeling helpless and hopeless. We must find things to do… some activity… maybe a hobby…some work, any work! The purpose is to be active. The activity could be personal, social, recreational or even another career… something to be active!

Forlorn are those who resign to their fate

Be active and watch joy enter life’s gate!

~ Pravin K. Sabnis

Integrity

 INTEGRITY

 My friend was animatedly expressing his anger at the irresponsible behaviour of people flouting basic safety norms during the pandemic. ‘They must be named and shamed’, he insisted. When asked ‘How’ he replied, ‘expose them at the same place where they flaunt proof of how they flouted the guidelines… on social media!’

 I started to move away. My friend asked, ‘Where are you going?’ I replied, ‘I am off to put together photos and posts of a friend who went for parties, wore the mask on his chin, went for group picnics, posed in large intimate groups on the beach… I have over a dozen evidences of his mischief.’

 My friend was ecstatic, ‘Great! Such rogues must be taught a lesson… Who is it? Anyone I know?’ I quietly replied, ‘YOU!’

 It is rightly said that the true test of character is what you do when no one is watching. Most people who purposefully do wrong things, do so stealthily when no one is watching. However later, they have a story they want to tell. And many end up telling it or showing it on social media.

 This flaunting, of what you flouted, is a clear sign of a lack of remorse. Instead they ‘show off’ their ‘privilege’ to break the law and ‘get away’. It is indicative of being above and beyond restrictions and implications. And it is the same tribe that will claim the high moral ground when someone else is caught.

 We must ask ourselves whether we do what we expect others to do. Integrity is about aligning our actions to what we know is the right thing to do. The best way to avoid getting caught doing a wrong… is to not commit the wrong! Forget about who else may be watching… we must watch our acts!

 The dark will not let you get away

Light up your integrity every day!

 ~ Pravin K. Sabnis

 

Mahi Way

 India’s Independence Day became occasion for its adored son to liberate himself from international cricket. Mahendra Singh Dhoni walks away with an outstanding performance as a leader who won hearts due to his inspirational leadership.

 Mahi (as he is lovingly called) is considered an ‘effective’ finisher in crunch conditions. This quality made him a highly effective leader. In pressure cooker situations, Mahi would remain as calm as light air and show the way to his team.

 This is perhaps the greatest leadership lesson to learn from Mahi… to hold head… to be in control of emotions… to soothe nerves of colleagues by displaying a calm demeanour… to have an uncluttered mind that is focussed on the finish line…

 Mahi has many admirable attributes as a leader and as a player. But his ability to seem and stay calm was truly outstanding. He would not be overtly distressed in defeat nor did he go over the top after victory. He never lost focus of the larger picture. MSD was Captain Cool!

 This attitude helps take rational decisions. It aids the control of emotions and helps cope with challenges in a better manner. It is about choosing to respond calmly instead of rushing to react. Surely the Mahi way is the best practice to embrace!

 Hold your cool, every tough day

It is great to walk the Mahi way!

 ~ Pravin K. Sabnis

 

Compassion

Many years ago, I met a visitor from Japan, constantly wearing a mask on his nose and mouth. I presumed he wanted to escape the pollution. Maybe he was prone to allergies. However, he told me that he did not want to infect others with the mild common cold that he had.    

What a noble sentiment! He was thinking of others. He did not want to be the reason of hurt or pain to others. He was showing compassionate empathy towards the possibility of infecting others. He cared for even the ones he did not know.  

Compassion is derived from Latin ‘compassio’ and ‘compati’ that means ‘to suffer with’. It is to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. What was even more commendable was that the person was taking precautionary measures to avoid the suffering of others.

Compassion like sympathy is about feeling concern for someone, but with an additional move towards action to mitigate the problem. It is not just a sentiment but it results in responsible actions. When we hold compassion for others, we hold on to our humanity!

Let compassion be the guiding reason

So that humane values have cohesion!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Slowdown

 In 1992, my friend Rodney Pereira stayed on a mountain during the summer vacation. I would join him on some days. I had done solitary trips before into the wild but they were only during the day or in large trekking groups. Now it was overnight and with few for company.

 Life seemed to have no urgent purpose... water to drink and wash was from a stream, twigs for fire were strewn all over, tea was sans milk and sugar, meals were pez (rice gruel) and pickle. Time would drag by and life was on a slowdown. 

 But in this slowdown, we discovered 'time to stand and stare'. We learnt to not hoard and live frugally. We found time to talk and we found time to stay silent. In the silence we heard sounds of Nature and we heard our inner thoughts.

 The pandemic has brought our world to a slowdown. And just as well! We were running around at crazy speeds, hoarding and acquiring needless assets, creating a strain on natural resources and losing focus of our collective responsibilities to our world and our people.

 These days will pass. But slowdown must remain the new normal. We must not let go of the new positive habits acquired during these trying times. We must choose to be responsible and responsive in every action. We must slow down!

 With the rush, rises the frown

We all need a real slowdown!

 

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Trim

‘It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away’ - Antoine de Saint Exupery

The French aviator-author, Saint-Exupéry was a literary perfectionist. His draft pages had most of his lines painstakingly crossed out, with one word left standing where there were a hundred words, one sentence substituting for a page. His quest for perfection was a laborious process of editing which reduced original drafts by as much as two-thirds.

So much thoughtful effort and design goes into refining things so they are as simple as possible. Effective transformations happen when inefficiencies are ironed out and the needless is trimmed. Mobile phones had an extending antenna, then a little nub, and now no visible antenna at all.

The lesson is to avoid worrying about making it better by adding more. Enhancement happens best by trimming away the unnecessary. Whether it is our regular communication, design plans or creative efforts, we must focus on trimming away the unnecessary inclusions.

Trim away what is excessive

Brevity makes it impressive!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is valued technique in oratory. The word comes from the Greek term for orator and is used for the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing. The three branches of rhetoric - deliberative, judicial, and epideictic – cover the most common ways we communicate.

Deliberative rhetoric seeks to persuade or dissuade a person to think or act in a certain way. It is about the future. We hear it in political speeches, in formal presentations or even in advertising where you persuade someone to buy or do something or dissuade them from other products or brands.

Judicial rhetoric seeks to accuse or defend someone. It is about the past. It is the kind of discourse that happens in a courtroom, in law making – where parties deliberate over whether actions were legal or ethical. It is really about justifying actions and can include personal justifications as well.

Epideictic rhetoric is used to praise (or blame) a person for their actions. It is about the present. It seeks to highlight and identify the qualities and characteristics of a person that make them great (or not great). We see it in obituaries, eulogies, testimonials and nomination speeches.

The purpose of rhetoric is a persuasive effect. However, it is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content. This is because in the bid to be impressive, we tend to go overboard. So while we may stand our ground, it may be shaky ground. We must escape the trap of going off course.

Past, present or future… whatever be the way…

Rhetoric should persuade without going astray!

~ Pravin K Sabnis