Being an inspiration

In a span of one year, 3 women have told me that they found me inspirational, in 3 different attributes.

A member of Nerul branch of my library opened a branch of her own saying that I was the inspiration behind her action. She saw me handling my members, my employees and the operations of the library.

A famous author said I inspired her given the way I was managing 2 branches of library, one at Nerul and one in Thane, while staying in Chembur. When I told her I took up a full time employment at the age of 47, she called me a rock star.

Being the oldest student (48 years old) at Zumba class, another student said I was an inspiration for her as I was not only dancing the way the others (much younger to me) were doing, but also maintaining an exercise regime every morning.

Parenting

Even before my daughter was born, I would read a lot on child psychology and articles and books on child upbringing. Of course, most of the books were by foreigners, but some articles were by Indians. These have helped a lot in understanding my daughter and trying to be a better parent.

1.       We need to realise that each child is unique, so comparison is an absolute no-no.
2.           We tend to compare our childhood, what we did, what we did not, what we were allowed to do, and not allowed to do, what we wanted, but could not have.. The last one, I realised was the most dangerous one. I have seen parents around me wanting to give their children things and tell everybody that they have done so. This seemed to me more as a “thing to be proud about”, “see I can afford it” types. These are usually counterproductive. We, as parents, would then find it difficult to bring in the values in our children. Comparison with other children’s possessions start, so we start “keeping up with the Joneses”. What a child starts with demanding for something worth Rs 10/- leads to the child demanding something worth 1000 times that, by then it is too late to arrest the demands.
3.          It is not easy in today’s world to be your child’s friend. It works both ways. The balance is very delicate.
4.         Lead with your actions. We cannot tell our child to behave in a particular fashion if we behave in the opposite manner.
5.          Our values and culture form a strong base. If these are imbibed well at early stages, half the battle is won.
6.        Most important, I have realised very recently, we have to teach our children the lessons of life. They have to be able to face the difficulties that come on their path and give them a tough fight.

True Beauty

True beauty comes from heart. It is how you respond to people, how you treat other forms of beings around you. It is how to speak to them. The face shines, because the heart is pure and the words coming out are pleasant. There is no filth inside. There is purity and the shine on the face is due to that purity.

If we are able to think without being judgmental, there are more positive thoughts generated. Such thoughts lead to positive and pleasant words being spoken. The environment is more pleasing and transmits positive energy. The smile that is generated through words elevates the levels of positive energy.

A person who always smiles, or rather has a “smiling face” will look younger than their contemporaries.

Have you reached there?

How would you know if you have reached there? Because if you know it then you have not reached.

To be calm or not...

Hypertension patients are known for short tempers. But there is a paradox. A person who is outwardly very calm, may also be suffering from high Blood Pressure, as his outward calm may be a façade of his inner turbulence. He does not blow up, but keeps everything with himself thus building up the pressure. So is calmness good or bad? I would say such kind of calmness is good for others, but bad for the person himself and blowing up is bad for others and good for self. So, is it better to be self-centred?

Ramblings

We think too much
We analyse too much
Hence we get into wrong interpretations
Which lead us to wrong thinking
Leading to wrong conclusions
As we base our actions on such conclusions, our actions are misguided
Our actions provoke the person at whom they are directed.

Go, stick it!

The entrepreneurial bug bit me too! Being fond of trying new recipes, dear ones suggested I could start food business. So, off I went, sans a business plan, to provide lunch to the corporate world. I went around distributing leaflets - some took it with some interest, a few smiled and some others threw it away. I pretended not to notice.

I went to business centres, where a lot of offices were situated. My idea was to provide "Executive Lunch", calling it Soul Food.

One day, I walked into an office. There wasn't a soul around. I called out, but got no response. I looked around and saw a notice board. I did what I thought was unthinkable by me (as I am an introvert and basically a shy person). I put up the flyer on the notice board and walked away discretely.