“Who knows for certain” Rig Ved

No no, I am not trying to start a discourse on religion or philosophy. Neither is this a metaphysical discussion. But come to think of it, who actually knows for certain. Take for example human relationships. We think we know our family and friends. But one fine day we discover some facet of their personality that we had no idea about.

So often people who we trusted and thought knew them betray us. The boy who was the troublemaker in the class was actually being abused at home; the colleague who acted snooty is suffering from depression, the boss who is never satisfied with your work is going through a separation and so on.

Scientists claim that they know for certain and to an extent they are right. But even they have not been able to explain how pyramids were constructed or how Stone Henge cam to be at that height and distance from any source of stones. So they say they were build by aliens. Science has also not been able to explain fully the functioning of brain. There are many other things.

Do we know how nature functions in perfection with its ecological systems and cycles?

To top it all do we know who we are? Do we know our deepest secrets that lie buried in the abysmal pit of our subconscious? Do we ever talk to ourselves? Do we ever try to live in total honesty of thoughts, actions and behaviour? Do we know for certain that the face we present to the world or even our loved ones is our real face?

My suggestion, take out some time today and reflect on this. Then try to make this into a habit. You will enjoy it, I can assure you.

So be it!!!

‘Quality is not an act, it is a habit’ -  Aristotle

Yesterday a friend of mine gifted me a silk scarf. It is beautiful and is made of pure silk. She had gifted another stole to me earlier and that too was of very fine quality. I have noticed this about her. She does everything with quality. Be it decorating her house, cooking, clothes, even her manner of speaking. It is her habit.

My grandmother was a stickler for quality. She would dice onions with such precision that each piece would be of the same size. She would say,’ anybody can dice onions but to do that with quality is the test how dedicated you are to details. I used to wonder what has dicing of onion got to do with our attitude about quality?’ But as I grew, I understood what she meant. Often times we try to get away from a particular task because we are in a hurry and we say lets get it over with. In the process, we compromise on quality.

Quality is a habit, which can be developed, but like all habits, one should have the awareness that we need it. Its better to set fewer tasks to accomplish in a day and do quality work, rather than finishing more but shabbily. Quality over quantity is an age-old adage. It is our attitude that decides whether we are going to do an excellent job or a passable one. Ever wondered that in spite of you working more, your colleague gets all the praises although he/she accomplishes less? Next time see the quality of their work.

Remember when we had to make indexes on the front page of our homework notebooks? There were students who would draw the index right in the beginning of the year and fill them diligently. Then there were many who would do a last minute job and would spill ink or make a wrong entry. Well, chances are if you fell in the latter category, you are still doing a last minute job in your presentations in the office. Quality was habit that you did not cultivate. It took me some years to do that.

But believe me, it gives you immense satisfaction if you pay attention to all the details and do an excellent job.

So in case you are still struggling, go ahead and start today. It is never too late.

So be it!!!

“ He who has a Why to live can bear almost any How” Nietzsche

Some one asked me how could you write a blog everyday. What’s new that you can write day after day? Well, for me writing is mainly self-expression so I write about what ever stimulates my mind. It could be an event or a thought or something someone said. Sometimes it just occurs to me.

But I have a why. I want to share my thoughts and opinions so someone can relate and learn something from it. I have been criticized that I always sound like a coaching guru but that it incidental. My outlook in life is generally optimistic and I am mort times hopeful. I have my lows but my innate sunny nature doesn’t let me remain down and out for long.

Those who don’t have this sunny outlook may feel the burden of things, a crisis, a life turning event, loss of a loved one. So if they can find something in my blog, I have achieved my purpose.

There is a purpose of our coming to this earth. If we can find that purpose, very good. If we cannot find it lets invent one and work towards that. It could be anything. Some thing that makes you happy. Through that you can bring about your life. Do that just to be happy and not expecting anything. Focus on that and you will find that your life has a new meaning.

So be it!!!

“ You speak an infinite deal of nothing” – Shakespeare

Isn’t that true for most of us? We make conversations; at least that’s what we like to think. But in reality we hardly listen to the other person. More often than not, we keep rambling about what we think and what happened to us. Other times, we try to prove our point by using long, complex words to impress others or take refuge in hyperbole.

We think that if we use nice sounding words, we will be able to win a debate. We forget that brevity is the soul of wit, another wisecrack from the bard. In fact, we get so lost in this labyrinth of difficult words that we sometime loose our thread of thoughts. See what I mean?

When I first started writing prose, under my husband’s tutelage, he told me three rules of good writing. First, be clear of what you want to say. Second, be concise and third, your writing should make a logical whole. He also advised me to beware of long winding sentences. They may give the impression of your good vocabulary but they seldom add to the content. Simple, short sentences convey our thoughts in a much precise manner.

Politicians all over the world though, don’t seem to follow these rules. The more the hyperbole, the more they are able to mislead you and sway your vote. Ivory tower philosophers, critics and academicians also fall in this category.

Am I saying that we should not embellish our writing or conversation? We should but just keep in mind that the Morse’ code is just syllables and is one of the most powerful code to send the messages.

So just think before you speak or write. Are you taking a refuge in wordplay or are you ready to face the issue openly? The choice is yours.

So be it!!!

‘Sweets to the sweet’

Well, the bard said in some other context in Hamlet, but I am using it in my perspective. Yes, I am back. Took a hiatus for a couple of months but once again the temptation to share my feeling and opinions with you brought me back.

Why talk about sweets? To tell you the truth, I have a major sweet tooth, rather a tusk. I am the kind of person who would eat not just one laddoo after a meal but at least three. In fact, I could make a meal of sweets. The first thing I would notice in any party was dessert. Be it south Asian sweets, cakes and pastries or chocolate, I always had appetite for anything sugary.

My metabolism was fast, so eating sweets was not a problem but now in my middle age, I started to notice my expanding girth. I have been doing yoga for years, well, not in the past couple of years, but I have been an active person. So this time too I started a regime of exercise but I was not losing either weight or inches. We eat healthy otherwise and I just eat a bowl of fruit in breakfast. I was still not losing. So my husband suggested I give up sweets. WHAT? Give up sweets? How will I survive? He said, what do you want? A slim waist or an ever-expanding waist?

There was logic in what he said. I started with taking a teaspoon of honey in my tea instead of three teaspoons of sugar. I did that for a week and found my body was less sluggish. Next step, I gave up on sweets. YES !!! I decided to have sweets only on Saturday. And of course a long walk and some yoga. Its been two months and I have lost four kilos and my dress size is already one mark down.

More than that, I feel great. My body is light, more agile and more energetic. I am now on to building core strength. I sleep better and I eat better. My cholesterol level is now normal. So are you trying to loose weight? Stop eating sugar. Sugar gets converted into fat not ghee. Just keep one cheat day so you don’t go on binge sweet eating. But keep that too to a minimum. Add some exercise in your daily routine and eat fresh homemade food.

Believe me you will feel great.

So be it!!!