Lessons from my Life

I have been thinking for a long time that I should write about things which have helped me in my life. There are different things I learnt as I grew up as everyone else does in their life. I want to share the good stuff from my life and I hope that it helps someone out there who is young or just needs to know.

Talk about compliments :

Ha~ Ok so I am going to give a lecture on compliments. I feel people don't compliment each other enough. I don't know why. Maybe sometime we want to say something nice to someone and then decide not to say it as we think that person may take it in the wrong way. Or we feel that it's not such a big deal, we will say it some other day. I think this is sad. We have such a short life! If we want to say something nice to someone - just say it. If a good word brings a smile on someone's face then why lose that opportunity to bring that smile? Why are we so stingy? Why we think so much?? lol. ..

I used to be very shy so even when I wanted to compliment someone, I didn't say it. Especially I was shy to talk with men. My shyness was such a terrible thing for me. All I could do was just smile! lol...and my cheeks would go all red! Phew..stupid me.....I couldn't make me open my lips to say those good words!! But gradually I have changed. I speak freely with people now and yes, I compliment people when I really think they have done something nice or they deserve to hear something nice. The thought that goes on in my mind is there is so much sadness in this world. So we should never let go any single chance( even a little one like complimenting someone) to make someone happy or to spread the joy ~~

A few months ago I was at a nice restaurant with some friends. We had a lovely lunch. Then they gave us a form to fill - the feedback form - the chef was around - curious to know what we thought about the food. To be honest, it was really nice food, awesome taste. I wrote all that in the form and returned it. And a few mintues later the chef and the manager came running to our table. I was thinking - oh my what did I write?? :) The manager asked me - you have written such good things about our food and restaurant, thank you so much but in the rating section you have rated us only as Good and not Excellent - was there something wrong or something that you didn't like which made you mark us as Good? I said , 'Oh , that!' Giving them the nicest smile I know , I said , actually my mom is the only Excellent cook I know - for the rest of the world I would only say Good ;-) hehe....They both laughed heartily and so did everyone else at the table! :-) Moral of the story - be honest with compliments. Don't say it ,if you don't mean it. ;))

I like to compliment people. I like to smile. :) It makes me feel good and makes my life beautiful. I know there are lots of rotten apples out there - greedy, grumpy or wicked people - we can't be cold because of that as there are many good people too out there. We are not going to take our thoughts to the grave ;) hehe... so might as well share it with others around as long as they are good thoughts.. :)))))

Smiles and Joy to you ~~

:)

Never give up!!

Ajahn Sumedho Teachings

Life is Like This

These are the things we can contemplate. We can’t control what arises in the mind, but we can reflect on what we are feeling and learn from it rather than simply being caught helplessly in our impulses and habits. Even though there is a lot in life that we can’t change, we can change our attitude towards it. That’s what so much of meditation is really about—changing our attitude from a self-centered, “get rid of this or get more of that” to one of welcoming life as it is. Welcoming the opportunity to eat food that we don’t like. Welcoming wearing three robes on a hot morning. Welcoming discomfort, feeling fed up, wanting to run away. This way of welcoming life reflects a deeper understanding. Life is like this. Sometimes it’s very nice, sometimes it’s horrible, and much of the time it’s neither one way nor the other. Life is like this.
~~ Ajahn Sumedho


Reflecting on different situation has helped me a lot in calming myself and taking the proper steps...not rushing away with emotions. I like Ajahn Sumedho's teaching as he makes it so easy for any one to understand life and living. Hard lessons made easy to understand with simple stories , jokes and his amazing child like laughter. 

Courage

Two rabbis are trying by every possible means to bring spiritual comfort to Jews in Nazi Germany. For a whole year, though scared to death, they deceive the Gestapo (the secret police) and perform religious ceremonies in various communities.

They are finally arrested. One of them, terrified at what could happen from then on, does not stop praying. The other spends the whole day sleeping.

“Why do you sleep?” asks the fearful rabbi. “Aren’t you afraid? Don’t you realize what can happen to us?”

“I was afraid up to the moment we were arrested. Now that I’m imprisoned, what good does it do to be afraid? The time for fear is over; now it’s time for courage to face our fate.”




Ps: I wonder, is fate really there? It is sealed? We can't change it? humm..then maybe we should do nothing and let fate take us where it is going to take us anyway? ...Wrong way to look at it !?!?

I understand fear....I think i understand courage too....I don't understand fate.

Oscar Wilde

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

~~Oscar Wilde quotes (Irish Poet, Novelist, Dramatist and Critic, 1854-1900)


Words to remember!

Life and Love

"Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

~~Kahlil Gibran

Fruit Tree Plantations

As a child I used to love sitting under the shade of Mango trees in our garden and looking at the clear blue skies munching raw mangoes. This is a joy that very few of children born in cities get to enjoy today. I love trees and I love fruit trees even more. 

The IT industry in Pune (and also India) has generally modeled their buildings and its landscape after their American counterparts. Most Indian IT Office Buildings have glass facade. These are surrounded by well manicured lawns with flowering plants and shrubs. 

Do you find it beautiful to look at such building and their well maintained gardens? I find this sad. I am not an expert on architecture or design and hope some of you out there will chip in to this blog with your knowledge and understanding about these buildings architecture and landscapping. But I feel sad about these lifeless buildings and there are many reasons for that. 

A few I list out here:

1.    The lawns need a large amount of water for their maintenance.

2.    The shrubs and tiny trees are not useful for birds for building their nest

3.    There is no shade from trees

4.    It all looks aesthetically nice but is not useful for humans or animals

5.    The Landscape does not have a cooling effect on the building

I want us to rethink about landscape around our office building. Why can’t we change it for something better and useful for us and our society? 

I have been thinking about it for a long time and feel that one of the solutions could be that we plant fruit trees all around our office building.

Advantages could be :

·         Improving the environment and combating global warming through the known benefits trees

have for the air, soil, and water

·         Helping animals by providing habitat, shade, shelter, and nutrition

· E  mpowering volunteers to take action for their environment and in their own lives

·          Enriching communities by creating beautiful, healthy landscapes that benefit overall well-being

·        Alleviating hunger and improving health by providing essential human nutrition from fruits, the IT companies can donate the fruits to orphanages and needy shelters. 

     What do you think? Are there any IT companies you know which do something like this?