Offbeat Spirituality

Today, while we were at India Gate, saluting to those who laid down their life so that we can sleep peacefully at night, I realised a very important thing: Courage is not only absence of fear but along with that willingness to walk through a tough route, sometimes when you know the route can end in your death. It takes guts to leave your family, your children behind for your country. Some of us can not even imagine how motivated those policemen and commandos were who fought bravely to end the unfortunate situation and ensure that maximum number of people can be saved. Messages have been pouring in from every country and I am amazed by the solidarity shown by those who do not live in India. What chance do terrorists have in this world which just needs one incident to unite against them?

What has happened at Mumbai has broken many hearts and given us wounds that may probably never heal. Some have lost their loved ones forever and many may have to live a life of injured now. Fear has made way for rage which is ruling high among all. Mumbai is the place of bravest of the brave and the city will rise again. The spirit of optimism can never be killed and this is the time to turn wounds into wisdom. Our country has stumbled but this incident would become stepping stone for the future. Choice is ours – do we want to mourn endlessly or do we want to stand tall again and make our world a decent place to live. Let’s not miss an opportunity to inspire others and spread peace amongst this tragedy. It is the only way to mend broken hearts and let’s all be a part of it.

It’s 9 o’clock on a Thursday morning. Mumbai has been rocked by consecutive blasts, people have died and many are injured. Why do terrorists strike? I fail to understand that what do they get by hurting others? Well, if it is their will to cause havoc around the world, ours should be – not to give up. We will stand again and this time more united. Every one of has something to offer to society in the form of inspiration, and with it comes the influence of strong thoughts and feelings on each other. Makes me think of what Margaret Mead once observed: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Nice.

We constantly face struggle to gather the strength and courage to break through our internal fears. The anxiety of unknown constantly pulls us down. There are some who are stay optimistic and motivated to accomplish everyday tasks successfully and set long-term goals. On the other hand, there are some who avoid, procrastinate, and waste valuable time agonizing about their inability to carry out the simplest of tasks. So which group you belong to? What is the level of your intrinsic motivation? The concept if motivation is not rare, almost everyone has it and practices it in some way. The problem arises when we forget our positive points. If that is the case with you, here are few motivation boosters that can be used anytime when you need a shot of confidence. If he/she can do it, why can’t I?...... When others can do it, why can’t you? Why should you limit yourself by saying/thinking that the task in front of me is difficult? Nothing is impossible if you have the willingness to perfor...

Get this: I just heard that lonely people belonging to high income groups are showing up at designated places to cuddle up and have 'get together' parties. Strangers meet, introduce themselves and then spend time cuddling. Nothing more – just for the feeling of warmth and being connected. Well, what do you think about it? The paradox of our weird world is that as we become more connected electronically, we become less connected emotionally. People spend hours every day downloading podcasts, reading emails, chatting online and surfing the net but they have forgotten the importance of old-fashioned conversations. They have neglected the ritual of eating together with family, helping parents, sending letters to relatives and saying hello to neighbors. What is the fun of earning money if we get lost in this mechanical world?

I work as a volunteer for a NGO. Today I met a very senior lady of this NGO who shared a beautiful thought to ponder on: “If you can believe that there is benefit in everything that happens, your mind would be always peaceful.” Rightly said, and we can relate it to our lives so easily. Why do we feel stressed? I think, we experience tension when we give our mind continuous dozes of negative thoughts. Whatever is going to happen will happen, so why think too much about it? Again – it’s the matter of how you want to mould your thinking process? Don’t forget, we have a choice at every moment and it’s our attitude – optimistic or pessimistic – that decides our path of destiny.

" Is there anything that has been taken away from you, only to realize how much you appreciated it after it was gone? " Many would say ‘ Yes ’ I am sure. It’s common for us to take something or someone for granted. We sometimes realize the true value of person or situation only when the thing/person leaves us. I met someone who’s dream of playing professional football ended abruptly after a serious injury. He’s 25 right now and has been practicing football for the last 19 years. Imagine – 19 years of hard work gets blown away in a single day! It’s now; this person admits that when he looks back on his nineteen years in competitive football, he has a regret – He pushed himself so hard that he had forgotten to enjoy the game. He was so focused on overcoming his weaknesses and ‘making it big’, that he never took time off to appreciate what he was doing along the way. We habitually waste away our time and energy focusing on what we don’t like, what needs to be done or what we’re...

Today when we see global economies tumbling down, it’s natural to be gripped by the fear of recession. My concern is a small one. I want to know if we have enough courage to sail through this period of uncertainty? I read a very disturbing article this morning about how people worldwide are losing confidence in government systems. Well, just a request them– be patient at this hour of time, and you will remain to see the wonderfulness that this time will bring to our children. Remain brave and do not let your courage leave you. Courage, my friends, is not the absence of fear but the willingness to walk on the path that is not very well laid. You ride on it through the fear, in pursuit of your goals that means life to you. Living in comfortable safety of the known is like ‘living dead’, when there are no more challenges to conquer. Fun of life is to let your heart beat strong into the territory on the unknown and explore places/vision for something which is deviated from the usual. Every...

Let me know if you have any comments. Would like to hear from you.. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1136246/my_little_discovery.html

I got a beautiful response from Richard ( articlesbyrichardkendall.blogspot.com/ ) and would like to share with you all.... Thanks Richard for your lovely thoughts. There is a kid in me. He can no longer count all of his birthdays on one hand or all of his appendages combined but he still thrives. He is still curious, easily distracted, and sure to try and jump over a mud puddle rather than walk around it. Even when he lands in the middle, and walks home in muddy, wet shoes, he chalks it up to experience and vows to get a better running start the next time. His toys have evolved over the years: From plastic animals and helicopters, to guitars and weights to cars and boats. Now, a bike ride, a fishing pole, hand tools, lumber and wood, a guitar and a Frisbee tossed to his dogs are standard play toys. When he plays, stress takes a back seat to invigoration. Worry melts down to perspiration, leaves his body and evaporates. Stress? Worry? When he is engaged in play he forgets that he ever...

Its 7 p.m. here in India right now. While coming from office today (yeah! we work on Saturdays) I bumped into neighbourhood kids. I asked them that what they did today and pat came the reply – “we played”. It made me think – as adults, how often do we play? By playing I mean it in true sense - in the playground -a cricket, football or rugby match? Why do we adults think that we have hundreds of responsibilities on our head? Why is our enjoyment limited to going out for movies, shopping, parties, eating out, chatting unnecessary with people around? True that we need these activities as well to let our presence known and stand tall in the social arena, but where has the kid in all of us gone? The kid who wanted to steal every opportunity to play, to get dirty on the ground, the kid who knew no boundaries, no tensions, no stress .........

We sometimes lose hope of success, when there comes a big obstacle that we fail to clear. All of us have failures of our own - at work, at home, in relationships, in life – the list is long. We wonder why this has happened, and start suffering from the dreaded disease of self pity by constantly thinking – Poor me. Till some time back, I was also of the same kinds who could be ‘put off’ by failures quite easily. It took me time to understand my failures, actually. And Now I can see the bigger picture. I have been uncertain towards the better part of my life. Failure is the cost of greatness. Failure is an essential ingredient for a higher success. You can’t win without leaving your safety zone and taking some calculated risks. They don’t say it without any reason – no Risk, no Reward – and the more risks you are going to take in pursuit of your dreams; chances are that you are going to fail more often. But that shouldn’t stop us from moving ahead – let’s learn to stretch today – life ca...