18th October 2008

Hiya folks

I know it has been such a long time, and I cannot find any real excuse in my books for someone who has been so tardy, complacent and lazy. Yes, that is my new title TCL.
Well, it is a very nice day in October, and this morning I dared myself to sit out in the Verandah and sip my tea, and watch out for all the bluebirds, the mynahs and the swallows. What on earth am I talking about? Where are the swallows and the mynah's in International City in Dubai. The closest you can come to are the sewage birds feasting on the leftovers at the sewage treatment plant next door, and hopefully it is not one of those days in the month where you have a downward whiff of air from the plant, and you feel these are those moments in life when sweat from a perspiring arm is a welcome breath.
During this period in 2008, I have seen many ups and downs, some related to my work and others related to life. And that is what I am going to dedicate this blog to, and that is learning lessons in life at any age.

The first thing that I discovered was that there is a big difference between wanting to do something myself and wanting to do something because it will make another person feel good.
Claro, the thing that you want to do for someone else has got to be something the other person also wants. That is the first step.
But for you to gain energy from this, you need to be also doing it because you wanted to do so, yourself. That, it also should make you feel good when you do it. Sometimes we do something because we feel sorry or bad for another, or something that will make the other person happy, so you sacrifice. That is all very good, but the lesson in life is that you have to find a need in yourself also and not just do it blindly. That need, once you find it in you, will be good enough to make you feel nice about yourself.
Like I tell my students during training programs that it is a very good thing to be obedient and respectful, but they need to be obedient and respectful, because they chose to do this and not because they were forced by society or by circumstances. The end result of both will constantly be the same, but in the former, for you personally there will be less positive energy although you have done something which has fulfilled or partly met yours and another persons objectives.

I learnt a new lesson in life, a couple of weeks ago. It was changing perspective. Or changing the way we look at life. I could also call it, changing seats. Sounds funny. But, let me give you an example of this.
My very dear friend bought me tickets to the opera, The Barber of Seville by Rossini, and as it happened, we were delayed by the usual commuting by train, and we arrived late. So, we were asked to sit in the back seats (thankfully there were a few seats available) and that we could change our seats during the interval.
The seats in the backbench were about 10 rows from our stipulated seats, but we had an uninterrupted view of the performance.
During the interval we went to claim our actual numbered seats as per our tickets, and in this process, uprooted a rather fattish and oldish lady and relegated her back to perhaps what was originally her seat, and selfishly she had made herself somewhat comfortable in our empty seats, by spreading lavishly over the empty spaces. She was a bit discontented with her having to move her fat buttocks, but when we showed her our seat numbers, she realized she did not have a lot of choices. Although she did make it very clear to us, and displayed her exasperation by displacing herself in such slow motion that would have made a tortoise very proud.
Well, getting back to what I sometimes term as the Ronnie Corbett Syndrome. The shorter Ronnie, in the program Two Ronnies, manages to so immaculately deviate from his story and casually revert back to it after taking us all around town.
So, where was I? Yes, the old lady and the seat (You have of course read Hemmingway's The Old man and the sea, haven't you. Well, this is another classic tale in the making :=) ). Not that I am going to be writing a whole book on the Lady who made herself comfortable in our seats, or the Lady who thought her Husband to be a hat, but I thought the similarity between our two tales was quite alarming. Oh, there I go again, once more off the track.
Well, our actual seats were so very much closer to the stage, but here comes the crunch point, the angle of view was such that not only it changed my entire perspective of the Opera, but even the guy in front of me was so annoyingly fidgety that he could not sit at one angle for more than two to three minutes, and this was very disturbing, as I had to make slight adjustments to the way I sat, every so now and then. Although I enjoyed the entire Opera, this little change in life did disturb me somewhat.
Now, what is the idea or thought in all this.
The point here is that Life is like this seating arrangement. If we are always contented with what we have, then a little more or even a little less will constantly be welcoming. Sometimes we lose all the directions in life and in the haste of opting to better ourselves, we could end up losing something that is very important and very meaningful.

The third and final message in life I learnt was the difference between the 'need' to work and the 'want' to work. This difference is also the equation to how successful you are at your workplace. Actually, the same thing will work in your life as well. The need to do something against the want to do something. I will elaborate more on this in my next blog.
Why, may you ask? Well, actually for one, this will ensure that you return the next time to read it, it will also ensure that I take of time to research this a little more and also, I think my title TCL is telling me, it is time to be tardy, complacent and lazy once more.
So, it is off to bed for a catnap until the next time. Thanks for being out there, and hope to see ya soon, whenever it may be. Chao.

January 14, 2008

Hiya Folks,
It is bloggy time once more.
Can you believe it. It is 2008 and I have not even thought of publishing an entry into my blog. How uncanny!
Well, what do you suppose this speaks of my temperament for the New Year. If I was allowed to comment on my own thoughts, then my answer would be . . . Not a lot. Last year at this time, I was through my second or third edition, and contemplating on my NY resolutions.
So, if you need to do something, then let your magic words flow. It is only one person that is stopping you from being yourself, and doing the things that you have always longed to do. Guess what? That person is no other than good ol’ you.

Mr. Bush has arrived in Dubai. Hip, hip hooray. Well, at least it has earned us a day’s holiday. Not that it makes a lot of sense to me. Matheus Rose’s and Bizet makes more sense. Well, actually I am just in the middle of the second and drumming away madly on the key board hoping I can get through the blog before I become abstemious again, and/or Bizet gets over. Whichever one come sooner.

Did I write about my new adventure. No, of course not. I am writing my first blog since a year ago. Ok, to be precise since the first week of December, last year. So, how would I then? Well, here I am. Just moved to a new flat at International City, not that it is very international here, judging by the Chinese and Italians. Well, not that many Italians here, but many Chinese definitely. So, it is known as International City. Actually, Chinatown would sound much better, with me, the deaf king in a blind regime, would surely be just enough to make me famous. Perhaps, I could ask a few Chinese to read my blog for a change.
No, I do not want to sound so pessimist. This is way beyond my character. Me, the glass ‘half full’ guy or the ‘nearly won’ advocate, now beginning to write trite.
However, it is quite lonely in here, at Dana 2 with no Internet nor television. I think this is the right time to take a plunge in the swimming pool on the roof top with its splendid Jacuzzi. Unfortunately it is London weather over here for reason unknown to us. And, I think, January is not the right time to have my old bones shaking and my teeth chattering. Not after, I had the root canal done. I would not like to do anything to shake the damn thing out of its place, I suffered enough for a life time. Gentlemen, that was solidly debilitating.

But, nice cloudy days, with intermittent rain. You have no use for an umbrella, except when you decide to go to the grocery store on the opposite side of the road to get potable water, and you are half drenched by the time you return.
Nevertheless, the rain has been a welcome transformation. We did not need to do many days of ‘rain dancing’ or prayers. This time God heard us sooner and decided to flood our parched land with some munificence and generosity.
So, permit me close this days blog with a thought of my own.
It is not that if you want to accomplish something you must do definite things, but rather if you want to make it, certain things will give you a better opportunity.
So, Life is like a lottery. To win you need to be a part of something. If you hope and wish that luck and destiny would somehow appear from nowhere and deposit itself into your lap, then think again, pal, think ‘ a lot’ again! As Einstein once said, “You are crazy when you continue to do what you have always done and expect things to change.”If the odds of getting hit by the lightning are a 1000 to 1 when standing near a tree and 900 to 1 when standing near a utility pole, what difference does it make where you stand between the two.
Well then, the only way to PREDICT the future is to CREATE the future.
If you want change, then you have to be the change. Sometimes it hurts deep down, but once again, you are crazy if you continue to do the same things you have always done and expect things to change.
So, go for it, chap, take a sip of ‘Matheus Rose’ and some Bizet, and then, it is ‘Hasta La Proxima Semana’ to all you out there.

December 7th, 2007

Hiya folks,

The entries to my blog is far and unbecoming. I know I should be getting off my lazy butt every Friday, and get my creative thoughts on a roll, and dish out page after page on my blog.
Yes, that would be a perfect world for me. However, an imperfect world for you, my friends. For you would then have to go through the anomaly of having to read my blog every week, and thus, once and for all, strike my web page off your to-do list.
That is why, I think, medicine will taste sweeter if we have to endure medicine once in a while.

Oh yes, talking about creativity, and a creative mind? So, what in the hell is ‘creativity’?
I touched upon this subject sometime back in an earlier blog. I would like to expand my thoughts on it. Anyways, I hope you will not bore yourself and start reading my earlier blog entries from the time my sick mind decided to unleash terror on this otherwise unsuspecting world, and decided to write a blog (tee hee).

So, let’s see:

When you see a picture, your mind forms an image of it deep inside it. Creativity, is all about how you perceive the image in your mind. If you see the image as a duplicate of the picture, then you are definitely not creative.
People, like Van Gogh, Ansel Adams, Rembrandt would look at landscapes, humans, things and would wonder how these would look like, differently.
Thus Creativity is all about perspective. It is all about looking at things in a way that is unique. Creativity is all about letting your imagination flow. Like looking at clouds dispersing and vanishing over the horizon. Let the imagination flow, like waves, and disperse, and alter itself, and change into something unusual and unlike.

I have many things to write and talk about, but perhaps, the ‘e’ for elephant and the ‘t’ for teddy bear effect, sometimes prevents me from raving and ranting.
I know we all have a right to voice our thoughts, but then, there are times, when we just need to give a deaf ear, and a blind eye to things.

I got up very early this morning, and for once enjoyed sipping coffee and letting the early December morning breeze to waft in and strike my bare face and arms. It gave me a great sense to be alive and breathing fresh air. I think this is the best time to be in Dubai. Okay, the traffic is still not so good, but then, if you live or travel to most big cities, then you would not expect it any better. Hear, hear!

I read this article sometime back and some of the wordings have been on the back of my mind for some time. I thought it would be nice to share it with you all.

in life we need to be in the right place to find the next clue to our lives. Is there a clue that we are ignoring? Are we holding onto our current "right place?" Being in the right place is not a permanent right place. You are in the right place to receive the next clue that will take you to the next right place.
Does this make sense? Not a lot? Well, let me try and explain this.
As Shakespeare put it (in my wording), we are just actors in a large story in a huge theatre (the world) but in a story that we do not know how it is going to end.
Our life is like a train journey, and we live in a compartment which we share at a given time with other people. The train stops at a platform, and some people get in, and others get out.
All the people in the compartment have some impact on our lives. We learn to love, we learn to hate, we are enlightened, or merely find it depressing.
The secret to this success lies in the fact that each time we exit a platform, we should get into a compartment that is slightly better than the first. Meaning, that we should learn and not let anything stop us from learning or finding out more.
Compartments will change, platforms will be different, the directions will be equivocal, but our train journey will remain.
It is our journey that we are undertaking. Our feelings and emotions and learning; no one else’s.
Everyone has their own chance in life. It is what you learn that only matters most.
I recently came across a very important fact in my life and I learned a lot from it. An astrologer wrote about his to a friend of mine and it has remained etched into my memory.
We are all chained or shackled to our limitations only. As Richard Bach puts it, “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.” And “You teach best, what you most need to learn.”
So, what does this mean. It insinuates the fact that we, and only we, are responsible for our destinies. We can dictate it and run it. It is our choice only if we want to remain in the same compartment, on the same platform on our train. Or we can change platforms and change the stations and the compartments.
So, how do we do this?
Check for the right clues. We are always in the right place. But, are there only ‘One Right Place’ in our lives.
No, not at all. A clever and successful person is one who reads the right clues and goes forward. Nothing ever stops anyone, but he or she himself/herself.
That is all there is to life.
You can buy many books, but you may choose not to learn anything from them at all.
The nice thing about the journey of life is that you are always in the right place to receive the next clue, and even if you ignore or reject the clue, it will come back around until you finally recognize it as YOUR next clue.

Take care my friends and remember what ever you are doing right now, do it well. Life is simply what you learn to make of it.

Until next time, chao.

October15th, 2007

A warm welcome to all my friends for taking out this little precious time to browse through my web page.

Its Eid in Dubai and it is one more Eid where I will once again sit and ponder. I have tried and analyzed this moment for the umpteen time to ascertain all the purposes and meanings assigned to us and our lives during this short and tumultuous tenure on Earth. And, once again, as previous, I return to the same old conclusion, blind as a bat, and quite oblivious to the what’s and the why’s.

Have you ever given thought to the real meaning of ‘chance’? Or to ‘choice’? If you look at the meanings in the dictionary, you will probably end up with two diverse explanations, but notwithstanding, this to me are words, so linked together, that it spells our destiny, I guess, more than anything else.

How, may you ask? Ok, I will endeavor my best to explain this, er . . . chancy phenomena. Well, we end up one way or another, all because of chance, and as well, it then adds the other meaning of chance to it, because, since we get an opportunity, then the other ‘chance’ comes to the forefront, which is actually ‘choice’. Our being responsible for our lives and living, only makes sense, if we were given the opportunity to take one lead from another. Otherwise, why would we be accountable for all actions or our deeds.

Got you all confused, didn’t i? Never told you that my thought structure ever followed a straight line. It, sort of, follows a curved, reversible, sometimes irreversible path, in some vague, meaningful way (hee hee).

Ok, let’s move on.

My dear friend and I, were trying to establish the true meaning to ‘creativity’.

Some say it means, sorting your right brain from the left, and ensuring ‘right brain’ taking precedence over all our logical and rationale thoughts.

Answers.com says: Creativity is the ability to think up and design new inventions, produce works of art, solve problems in new ways, or develop an idea based on an original, novel, or unconventional approach.

The Dictionary: Creativity is the ability to see something in a new way, to see and solve problems no one else may know exists, and to engage in mental and physical experiences that are new, unique, or different. Creativity is a critical aspect of a person's life, starting from inside the womb onward through adulthood.

However, without disagreeing with the above, I believe Creativity is:
One big, huge figment of our own very imagination. Creativity is all about the ‘image’ and not the ‘picture’. Although linked to the above explanations, Picture is what our left brain tells us to see and understand. If we are able to create an ‘Image’ of the ‘Picture’ with our right brain, then let our imagination wander; accept the impossible as possible; the inevitable as evitable, then, this is what creativity is all about.

The only difference is ‘perspective’. We all actually see what everyone sees or has seen. Which means, with all the information around us that we have, both physically and mentally gathered, we have formed a picture in our minds; like our peers , friends now and in the past. Our ‘betters’ are people who dream and ask themselves the question, “why not?” instead of, “I see, this is how it works,” and that is how an ‘Image’ starts to get drawn inside our right brain. And, this is ‘Creativity’.

I have a terrible toothache today.

Only people who have or have had terrible toothaches can relate to my feeling at this moment. But, somehow I have always preferred pain over nausea. I have discovered that ‘pain’ is something that you can control, and at times, even benefit from.

Really?

I think I wrote about this before, that in this world, if you rise over the ‘physical’ side of things, then you will realize that everything we do or attempt to do, comprises of only one thing.

That thing is ‘energy’. Both, positive and negative. We strive by taking in energy (or giving out) through the physical world, then feed it to our ‘spiritual’ side. However, there are only three known ways where ‘energy’ can be exchanged. One through Meditation, (relaxation therapy, enjoyment and disappointments in life, etc. ), through Sex (yes, Physical sex is very important for us animals to exchange energy while exchanging joy with partners) and the third is through Pain.

Pain can be physical or emotional, traumatic pain. It is something that jolts us back into a real and highly keyed up world. You may have the best relationship; the best partner; but if it has a situation that is affecting you, and paining you, whatever the reason may be, and, although giving you physical pleasure and enjoyment, it is in reality draining you off well needed spiritual energy.

This has two effects, one that even when we have everything, we are quite miserable.

The other, surprisingly, although it is so appalling, sometimes the negative energy through pain actually propels our creative side, and allows us to disassociate from the physical left brain, and we can be sad, but at the same time masters of our new destiny, which is an infinite path way to ingenuity and inventiveness.

Sounds strange, but than the world is very strange. Next week (or next time, whenever), for those of you who are interested, I shall write in more details about the three aspects of spiritual energy

Going back to pain, similarly, this disabled me, but at the same time it allowed me freedom to think better, and that is why I am online writing my blog, and hoping to waste your time, those good people chancing upon my page this week.

Oh well, until next time then, and as per my usual message, I hope you are doing something creative and inventive with your time, wherever you are. The message from our ruler, HH Sheikh Mohammed is very vivid and clear, “Success of one, is success of others. Failure of one, is failure of all” This was the message through which he requested the citizens and all other nationalities in the UAE to raise money for the homeless. ‘Dubai Cares’ was born, and in less than a month, over 75 million AED have been raised. Therefore understand what this means. Generosity from one’s heart, my friends, gives rise to first category of t ‘energy’ exchanges in humanity. Giving, gives rise to a cycle of ‘energy exchanges’ and believe me, you will get a lot more in return, if not physically, definitely in ‘Spiritual’ terms.

Adios.

24th August, 2007

Hiya folks, compadres, asdiqa, friends

Well, Friday is back again, and the manner in which time is flying, we will be back to the fun cooler days of Autumn.
What about winter? Nay, we do not have winter, just a few days when the thermometer reminds us that we have jackets and sweaters to wear. To tell you the truth, it gets quite warm if you have a thick sweater on. So, it is a better idea to have very thin pullovers.
Nevertheless, the Desert gets quite cold in the night. I remember, many eons back, our ‘all guys’ tennis team and friends went for an outing close to Jebel Ali Hotel (which is now so near, you won’t be calling it an outing. Then if you go way back, people used to picnic close to Iranian Hospital, and even the area behind Ramada Hotel in Bur Dubai were all sandy dunes, and when I am speaking of way back, actually it is only early 70’s that we are talking about). Well going back to the outing near Jebel Ali hotel, we stayed near the beach overnight, spread blankets on the sand, barbecued and devoured biryani rice (local version) and that appeared to be a lovely, I think, a starry October night. One of our guys had brought with him a sleeping bag, and he was the pun of many a joke that eveningt. Until wait, a Shamaal hit us (northern cold winds), then he had the last laugh. It was so cold, that a couple of us, found it nice and cozy (bien and calentito) to sleep in my car. I had to be careful, because Sharif was sleeping next to me, but then, he was so tired that he remained quite a gentleman throughout the rest of the night.
That brought back another memory, when this time we went camping on an island off the beach of Khorfakkan. Well, that was certainly something to think about. A friend had a harpoon gun with him, and when we snorkeled in the water around, replete of fish such as Shahri, Hammour and Sultan Ibrahim , he actually asked us to choose fish scampering about, and he would harpoon it for us. I had never thought that fishing at times could be such an easy matter. Later on, one of the guys, everyone would point out it to be Shar, got a little intoxicated, first he burnt down half the tent when he disposed off the end of his Marlboro lights very close to the tarpaulin, and which eventually led to the tent ablaze, and t if that was not the end of his pranks, he began pelted us with chicken eggs, or for some unfortunate guys, I can humbly point out that I was one of them, smashed the eggs open using our temples as the base, and prompting us to go swimming, to clean off the muck and smell, at around 4 in the morning. Well, that was a couple of ‘down memory lane’ episodes for you. Who said the ‘past’ was monotonous and dull?

A guy once asked me to define ‘contentment’. I had to do a lot of thinking on this. So, what is contentment, and what is enough. I have pursued the path of ‘enough’ once before in a previous blog, therefore I will only touch on ‘contentment’ today.

Answers.com describes Contentment as
Contentment refers to the neuro-physiological experience of satisfaction and being at ease in one's situation, body, and/or mind. The freedom from anxiety, want or need. Contentment is the goal behind all goals because once achieved there is nothing to seek until it is lost. A living system cannot maintain contentment for very long as complete balance and harmony of forces means death.

Collins Gem Dictionary:
The act of being mentally and emotionally satisfied and the willingness of accepting things as they are.

Well, in my belief contentment is coming very close to achieving ‘nirvana’ (paradise, or being in a state of emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment.)
So, what does that actually mean?
In a lay mans words, I guess:
It means that it is when we are at a stage of having achieved also everything in life, that there is no possibility of wishing or wanting more, and striving for more has no meaning at all, and the thought of ‘giving up everything’ is most pleasant and melodious, then only we are in the total state of contentment.

So, then, what is giving away everything:
Sometimes in life, we have to take on decisions that at many other times would seem preposterous. Thus, a state of mind when achieved, where every physical, emotional and spiritual possession can be sacrificed resulting in a hurt deep down in one’s system; a hurt that is sustained in any condition whatsoever, then that would tantamount to ‘giving away everything’.

Okay, no one told you that I am fully sane. No one said that I cannot be boring at times. Actually, believe it or not, we all have some very good genes, and some very defective ones. We are all born like that. It is only the most powerful, famous guys/gals who are able to disguise and mask such defective genes, are people who really shine in the world (until caught out, hee hee) and emerge as leaders and mentors.

Now, I promise to give you all some rest and hope to write my next blog in mid September. As usual, my advice for you would be, whatever you are doing in life, do it good. Remember if you tell the truth, then you do not have to remember anything. And last but not the least, “LIFE is simply what YOU learn to make of it.”

Chao

August 17th, 2007

AUGUST 17TH, 2007
Hiya amigos once again.
It is blog time and nice to be back with you. When someone asks me a question, how's life? My reply is pulling on. Well life is all about going on, and going on it is, until the battery stops. Then you are no longer pulling on.
The older I am getting, the more I look forward to Friday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with (anyways getting up early notwithstanding) the absolute joy of not having to be at work. Although Thursday night has always been, for many many moons, of classical music, a couple of glasses of red, smoked cheese and a desperate, head throbbing grogginess the following morning. Either way, the first few hours of a Friday morning are most enjoyable.

A few days ago, I was sifting through some old documents, searching for a particular certificate that I was so legally thirsting, and I had a steaming cup of cardamom tea in one hand, I chanced upon an article that had intrigued me a lot when I had first read. I had had every intention of posting it then, but somehow it had seen the better of the bottom of a pile of unworthy paper and all but lost to me.
It was Longevity versus Retirement age, and that went a long way to remind me that my need to retire in the next year or so, was paramount and overriding any monetary temptation that I may receive in my job or outside. I enjoy it when I hear grunts of ' oh, no' and 'no, sir' from my students, but heart to heart, I am sure they are also in some unique way perhaps happy to see the back of me. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your precedences straight. However, I have posted the article in the news section, and the statistics is mind boggling. Give it a go and read it for yourself.
For, this is life. Quoting an excerpt from my book, The Universe is one big Tale, and people are episodes. And life is a huge cycle of existence, and the circle merely goes round and round. You get on in one place and you get off another. Others do the same. They just get on where you left off, and when they get off, others climb in, and their stories find a new beginning. And, this is what life is all about.
I was asked me a question, and that was, what was the difference between a teacher and a coach? Well, I could have answered the question if I wanted to, but decided to take a more professional approach. So, I wandered through web definitions and came up with this:
A teacher tells, a coach asks; a teacher lectures from the front, a coach supports from the back; a teacher gives answers according to a set curriculum, a coach provides guidelines and creates the environment for the learner to arrive at his or her own conclusions; a teacher mostly gives a monologue, a coach is in continuous dialog with the learners. A coach should also be able to adapt the learning experience 'in mid-air' by using his or her own initiative in order to steer the learning experience to where the learners want to create value.
Okay, so it is getting very boring. Well, what did you expect to find on an old, decrepit, wrinkling, shriveling but smart and proficient man's homepage. Hee Hee.
So, let us talk about something serious then. In a discussion with a friend, the topic of white lies, lies and truth surfaced. Is it okay to use white lies, to get out of a difficult and tricky situation? I guess so. My response was, that in our lives, one time or the other, we need to get out of situation where at times straying from the truth, or avoidance of truth is necessary. However, this saying is what I believe in: If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
So why should we lie in the first place, anyway. I gave it a lot of thought and came up with the following conclusions
1. Some people have this type of attitude. They cannot live to tell the truth. Their life is a lie. They always want to show they are something, when they are not.
2. Some people like to have much more than they have, whether it is material or spiritual
3. Some people are just not good enough
4. Some people are in the wrong place at the wrong time
5. Some time they are forced to lie to protect themselves or to protect others
6. Sometimes, specially between spouses, it is easier to lie to get out of situation
7. Any thing else????
However, my belief and philosophy holds a lot of weight for me, that 'If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.' So, just go ahead and tell the truth. You will find it the most exhilarating and wonderful experience. You will be relaxed both emotionally and spiritually.
Well, I guess, the time has come, and once more I will be saying good bye. And, until next time, whatever you are doing, do it good. Achieve your aspirations in life, for believe it or not, from the time you are born, since then . . . TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

July 27th, 2007

28TH JULY, 2007
Hiya Folks,
It's me once again. It has been sometime, but I guess old age is now taking deep roots into my system. So what, it is nice to be alive and kicking. And, of course, smiling once in a while.
So what is life. Seriously.
I read an article in Discover magazine. I am not sure I can share the entire article with you'll but I shall give you a jist of it. It was all to do with Positive Attitude. Now, please do not take me wrong, all you religious aficionados out there.
We all agree that it is God's will in whatever we do, and perhaps how we look at things, but that should not stop any of us from trying to do things and try to make it happen. The article talked about Positive Attitude towards everything that occurs in our day-to-day life. If good happens, then we need to understand that somewhere we had a hand in accomplishing it. Also, if bad happens, then it is similar to the above. Whatever we do in life, we are responsible for it. Because responsibility comes with choice, and it is us, and us alone, who make the choice in whatever we do. People influence us, our situation compels us, but we still make the decision ourselves.
So,
LIFE IS JUST MERELY 'WHAT WE MAKE OF IT'.
Reflect all over again.
We make our life. We make the way we live. I am not saying that we should hurt other people in getting the best for ourselves, but not getting the best for ourselves is also hurting the person you owe the most in life. And that is YOU. If you set your values real high, then you will be doing the best for everyone, when you are doing the best for yourself.
I am always arguing that we have come to this life for a purpose, and to achieve this purpose, we have all been bestowed with a talent. An inert talent which we have to search for, and get. It is really a sin, and I mean a real sin if we discover our talent, and just let it go to waste. I have heard people saying, 'but it is not going to get me anywhere'. So, who cares? We need to do it for ourselves, and ourselves only.
Like a funny thing, I have written a couple of books and many short stories and poems, and I have a special audience of One who has read most of my work. Guess who? Yes, the answer is 'Me'.
So, to repeat:
LIFE IS JUST MERELY 'WHAT WE MAKE OF IT'.
Reflect all over again.
Changing the topic, we were all in a classroom, and a very difficult topic emerged. My boss called out and asked the students the definition of INTEGRITY. Although, a word normally used many times in our daily life, what the hell is Integrity? How do you define it?
Answers.com came up with:
In my own words I would say that INTEGRITY is, A very nice balance of self respect and confidence.,,,, Jamison.
A more psychological answer:
Besides being a virtue it is a flowing plant. It grows in the early summer and has pink flowers and a heady aroma. When the flower die they leave seed cases behind that are translucent and the seeds can be seen in the flat shiny silvery pods. These are cut and uses as dried floral decoration.
(A Bit too deep for me, but it does make sense, though)
Collins English Dictionary definition:
"it is adherence to moral principles; honesty."
My boss's definition of Integrity:
"It is what you are doing, when no one is watching."
I just liked it. Made a lot of sense to me. Actually, integrity is the essential purpose of our meaning in daily life, religion, our friendship, our loves and romances; everything that makes sense to us.
Take it for example, honesty is integrity in business. To be an honest business man, the mere thought of cheating or manipulating another fellow person would be akin to having no integrity at all.
In life and love, to have fun and cheat on your spouse just because they will not have any knowledge about it is parallel to have no respect for their feelings.
In religious terms, to hide and do sinful things (if you are a religious person) and that no one is looking is making a mockery of religion.

So, our actions and deeds when we have no one to compel us to do otherwise, and we do it on our own free will it would be the real meaning or the real sense to integrity. Integrity is analogous with what our values and standards are in life. What are the standards we have set for ourselves? Ask yourself this question. You may find the answers change over your life time.
If we are talking about a hot summer day, then Dubai is just the right place to be. Well, hot is just a simple way of explaining a 'sizzling, steaming, flesh burning, head reeking, body perspiring' day. Yes, It is the end of July and August is about to show its mean presence to all us, dubai-ites. Well we have survived nearly half a century or more, a few more years will not hurt us that badly.
This weeks prime sites:
Answers.com
Discover.com
Well, until next time, and if you have any comments please do write to me, and whatever you are doing right now, do it with some purpose in life. That is what will matter most in the end.
Buenos Tardes

May 27th, 2007

SUNDAY 27TH JUNE, 2007
Good Morning friends and Hola, wherever you are. It's me again trying to have a shot once more at my blog.My dear friend asked me what is actually life, and what is true love. I guess ( I will post a conversation between a Cyber friend and myself on this separately in the NEWS section) if you consider religion, then life is all about coming here for a purpose, pre-ordained and predetermined.
Our destiny being permanently programmed, rules set and fixed, an amount of intelligence encoded inside our brain, and some room set aside for us to be able to make up decisions and judgment to follow the rules or not to obey.
Life would then be very simple. Why, because everything would either be important and significant, or trivial and inconsequential. Either we would go to heaven, or we would go to hell. The decision would rest with the Higher Authorities somewhere in the vast yonder of truth.
However, things did not prove to be that simple. For, many of us were also born with some talent or the other. To really give true meaning to life, then the real test is to pursue whatever talent we have.
That means if anyone of us is a painter, or a writer, regardless of the fact that you take the world over by storm, your duty in this life is to make the best use of the talent that which with you have so wonderfully been consecrated.
If you have been blessed with a talent, then it is your obligation to this life (or world) to ensure that you try your very best
I think whatever we do in this world, it carries some level of 'care' with it. This level of care ensures the difference or gives true meaning to the word 'love'. While you would be very happy to see Federer (if you love tennis and love Federer), you would be happier if your child, or sibling or friend was the true champion.
A different example would be like if you love a person. What makes him or her different from other people, say, in terms of sex, comfort, companionship, jealousy, etc. Again, the want, comfort, sorrow or hurt is more, because the level of care differs here.
Therefore, the more the level of care, the more the level of love. And True love would carry the highest level of care that one could have for the other person.
If care had, say, ten levels, then True Love would fall on the scale of ten, if ten was the highest. However, is there such a thing that could carry such a high level of care?
A friend of mine told me about an SMS she had received recently. I am quoting the path that made sense to me"Your fate determines who walks into your life. You decide who stays and who walks out."
I think in terms of care, anyone who scores 6 and above would be the one who would stay and below that would be the one you will let go. So, if love is not strong enough, I guess, then you would be able to let go of that person, and sigh, probably that would be in the lower levels of care.
The hot weather has broken through and now till the end of October, it will be sheer hell in Dubai. But, can you believe this, mostly all fights are booked choc-a- bloc, and even business travelers are finding it difficult to find seats in and out. I think life is getting too fast and complicated. Perhaps this is how another set of rule sets in. I guess that has to do a lot with fractionally old age jumping in on you when you least expected it. Got to go now, and I hope that life shines sunlight's of hope and happiness to each and everyone of you, wherever you are. Best of luck