Savvy Raj

Live Life Lovingly!


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A space for you…

Is there  a space you love to be
Where you feel most you ?
Where there is respite from chaos
Where there is peace  for the sensing
What is that place for you ?


Your home or somewhere far away?
While I love people and enjoy my time with them
And infact get charged by some amazing conversations



I would also love to be by myself
By nature preferably walking
In the calm of a forest trail
Or perhaps on a winding road  uphill,
Would love to have a flowing river by my side
and most of all be surrounded  by trees


Or even up the mountains
Watching the world from a vantage view.
And then comes the  sandy beaches and sea
There are of course those moments  to cherish
With the whistling dunes

In all I would  love free spaces
where I could sense the earths energy undisturbed.
And be synched in for a while.
May be hugging a tree or an animal


Or walking by a beautiful stream
Or under a canopy of stars at night.
These are spaces for me
To connect deeply within.

How about you?

Savvy


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On Freedom

On Freedom

Freedom is being able to be all of you

But remembering the rights

Of other lives to be all of them

When we understand…

Our Freedom ends where another’s freedom begins.

So then

How free do you feel in this now

How important is freedom to you?

Can you sense your life flowing

Or is there restraints that bound you

Can you express yourself without hesitation?

Can you speak your mind without fear?

Can you write without worrying if the words may reveal your nature?

Can you walk alone without a care where you live?

Can you wear what you want without fear of ridicule?

Can you dance the way your spirit moves you?

In short

Can you flow in harmony with the spirit in you?

If you have answered more yes than no then consider yourself closer to being truly free.

Freedom is not for giving

Freedom is there for taking

Freedom is being you

As you truly are

Freedom is living

Without facades.

Wherever you sense

You are most you.

Now…

How free are you feeling

In this now?

Savvy


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Seeing beyond looking

Beautiful thoughts makes the person beautiful ! Whenever we are able to see beyond the physical characteristics and see the reason why a person behaves the way they do , we are attuning ourselves to the divinity in and around us. Harmony beckons BRINGING PEACE , JOY AND ABUNDANCE.:)

Savvy


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Just Breathe

Breathe deep in trust

Breathe well in faith

Breathe in peace

Let go uncertainty

Breathe in connectedness

Own your every breath

It’s yours to inhale & exhale.

Sense your breathe in balance

Reach out with confidence

Stay grounded in rootedness

In this now, witness

The present moment

For it makes all the difference

Just breathe…

Savvy


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Memorable reads

Some times as you read you pause in reflection, to ponder over the memories and to sense the meaning just one more time …

Here is one such read …

There are perhaps no days of our childhood that we lived as fully as the days we think we left behind without living at all: the days we spent with a favourite book. Everything that filled others’ days, so it seems, but that we avoided as vulgar impediments to a sacred pleasure — the game for whose sake a friend came looking for us right at the most interesting paragraph; the bothersome bee or sunbeam that forced us to look up from the book, or change position; the treats we had been forced to bring along but that we left untouched on the bench next to us while above our head the sun grew weaker in the blue sky; the dinner we had to go home for, during which we had no thought except to escape upstairs and finish, as soon as we were done, the interrupted chapter — our reading should have kept us from perceiving all that as anything other than obtrusive demands, but on the contrary, it has graven into us such happy memories of these things (memories much more valuable to us now than what we were reading with such passion at the time) that if, today, we happen to leaf through the pages of these books of the past, it is only because they are the sole calendars we have left of those bygone days, and we turn their pages in the hope of seeing reflected there the houses and lakes which are no more.

Proust

https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/10/20/proust-on-reading/

Our readings leave an imprint in our souls… and how.

There are indelible and enduring marks on our mind and emotions.


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On Silence

Silence dwells in the spaces between the steps to access whenever.
 Silence leads and the path appears.
Trust the lessons learned in silence.


Savvy


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Self Mastery

Self mastery is art of life living
In self control and self discipline
In discerning  for the self
In dedicated focus
In balancing  and regulating thoughts and emotions
On what matters most!

In the continuing battle
Between the heart and mind
Between feelings and logic
Of thoughts and emotions
Between expression of  emotions
And restraint in rationality
Between thinking  and doing
Often creating extreme experiences & situations. 
If one can practice self control  consistently…
One can master anything.

Savvy


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On Changes

Life presents new paths at every turn
Every now has new learnings.
The trick is to be present in this moment
To understand the evolving perspectives
To be one, with the changes that manifests
Be present. Be adaptable. Be receptive!

Savvy


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A prayer

A prayer is a bow of acceptance.
A prayer is a joyous amalgamation to the divine within.


Savvy


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Art of Management

Irony Of Middle Management

One of the common concerns of any scaling team is that while the stakeholders ensure themselves with a great set of leadership and they in turn recruit a battalion of teams under them to do the work, there is one lacuna…the chaos and confusion in the middle management!

The disenchanted middle management scenario is a result of widening gaps in communication and connection between the managers and themselves.

Often, great work done by the team goes without credit, buried under the hierarchy structure and lack of appreciation.

Second, despite ability in the teams and readiness to accomplish good work, there is a lot of confusion about what to do as there is no clarity passed on to them from their managers.

It is clearly indicative of how important it is for the leadership team to share the purpose of why they are doing what they do…and how the message needs to be passed on with the same passion to every member of the teams, no matter the number of layers adding up in the middle.

This is how you reinstate ownership and accountability, which is paramount to the efficiency of the teams.

Unfortunately, much of what is conveyed to the managers from the top in terms of the purpose is typically withheld from teams, for the manager may not personally value the significance of the message for teams reporting to them to understand. It becomes less and less significant in their discussions.  And that is where a gamut of internal communications issues show up.

What will you do

When you do not have a purpose

You stop steering…

As there is no winds of  motivation to sail your course.

In the case of the middle managers sandwiched in between, they soon have no sense of purpose, they are frequently found working in circles without direction.

They may seem busy doing mundane chores to fill their workdays, and go back home every day a little more disengaged and disconnected with the system.

In my professional career as a Consultant & having been involved in the organizational development up close, I have encountered such scenarios where the value of transparency in teams in their shared work as well as the vision & purpose of the leader is regularly lost in the daily rut of routine. Between filling forms and answering mails, much of the work today has become impersonal. 

I believe the role of the middle management is crucial in managing change, for they can bridge the gap between expectations from the strategic objectives and key results set from the top to match with the speed and efficiency of actual day-to-day activities’ integration.

An engaged, informed, and knowledgeable middle management would mean a lot to the stability of a growing organization. It is a huge balancing act between managing to sustain through the changes and managing policies practices and procedures ensuring compliance and come away stronger.

It is important for the key stakeholders to have a conversation that sets clarity on the value for the middle management in the system and expectations from them.

They need to know how much interconnected they actually are in driving changes. They also need to become more self-aware and understand the intricacies of working beyond biases and prejudices that may come along while they understand the power structure of their respective organization.

Beyond good communication skills, they will have to develop their expertise in networking with their seniors as well as their teams.

The responsibility on the middle management is demanding as the role is expanding to include the implementation of changes in the system as well as managing the cultural changes.

This can happen best when the senior management is aware of the challenges faced by the middle management, like time in planning to execution. They can best help fasten this process by direction support and feedbacks while realizing the strategic value of the middle managers.

Every level of management is intrinsically interwoven and important to the whole. In recognizing their individual strengths as well working in the spirit of collaboration, teams begin to evolve.

What do you think of the prevailing practices at work?

Savvy Raj


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Its Logical!

Logically

There is always a reason

For things as they are

For people to be who they are

For time to be as is

So dont worry!

Just be happy…

Savvy


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A passionate perseverance…

You become what you consistently  think about.
Would you agree?


From since I can remember I have been fascinated by movement and dance. With its power and applications in grace and dignity.

I had no plans to become a  dance educator but decades into dance and training  here I am still thinking  and writing  and dancing whenever I can.


Yes, you may have many other professional careers and  experiences in varied fields but the things you are deeply passionate about, you become and becomes you.


Be it any form of art of science  or anything in between yet unnamed…
You draw energy  and purpose  from it…
You feed from the very energy  in reference and reflection.
You transform yourself and your environment with the very same energy within in enthusiasm as you come from heartfelt abundance.

Savvy


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Taro

Our Gardens Gift

Taro Or Arbi in Hindi

Every morning I try and spend some time in my terrace garden by myself, and I am often delighted by a gift or two from nature’s amazing abundance.

This morning I came across a refreshing sight of this plant growing right below our beautiful mango tree. I was compelled to use Google lens for more on this plant and found out it is Taro or what is commonly called Arbi in Hindi.

Here is a little bit more I read about this beautiful plant reaching out with a generous spread of leaves.

Taro is a starchy root vegetable that has a sweet, nutty flavor—a flavor and texture that seems a combination of chestnuts and potatoes. Taro can be steamed, boiled, fried, stir-fried, baked, and braised. It is often added to soups and stews where it absorbs fatty juices and serves as a nutty thickener.

It’s hard to describe taro flavor using other flavors. It is known to have a sweet taste with a hint of vanilla. People usually consume its edible corm and leaves. The corms, which have a light purple color due to phenolic pigments,are roasted, baked or boiled. The natural sugars give a sweet, nutty flavor. The starch is easily digestible, and since the grains are fine and small it is often used for baby food.

Young taro leaves and stems can be eaten after boiling twice to remove the acrid flavor. The leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C and contain more protein than the corms.

In its raw form, the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate, and the presence of needle-shaped raphides in the plant cells. However, the toxin can be minimized and the tuber rendered palatable by cooking, or by steeping in cold water overnight (Source Wiki)

Interesting information on Taro.

Do you know more about Taro, do you have a taro plant in your garden? Would love to hear more.

Savvy


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On Love & Inclusion

A poignant tale of a little child sensing the favoritism by her own father was shared by my friend Ali Anani in his post….

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ali-anani-phd-15305319_love-experience-empathy-activity-6970262610063589376-9Fbe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Here are my reflections on this post… which I had initially shared with him privately but then realized that perhaps it needs to be read and understood in the larger context of the trials and tribulations in life and living..

Truth has a way of baring open the wounds of the heart and mind on its path of healing the hurt.
For truth is on its own path of self correction in this world.
For unfairness and
Injustice has to somedayfind justice
Exclusion to inclusion
Doubts to clarity.

When truth speaks
In one way or another
It is important to listen
In empathy without judgements

Truth speaks as it is
In all of innocence
Or in wisdom of awareness.

And yet…
Innocence can be daunting  to handle . But addressing the truth one way or the other
Leads to discoveries of how little we know or of what is sensed & perceived.


In the story  that my friend shared…here are instances of lack of inclusion in a family

Where in one day there is marked difference in the way the father speaks,
When the child says
Why are you speaking to me…

Interesting to note that you perceived  the young child as witty
Whereas another may perceive  it as defiance,or even an evidence of an awareness of lack of inclusion and discrimination at this household in the young child’s mind.
And that she is voicing  it in all of innocence.

What would be of significance  is how the father addresses  this brewing disconnect.

Lack of love can be a difficult  phase at any age especially  for a child.
Let’s trust the universe to show the way for this child to receive what she is yearning for one way or another.
May every life be able to sense  love and live life lovingly. 

Savvy


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Wisdom in humility

The soul knows the truths…
Yet the spirit is untamed.
To understand the wisdom.
It is important  to create space
To allow learning to take place.


Humility is dormant
When ego is dominant.
Humility is patience in waiting
Invoking wisdom in humility

Savvy