Our world is not so perfect
Yet it must go on
And Ants know it best
They work as a team to solve their own set of problems.
All fingers of a hand are different
All are meant to be for a purpose that is not yet visible.
Yet much can happen in coordination & collaboration.
When one that is weak is supported by the stronger.
There is a semblance of balance
In this ball of blue.
Savvy
According to Psychologists, there are four types of Intelligence:
1) Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
2) Emotional Quotient (EQ)
3) Social Quotient (SQ)
4) Adversity Quotient (AQ)
People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go further in life than those with a high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalize on improving IQ levels while EQ and SQ are played down.
A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ.
Your EQ represents your Character, while your SQ represents your Charisma. Give in to habits that will improve these three Qs, especially your EQ and SQ.
Now there is a 4th one, a new paradigm:
When faced with troubles, AQ determines who will give up, who will abandon their family, and who will consider suicide.
Parents please expose your children to other areas of life than just Academics. They should adore manual labour (never use work as a form of punishment), Sports and Arts.
Develop their IQ, as well as their EQ, SQ and AQ. They should become multifaceted human beings able to do things independently of their parents.
Finally, do not prepare the road for your children. Prepare your children for the road.”
✏️ Author unknown
My friend Ali Anani from Jordan proposed an interesting question last evening.
“As a poet dear Savvy I just wonder how much do you trust planning?”
Here are my musings…
Poets and Planning
A poet has a lot of structuring to do…
The poet steps out of the box
Knowing only too well that thoughts needs to align in time.
Without trust in the divine plan there is no way the poet can create.
And without a plan that visualizes the bigger picture as much as the little details, the verse will not make sense.
So poets and planning have much to do in trustfulness.
Now speaking personally,
Spontaneity seems to surge
In the throes of a thoughwave.
Yet much is happens in following the flow.
Synergies are sensed
In the amalgamation and associations.
Of thoughts into verses.
As words then fill the void spaces
Making meaning out of matter.
Spontaneity too then is preordained in the divine plan
And poets are simply messengers
Enriching thoughts in a meter of sorts.
To make the ordinary words come alive!
Savvy
Power of one candle to light the darkness
Power of one tree to give shade
Power in one smile to change the mood
Power of one hand to feed the hungry
Power of one kind word to change hearts
Power of one heart to ignite hope in the world
Power of one touch to lift the soul
Just one heartfelt move… makes all the difference!
Image Credits: painting by Savvy Raj.
Titled: Interconnectedness
Life reflects itself through the things you do, the people you meet as well as in your passions and perseverances, in so many intriguing yet enthralling ways.
One such beautiful reflection I experienced in my travels earlier in France.
A sense of deja vu, a throwback to the fond memories of teaching dances to people in the different places, all thanks to the Dance & the magic of movements.
While visiting France I met my colleague from the world of dance, Celine Maheo who resides in Rennes
Celine is a practicing clinical psychologist and an Argentine tango dancer.
What’s beautiful is that she is a dedicated professional who uses the dance therapy for helping Parkinson’s patients with their movements through Tango dance sessions.
My interest was piqued, as earlier I had been conducting very similar dance sessions as well, especially remembered our Seniors Dance for Wellness workshops back in India.
So over a beautiful meet and greet sipping cups of hot herbal tea at the Les Grands Gamin at the heart of Rennes, ensued a free flowing conversation where we exchanged notes on each others life. Our passion for dancing was the visible to see as we hardly knew how moments passed by.
To dance is to sense connections beyond the dancing bodies.
To dance is to honour life and its unique expressions in the movements.
Savvy Raj
And when Celine invited me to her next Tango Therapy Workshop, it was an offer I could not refuse. I was actually keen to understand whether and how the cultural differences change the way of conducting and experiencing workshops here.
Dancing can improve the mobility and balance in senior adults.
Adapting the dance to suit the requirements of the group, like simplifying the steps, the placement of the feet, improves their coordination, mobility and balance.
The dance session was deeply engrossing & truly inspiring to witness and participate as well. The music played that day stayed with me well after the session.
So the next step turned out to be me conducting a Chacha session for them. The challenges of language barriers were surrmounted easily as Celine offered to translate my teaching from English to French.
Everything fell in place beautifully and voila time flew again.We danced a bit of Chacha that day and also some more in the next few sessions as well. I was told later by the learners how much they enjoyed it!
It was an amazing experience sharing the joys of movements and I thank Celine for her inclusivity in requesting me to conduct the dance sessions as well. And I deeply appreciate all her beautiful learners that I met,connected and danced with. It was a truly warm and wonderful time spent with them all.
After the sessions we would gather together and discuss opening many facets of the learning and imbibing. It was a beautiful way of empathising and understanding each other.
Some of the beautiful souls I got to interact with in the few months I was there.
Dance has a way of soothing your entire being and bringing forth and connecting you with the depth of who you are. That is when dance begins to feel meaningful and transforms life.
The dance connects established, in those sessions is a beautiful memory etched in my heart, that I will cherish forever.
I chanced on these beautiful moments again as I found the photos I clicked back then and I decided to give them a little artistic effect.
All across the world April 29th every year is celebrated as International Dance Day, although every day is a great day to dance!
I dedicate this post to all my dance friends and colleagues and all the dance educators in the world who are making the world a better place, with every step in time.
Savvy Raj
These inspiring words are by William Martin The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents 🙂
The ordinary can be a gift in disguise 🙂
Dreams are where everything begins
Dreams are roots of creativity
Dreams are a dance of imagination
Dream it and you can make it happen
Dream a little every day!
Savvy
On Beliefs
Our beliefs are self created patterns
A representation of our expectations
Of how things relate in ourselves
And how the world ought to conform.
It’s our anchor within to navigate
With or without proof of existence
In a sea of uncertainty called life
As much as the challenges of change.
At the meta level are our beliefs are about beliefs in the sensing
At the emotional level it’s based on feelings
At the interpretational level are the opinions, feedbacks that are based in communicating
At the contemplative level its based on predictions in thinking.
But beliefs are within you to choose.
Do know your beliefs can create an ‘Empowered You’.
And you have the power to choose well.
Savvy
The Degrees that we acquire
Are but an endorsement of our skillsets
But degrees do not define our nature.
No matter the set expectations.
Our behavior day in & out,
Is a testimony to our true education
No amount of degrees can guarantee our behaviour.
Our ways of being and our attitude towards others speaks a lot more…
Of how we apply our education in our lives.
Savvy
Words of wisdom from a gentle soul.
Nothing of this nature is our own
We cannot claim it as ours
As the world has existed beyond any of us
We come to this world for a while
We owe it more than we own it
Our deeds speak for themselves
And time tells the truth of living.
Our responsibility lies with ourselves
The way we choose to live every day
A little compassion in consciousness
A loving acknowledgement in awareness
For the burdens on mother nature
Goes a long long way
In sustaining the world we have.
Savvy
#empathy #compassion
When you experience the sense of meaning in the moments.
Whatever is the work you do
Whichever is your walk of life
When you sense you are contributing to work.
When you sense a balance,
Between the challenges and the skills you have to meet it.
When inspite of the challenges you feel you have it in you perform at your best.
When you feel you have the focus and ability to connect with the work you do
You feel one with the flow…
You begin to enjoy the life in the moments!
Savvy
A plant needs the right amount of nutrients to grow
Like just enough water and sunshine
Not more not less
For both will weaken the life within
That is the wisdom of moderation.
Apply it to life and living
Life wilts in the extremes.
Choose to respect life
And not tilt the stability.
When you supply everything beyond need
There is no drive towards the higher purpose.
The foundation is taken for granted
And might eventually get weaker
Suppy enough to keep it nourished.
Nurture life with a balanced approach
Just enough to fulfill its purpose.
Let the strength of resilience develop.
For when roots are deep and grounded
They withstand the onslaughts of nature.
Savvy
On Tranquillity
In sensing the tranquillity within
In knowing the sounds of silence
In flowing freely in the moment
Is the space of wonder and awe
Of the beauty in the being …
In the bliss of the bless.
Savvy
Notice the good
Sometimes the simple act of noticing something good can make all the difference…
Trust there is always more
Than what your eyes can see
In the sensing and the knowing
The yet undiscovered good manifests
Right before you for you to notice.
Savvy
Savvy Raj 