To me…
Painting is an iterative journey
Full of surprises in the flow
Something to stumble upon
To follow on & find meaning.
In letting go of the control
You begin to see the guidance
Forming in the impressions
Sometimes subtle or strong
As the brush moves on canvas
Leaving imprints of colours
Patterning itself in a narrative
Creating a purpose for itself.
Painting is a tool in trusting
In faith, in the discovery
Shaping itself through you
Bridging beyond in the now.
Savvy
Love of art, can build bridges..
6 bridges in Venice – Wisdom, hope, love, help, faith & friendship 🇮🇹
By sculptor Lorenzo Quinn.
“The hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy.” 👉
Support – Message About Climate Change
Acknowledgement of the good starts with you
And how you act on it…
Everyday make sure to walk and laugh , sing and dance and see the beauty in every beat of a living heart and that’s a step to tuning yourself to loving this world a little more.
All is in the acknowledgement in hope and positivity.
Savvy
In being proved wrong
We learn something new
What if we celebrate the learning
Than criticize making mistakes
For mistakes are an error of judgement.
It is already happened, in the past
What matters is what we make of it
Are we ready to accept our mistakes?
Are we ready to learn from it to move on?
After all instead of fussing over mistakes,
Let’s be receptive to being wrong.
And care to imbibe a new perspective
For then we can be a little less wrong now🙏
Savvy
Sharing a beautiful message with you…
A man, who regularly attended family & group meetings suddenly, without any notice, stopped participating.
After a few weeks, one very cold night the leader of that group decided to visit him.
He found the man at home, alone, sitting in front of a fireplace where a bright fire burned.
The man welcomed the leader. There was great calm & silence.
The two men only watched the dancing flames around the logs that crackled in the fireplace.
After a few minutes the leader, without saying a word, examined the logs that formed the fire and selected one of them, glowing most brightly of all, and removed it to the side with a pair of tongs. Then he sat down again.
The host was paying attention to everything, fascinated. Before long, the lone log’s flame subsided, until there was only a momentary glow and the fire soon went out.
In a short time what was previously bright light and heat had become nothing more than a black dead piece of wood.
Very few words had been spoken since the greeting.
Before preparing to leave, the leader picked up the useless piece of wood with the tongs and placed it again in the middle of the fire. Immediately, the piece of wood was rekindled, fuelled by the light and heat of the burning logs around it.
When the leader was about to leave & had reached the door, the host said: ‘Thank you for your visit and for your beautiful lesson. I’ll return to the group soon.’
Why is a group important in our lives ?
Very simple:
Because each member that withdraws takes fire and heat from the rest.
It’s worth reminding group members that they are a part of the flame.
It’s also good to remind us that we are all responsible for keeping each other’s flame burning.
And we must promote the union among us so that the fire is really strong, effective and lasting. Keep the fire burning.
THE GROUP IS ALSO A FAMILY
It doesn’t matter if sometimes we are bothered by so many messages, quarrels and misunderstandings.
What matters is to be connected. We are here to meet, message, learn, exchange ideas or simply to know that we are not alone
Let’s keep the flame alive.
Life is beautiful with friends and family.
😀🙏😀🙏😀🙏😀🙏
Give credit, when and where credit is due
Shy not from appreciation.
Neither in giving nor taking.
If you see something that makes you feel like appreciating…
Do so immediately, don’t wait for another day.
For authentic appreciation can transform the world for the receiver.
Words matter, a great deal
Say words that mean well
Let there be no ambiguity
When you mean well
Let your words drive the message home.
All is well in clarity of communication.
Savvy
In the stillness of the now
Is a divine orchestration.
Of the rapturous flow
Of the beauty of nature
And its wonder in awe!
All is peace All is well!
Savvy
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 thought wave.
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!
Life is precious
Hearts sacred
Rhythms divine
Kindness humane
And in these interconnects
All is truly well & miraculous
Savvy
If only we could realize how valuable it is to be appreciated and supported .
If we could only know how important it is to feel inclusive in our diverse ways.
We must understand that love and kindness is the only way besides adopting a non-judgmental approach.
We must realise how vulnerable life is, but beyond feeling victimized and create further suffering due to negative thoughts
We need to respond with empathy, show unity through kindness and compassionate deeds.
The power of kindness is truly infinite.
KINDNESS IS THE PRAYER IN ACTION.
Savvy
To remember to be kinder to oneself as much as another
Is a habit of a lifetime to cultivate.
It’s good to acknowledge the now
And remember every movement is happening
As it is preordained.
Let worry take a backseat
As well as the need for overt perfection.
Just keep the faith and hope alive in your heart
Simply know deep within…
All is well as it is meant to be.
Savvy
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
Savvy Raj 
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