Interesting set of reflections , I just had to share…
Hardly the day started and … it is already six o’clock in the evening.
Barely arrived on Monday and it’s already Friday.
… and the month is already over.
… and the year is almost up.
… and already 40, 50 … years of our lives have passed.
… and we realize that we lost our parents, friends.
and we realize that it is too late to go back …
So … Let’s try, however, to take full advantage of the time we have left …
Let’s not stop looking for activities that we like …
Let’s put color in our greyness …
Let’s smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts.
And yet, we must continue to enjoy serenely the time that remains.
Let’s try to eliminate the “after” …
I do it after …
I will say after …
I will think about it after …
We leave everything for ‘later’ as if “after” was ours.
Because what we do not understand is that:
after, the coffee cools …
after, priorities change …
after, the charm is broken …
after, health passes …
after, the children grow up …
after, the parents get older …
after, the promises are forgotten …
after, the day becomes the night …
after, life ends …
And after that it’s often too late ….
So … leave nothing for ‘later’ …
Because always waiting for later, we can lose the best moments,
the best experiences,
the best friends,
the best family …
The day is today … The moment is now …
The above post is replete with the wisdom of Now. It resonates so much, especially with two of my earlier share of verses… one penned by my mother…This moment!
When wisdom knocks it is never easy… When wisdom knocks know its just the beginning When wisdom knocks be ready to be challenged When wisdom knocks know you are learning When wisdom knocks know you are meant to learn When wisdom knocks be open to understand When wisdom knocks it opens many doors
When wisdom knocks know be ready to experience the now When wisdom knocks be ready to dare When wisdom knocks be ready to acknowledge When wisdom knocks be ready to respect When wisdom knocks be ready to witness When wisdom knocks be ready to accept When wisdom knocks be ready to gain When wisdom knocks be ready to let go When wisdom knocks know the value of balance
When wisdom knocks know your own equanimity When wisdom knocks be ready to know your self When wisdom knocks know there is something beyond your self When wisdom knocks be aware of the greater purpose When wisdom knocks become willing to understand beyond…
When wisdom knocks know it seeks you When wisdom knocks know there is always a reason When wisdom knocks trust yourself When wisdom knocks keep the faith When wisdom knocks know you are in the path of awakening.
When wisdom knocks be ready to accept responsibility When wisdom knocks know you are strengthened in spirit and soul. When wisdom knocks know you are on your path. When wisdom knocks know you are blessed When wisdom knocks know you are enough for you!.
There are many knocks of wisdom… Each unique in its potential lesson To learn to see the now in every moment Every knock of wisdom leaves imprints in the spirit of the soul. Are you ready?
Savvy
Giving your attention without fear or favour and caring to understand what another is saying, before responding says a lot about the person who is listening…
Here is a true incident…
Viktor Frankl, one of the great psychiatrists of the twentieth century, survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. His little book, Man’s Search for Meaning , is one of those life-changing books that everyone should read.
Frankl once told the story of a woman who called him in the middle of the night to calmly inform him she was about to commit suicide. Frankl kept her on the phone and talked her through her depression, giving her reason after reason to carry on living. Finally she promised she would not take her life, and she kept her word.
When they later met, Frankl asked which reason had persuaded her to live?
“None of them”, she told him.
What then influenced her to go on living, he pressed?
Her answer was simple, it was Frankl’s WILLINGNESS TO LISTEN to HER in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.
A world in which there was SOMEONE ready to listen to another’s pain seemed to her a world in which it was worthwhile to live.
Often, it is not the brilliant argument that makes the difference. Sometimes the small act of LISTENING is the GREATEST GIFT we can GIVE.
How can we choose to listen well?
What are the barriers to effective listening? How can we improve our listening abilities.
A few issues in listening well….or what is called Ineffective listening.
Distraction caused by the difference between speaking and thinking speeds in humans. So if the speaker speaks too slowly or too fast, the listeners may lose the plot.
At times the appearance or personality quirks or the environment changes can create distractions.
Distraction also causes the listener to show a lack of interest through body language like in posture of loss of eye contact.
Overcoming distractions requires keeness to improve and interest in personal development as much as a sense of commitment to the task at hand.
Here are a 5 tips for improving listening skills.
1. Restating . Pay full attention so as to be able to restate or paraphrase in your own words every once in a while, what it is that you have heard so as to make the speaker feel listened to.
2 Prompting . Use short and positive prompts by interjecting them in the pauses … to show interest like .. And then ? So ?or I know…
3.Validating .Express your empathy . Show that you understand what another is saying or going through. Acknowledge the issues faced by another or the feelings as they are speaking. It shows you are sincere in your concern.
4.Pausing . Allow for some gaps in the conversation.. it helps buy time to think for both the speaker and the listener . As it helps process the information. Silences are great tools to let go the unnecessary gibberish and loose-ended talks which may be counter- productive.
5.Shifting . Redirecting a speaker when needed by shifting the topic gradually changes the tone of the discussion which can at times get too aggressive or violent for comfort.
There are so many ways that develops the GIFT OF LISTENING .
Have also found that in practise, the art of listening well involves all of our senses.
After all the art of a great conversation lies in the ability to listen keenly and respond well than simply react.
Savvy
Personally speaking I have often been a good listener… yet I must confess that there are a few close friends to whom I have spoken who are such great listeners that they put me at ease.
It is truly wonderful to be listened to as much as to listen. There is so much healing in the listening as much as in the sharing. I take this opportunity to thank those friends and readers who cared to give me a listening ear and time.🙏
Ups and downs are part of life they say, But if you have ever been in the shoes of an entrepreneur Check out life on the other side Where pitfalls and catapults are happenings of every day!
Easier said than done, get married to one And watch the brewing storms and tumults of every moment. Staying centered is the name of the game Play on, as fame and shame are small matters under the sun…
Just know in your heart to trust the moment Live it with love and enjoy this now Cos worrying is never the path to take For it traverses on, a test of will in the torment.
Change is the only constant they say and its best manifested in the life of an entrepreneur…
One of the important lessons in living with an entrepreneur… that I can pass on…
Well take nothing for granted
Neither the gains nor the pitfalls.
Everything is in a flux.
So enjoy the moment at hand
And happiness is in your heart!
Savvy
Sounds so wonderful to say I have my own company, or I am the Founder ….
But chew on this a while ….before you bite
Entrepreneurs are a breed apart
They strive for and thrive on success.
Of late the world seems a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and their dream what with almost every one dreaming to become one . Yet the price of startups in scaffolding years leads to so much learnings through it all.
Yes amazing is the feeling of being the boss, where you think you have it all taken care of and you have mastered your game… but then being at the healm of things has so much more at stake! Like never ending work hours , overt commitment workholism, insecurities,and relentless tensionand stress and most of all the looming responsibility of raising funds.
You realise you have to answer to your investors and funders . Your liability is your own conscience Your success is like a game of chances. The laws can make or break you in no time!
Your peace is at stake and your family takes a backseat most often, as you have so much to prove every day!
Your time is not your own but your companies ….and you realise it all only too late.
It certainly is not for the weakhearted as the pressures that surmount to stay at the healm can challenge the strongest minds.
I wrote this as I have personally witnessed the price of the entrepreneurial dream upclose. In the ups and downs the journey goes on , as ironically, these bravehearts never back down!
The static and the dynamic are both a dance of stillness and movement in the river of time. There is both the overlay of stillness in the movements . And the underlying movements in the stillness.
Imagination traverses far Moving dimensions Mirroring and blending Adapting and creating Both the invisible and visible Energy in the stillness Energy in the motion Orcherstrated in the flow
In the duality is the oneness
And the rhythms of life and living. All unifying in the circle of life
As a dance educator and trainer…while teaching and sharing social dancing skills one of the important learnings we work on is the understanding of the art of leading and following. Both very significant for any kind of partner dancing as much as in life itself. After all, life is a dance and dance imitates life!
In the first place, what does it take to be a leader? Many things but most importantly, a follower. So simply put, there must be a follower to be a leader. There can be no leader without a follower and there certainly would be no follower without a leader.
Dancing together is a lesson in leading and following in partnership!
In such a perspective both the leader and follower in the dance have a relevant role to play, that of completing the dance successfully and like so in life as well.
A dance can teach a lot about leadership and here are a few reflections on what it is to lead…
To lead is an opportunity to honour the trust of a follower.
To lead is to light the flame of inspiration to win the vote of trust of the followers.
To lead is to have a strength of purpose that inspires confidence.
To lead is to allow yourself to make decisions for others to evolve along.
To lead is to accept the responsibility of mistakes.
To lead is to maintain a decorum of standards unflinchingly.
To lead is to believe you can!
To lead is to be led by a greater purpose.
To lead is to value the laws of nature.
To lead is to value the need for self expression while respecting the need for structure.
To lead is to better the followers and not beat them down at every opportunity.
To lead is to be able to collaborate and learn just as much as to compete.
To lead is to denote respect and not expect overt attention.
To lead is to show the way for others to follow.
To lead to work tirelessly with a sense of inner commitment without hesitation without expectation.
To lead is to muster the resilience of the spirit.
To lead is to endow the spirit of courage in others.
To lead is take into account the potential of all possibilities.
Savvy
Do share your take on leadership. I would be keen to understand how you see it impacting your life and work.
The strength of support and flow of movements while dancing together is based on the connection established and that marks the quality of leadership in question.
I want to share it with you . I recommend you spend some time playing as you please . Rest assured you will create and listen to beautiful music, even if you have never played a musical instrument before .
Gift yourself some blissful musical moments. Play on!
I have always been a lover of stringed instruments and their sounds. I wanted to know and learn a bit more about the Bandura.
A bandura is a Ukrainian, plucked string, folk instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often referred to by the term kobza. Early instruments had 5 to 12 strings and similar to the lute. In the 20th century, the number of strings increased initially to 31 strings, 56 strings – 68 strings on modern ‘concert’ instruments.
Musicians who play the bandura are referred to as bandurists. In the 19th – early 20th century traditional bandura players, often blind, were referred to as kobzars.
A little bit on the lute and zither two instruments whose elements are combined in the music.
Lute is any plucked string instrument with a neck (either fretted or unfretted) and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. More specifically, the term “lute” can refer to an instrument from the family of European lutes. The lute is plucked or strummed with one hand while the other hand “frets” (presses down) the strings on the neck’s fingerboard. By pressing the strings on different places of the fingerboard, the player can shorten or lengthen the part of the string that is vibrating, thus producing higher or lower pitches (notes).
Zithers are played by strumming or plucking the strings, either with the fingers (sometimes using an accessory called a plectrum or pick), sounding the strings with a bow, or, with varieties of the instrument like the santur or cimbalom, by beating the strings with specially shaped hammers. Like a guitar or lute, a zither’s body serves as a resonating chamber (sound box), but, unlike guitars and lutes, a zither lacks a distinctly separate neck assembly. The number of strings varies, from one to more than fifty. Ref : Wiki
When I was a little girl I often have witnessed my dear father see and give great value and acknowledge every little good that is or happens, however small they may seem to others . It could be a with a gentle word , a kind word of appreciation or a little compliment.
He taught me one of most important lesson for a lifetime ….to notice, respect and reflect on the good in and around us … and to live positively and think of life always as Plus++++es.
Life is a beautiful gift as it is and it is in us to see it so.”
For Gifts are best appreciated in deep gratitude.
Bidding adieu to 2018
In Gratitude for the year that was
And in Hope for the year 2019
And many more that will be…
Let the light of joy in our hearts carry us through
Towards Happier Healthier and Healing times
For the world in and around us !
Today marks a personal milestone in blogging as I publish my 101st post. I have completed my continuous 100 days of writing on WordPress.
On a lark after a challenge to post a few of my favourite songs for three consecutive days came my way from a fellow blogger and friend Dr Sridhar. I decided to take it up and posted my favourite songs for three days. Then I started thinking if I could manage to post for a week and continued to write . The seven days went smooth and easy and then I upped my goal a little further to see if I could write a post everyday for a month.
I had a few ground rules established in my head . First that this was no competition to complete in pressure but simply an effort to see if I would find an inspiration to write on anything that caught my fancy each day . Second would I have the perseverance to continue and be able to dedicate time towards the effort .
Thirdly I wanted to see if I could keep my readers and audiences interested if I happen to post everyday.
And most of all I wanted to test whether my creative instincts are effected in anyway by habit…
A months regular posting on WordPress got me supercharged to aspire some more. Wp would egg me on with reminders of completing a 30th day streak of posting on WordPress.
It was no surprise that once I reached 30 I wanted to try and reach the 50th day.
Seemed then that I could do it if I was smart enough to manage my writing time around the early hours of the day. And that’s what I did.
No one in my family or friends knew much about this plan, but I was pretty clear how to go about it by then and dedicated a bit of time to writing every morning no matter what.
A few learnings.
Have a goal that seems workable, it is easier to focus.
Persevere… and believe you can work towards it.
Push your goal a step ahead as you reach a level.
Manage your time better, to make it happen
Value your goal and be dedicated.
Your creative sense will begin to work for you all the more…
Believe in your self and be passionate
Trust that you will find the way!
And most of all enjoy the journey as much as the destination.😊
Although I have written on WordPress for a few years now and I would have written and posted perhaps continously as well earlier without my own realisation. This was a task that had a goal and hence it is different to me.
The last few months have been personally challenging in terms of health where I was even admitted to the hospital and I am continuing to battle a condition that might require surgery soon. So basically being unwell literally I use the relatively painfree bits of time in the day, I have in my hands for creative enrichment …be it writing or painting and more.
Blogging through I reached my 50th day of posting. And I knew I couldn’t stop it in my heart . The magic figure of 100 floated in my mind and I was sold to the idea of making it happen.
Today it is the 101st day streak of publishing a post everyday and I truly wonder how I managed it all along with my present condition.
My biggest take back has been the loving support and generous comments from my readers which kept me going . But other than that was a learning and affirmation that if we really make up our mind , we can beat the odds and find a way to acheive our goal .
Besides that I realised how my reading others blogs and writing every day would bring up some topic to contemplate creatively for the next day. The best part was I never had to try too hard … every post I wrote and shared I enjoyed with all my heart.
Writing gives me a sense of completion.
A feeling of contentment of a job well done. And if its well received it truly makes my day… and my fellow writers this I am pretty sure you would agree as well.
Thank you my dear readers and friends for staying with me right through. It has been an absolute pleasure to share and learn along the way… on what I can gratefully now call Project 101.
Wishing an awesome year 2019 for us all !
God bless all!
Savvy
Savvy Raj 
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