Somewhere in time…
Some paths feel closer home
A river that feels cruised before
The spectre of night that feels witnessed before
Some places feel lived & breathed in before
Memorable moments linger on
Sustained as fond memories
In the sensing of soulspaces.
Savvy
Beautiful is the word I sense
Ethereal vision in white.
Under a canopy of sky so blue
A treat to envision
This is the White-wisteria
The Japanese tree.
Full credit to this
Photographer unknown.
Savvy
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
‘Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.’
Paramahansa Yogananda
Have you smiled today?
When you smile from the heart
You begin to let go the spurious
You rise above apprehensions
And self created notions.
Smile from the heart ❤️
Savvy
Life gives life
Life takes life
Live heals life
Life hurts life
Life nurtures life
Life tortures life
Life can be powerful
Life can be powerless
At any one moment
Such is the truth of life
In the river of time
Youth ages in time
Life moves on
In every moment at hand
Realize the preciousness of now
Sense the bliss in the blessings
From hands that raise you
For time takes a toll
What was, is not going to be
What will be we do not know
What is now, make it matter
Practice gratitude
Practice appreciation
Practice thankfulness
In this now.
Savvy
Darkness is a great opportunity to discover the divine face of the light!’
I like the positivity in this quote by Mehmat Murat Ildan the Turkish novelist
Acknowledging the shadow behind the light is understanding the duality of creation and valuing the balance and harmony in every moment .
Savvy
Blending in
If you visit a new place as a tourist
Would you prefer to blend in
Such that you are almost invisible…
Or would you be someone
Who would prefer to be noticed,
For your differences
And draw attention of others
Being able to blend in can often be a blessing in disguise.
As you look like you have been there and are aware of their ways of life.
You don’t stick out like a sore thumb.
Or behave as if you are out of place.
You tend to draw less attention perhaps, but there in is your safety in new locales.
You are adaptable and accepting of the new culture.
For some it’s really easy
For some it’s truly difficult
For they are by nature noticeable
Whether they like it or not!
What is your take on this…
Have you ever tried to blend in or stand out from the crowd
How has your experiences of traveling been so far ? Do share.
Savvy
Every little step in time matters.
A little step every time
Takes you closer to your goal
Without much of a challenge
Whereas more the distance
Between two steps
More the need for motivation
For continuous progress
In the case of little steps
There is always a little progress
In every small step forward.
You are steps ahead in time
In consistent balance.
Small steps together
Can make a big difference
In the sensing of success.
Savvy
It’s never just about existence
There is always more
To life and living.
Something in the offing
Something in the sensing
Something that’s not yet palpable
To think we exist for ourselves
Is to have never existed to all
Forget about living life.
We thrive most
When we help each other thrive
That way we sustain our thriving
Life is meant to be lived & loved
For all that matters in the end is
Have we lived or just existed?
Savvy
There is something endearing about dancing with a partner, it’s the power to attract another magnetically and charmingly interact with another’s energy and spirit through dance movement.
A prerequisite to dancing well is one’s ability to take an emotional journey and open oneself and to share and connect to another’s energies .This is what engages the audience and keeps them enthralled. It’s beyond the physicality of steps, patterns, touch, or even the right dance hold or dance frame. It’s in the ability to dance with space, time, yet in complete awareness of one another’s heart of movement.
I had an opportunity to experience this just the other day when I witnessed all of this and more in Rohini (my mother’s friend actually) a family friend of many years .
I have known her to be a simple religious and a happy go lucky person who also may have been through much personal turmoil like so many others but yet has managed a cheerful disposition every time I met her.
Her characteristic sunny nature would never give away the strife behind the smile. The occasion was her 25 th wedding anniversary that I got invited to , and as we reached the venue the couple were at the dais, very understated , a picture of simplicity & composure.
The evening took off, with all their close friends having some wonderful and touching things to say about them both.
There was a small dance floor which soon got filled up with people who were initially hesitant As the music filled the air many more of us started getting into the groove and dancing. And then I saw her, it was her in her element, dancing from her heart and soul. It was fantastic to see her energetic dancing in full display for the all to see , Her ever calm and composed husband seemed mesmerized by all the fun moves she did .
In fact everyone was charmed by her passion and for that moment I realized just then that her joyful dancing soul had peeped out from the depths of it all.
Kudos to her for keeping the spirit of dancing alive in her through all these years .God bless!
Dancing from the heart always counts more than perfection of steps. And that’s the ultimate challenge… To keep the mind open, ready, receptive, giving and simple enough, to dare to step out of comfort zones.
My salute to this dancing soul !
Savvy Raj
Sharing these inspiring lines…
You are not what happened to you
You are how you handle it.
What makes you handle life’s challenges well?
What is that in you that makes you bridge over troubled waters?
What makes you sail through your troubles?
It is your own faith, trust,belief and most importantly hope that keeps you alive.
For hope is unending!
Looking back at life’s challenges
If you were to see things
With the element of time
Yesterday it may have mattered a great deal.
Today things are different
Perceptions change altering our perspectives.
And we learn to see the bigger picture
And then we give and take.
And learn to receive and let go.
And life goes on!
Savvy
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
A prayer is a bow of acceptance.
A prayer is a joyous amalgamation to the divine within.
Savvy
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
Savvy Raj 
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