Have you sensed the reflections
Of human life in trees?
Speaking metaphorically
The roots of the trees
Holding memories of the past
Buried in time, deep within
The tree trunk presents itself
To the world representing the now
Dreams and desires
Ambitions and aspirations
Are like the branches reaching out
And the fruits and flowers
Are like the rewards of success
So much truth of life in these trees
Let’s care to nurture them
And imbibe the learnings
From their deep rooted wisdom.
©Savvy Raj
A few questions to reflect on…
Have I made some one smile today?
Have I shared some good with all of my heart?
Have I written positive words and felt goodwill?
Have I stayed calm in my difficult moments?
Have I been a little more loving today?
Have I made me better than yesterday?
©Savvy Raj
As a Freelancer or a Self Employed Individual inspite of the independence and freedom to manage what you choose to do, there are often many challenges that test you on your journey.
Here are a few mindful ways to destress through your challenges using reflection for your personal growth.
Breath: Start the day by find time for your health. You can simply start by observing your breath. Witness it, moving in and out of the body. Sense your own breath. Check the speed and patterns in your breath. Are you breathing fast or slow? Are you able to hear the sounds of your breath? Our breathing sends many signals to us about our health, if we only care to observe.
Meditation. Reflect on your life as you go into a deeper state of being.You can choose your kind of meditation from the many practices of meditation options. Be it breath awareness through deep breathing, or mindful walking meditation or sound meditation. Be fully present in the Now.
Movement : Reflect on the positive ways you can use your body to reset and recharge your self. Choose to take a mindful and conscious walk. Sense everything in and around as you move with self awareness Reflect on your day and observe your thoughts. Many thoughts will vye for your attention. Let them come and go as you witness their unfolding. You will find much inspiration as you go. You will note your state of mind. You will have clarity of your emotional and mental health. You will sense the truths of your life.
Journalling.: Writing your thoughts is a good reflection tool that helps process and synthesise new information and life experiences. In fact it increases creative thinking and problem solving. As you reflect on your reactions and responses you will find greater clarity on your path.
Reading : A beautiful practice for any time that you can be inspired is by inculcating a habit of reading regularly. Choose a good book take time to read. You will find yourself charged with many inspirations to kickstart your day. It can be a contemplative practice for some deep thinking and self introspection and improvement.
Feedback : An opinion of another about you is their assimilated perception that they may voice out to you with or without your asking. Seeking honest feedback from trusted sources can help you course correct yourself. It is how you take the feedbacks you receive and what and how you focus on it that makes all the difference. Be aware that feedback is a valuable tool for self reflection and personal growth.
There are many tools for reflection like the above. However even acknowledging ones feelings and emotions helps in understanding more and managing stressful situations better.
Reflection practices can be inclusive and expansive. Besides silent contemplation and introspection while learning from mistakes, participating in a conversation, be it Group discussions, workshops can be an engaging practice for Self awareness.. They are also opportunities for self growth.
©Savvy Raj
On Forgiveness
An action that builds bridges
Creates connections
Erases errors
And heals hearts.
©Savvy Raj
And I love this inspiration that I came across in my readings today…
Because forgiveness is like this:
A room can be dark because you have closed the windows, you’ve closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart. Desmond Tutu
What are your thoughts on this?
Whoever made the movie “Avatar” knew this. The mycelium or mychrysis is a fungus that spreads underground, creating a communication network between all types of plants, a kind of internet that allows them not only to communicate, but also to take care of themselves, protect themselves, eat, to stock up on the water.
And when a tree is cut down from the forest, the mycelium informs a huge number of trees in the forest that one of them is dying, and all the other trees, through the mycelium, start tending to the remaining trunk to try to save that life.
They feed it with water, they protect it, because this dying log is part of the forest family.
Everything has a language.
It is a universal language.
We learn to reconnect with this non-verbal language, realizing that we are all part of one.
We are neither above nor below.
We are like children who still have a lot to learn from our older brothers, from the trees and forests and most of all from our Mother Earth…
It’s just amazing!!!
Respect to our Nature
Respect to our Mother Earth
This above forward is Courtesy – Krasi/Art.
Strength of the Interconnects
Trees teach us much
Every life has many lessons to share
If we only we have time to spare…
There is much going on beneath the earth
Which we take for granted
Let’s take a moment to care
To understand the differences
Between one life to another
As well as to understand
That we are part of the same source
Life manifests its magic in each of us
We are meant to survive and thrive
We are meant reach out and live
In the strength of the interconnects.
©Savvy Raj
Emotional Health & Intelligence
Your emotions are your friends. Sometimes you find them at war with each other. They need your understanding. They are your supportive vents of expression to take the pressure off and make you sense the pleasure of life.
Create a beautiful life by improving your emotional health. And develop your emotional intelligence. It helps you identify where your strengths are and where you need to work on.
Emotional intelligence gives you a headstart in managing not just your emotions but also an ability to understand and to even influence anothers emotions.
In leadership roles this gives you an edge in managing people and teams
So how can you begin to improve your Emotional Intelligence?
Start by cultivating empathy for life. See things from anothers perspective. It will increase your understanding and help build strong relationships.
Work on your communication skills by practice of listening actively and respectfully. It can positively impact the way you are perceived.
Practice self awareness to become more mindful of how you feel and how your own emotions affect your thoughts and actions.
Acknowledge stress and balance it well by being active by regularly walking or picking a sport, or even dancing.
Think positively about life by inculcating a positive attitude.
At the same time allow your self to seek feedback to understand where you are doing fine and how to improve further.
Emotions are part of being human. Working on your emotional health and developing your emotional intelligence can be a game changing skill in life.
©Savvy Raj
How much of you, do you have in your creative expressions?
What can you do to write from a place of authenticity?
It is well known that creativity flourishes in a flow state. In bringing your unique expression holistically into your writing practice, you can transform yourself by enhancing your focus and connect with your work.
Speaking of writing there are few ways that can truly enhance your writing practice.
Breathwork & meditation
Starting with a few minutes of wholesome breathing and adding meditation brings clarity to your thoughts. And writers if you feel overwhelmed, using the breath to reflect and reset thinking refreshes thoughts.
Setting an intention helps you focus on a specific time, topic and theme.
Spending few minutes before you begin the day, witnessing what’s happening around you, gives you many inspirations, that you may jot down, sense & describe in detail in your writing.
Jotting your thoughts regularly is a valuable practice for any writer. And if it is a Gratitude Journal that records all the things you feel grateful for then you will be attracting abundance into your own life and positively shifting mindsets.
Personally I often just pick up the pen and write, or start to type words as they come, there is often no special or specific space that I must write from. Be it any place, whenever inspiration flows I begin to write.
Yet, I also wholeheartedly promote, creating a writing space, lighting candles, brewing a cup of tea or coffee,playing your favourite soft instrumental music. It’s a mood setting before writing which helps signal the brain for the relaxed writing vibe.
Conscious practice of writing un- distracted for say 20 to 25 minutes with a timer and then breaking for 5 minutes and resuming, creates focused approach to writing.
Every once in a while taking a moment to pause, reflect while reading your writing out loud, helps you to sense how it makes you feel.
When you gradually incorporate these ideas into your writing, you will find yourself enjoying your writing journey and sensing healing & wellness as you write.
WordPress a few days ago congratulates me on my writing journey of almost a decade here. Of which I have been writing and publishing consecutively with all of my heart every day in the last six years and more.
It certainly has been an enjoyable & fulfilling practice so far with some profound learnings and building connections along the way. So I, now wholeheartedly encourage you, to create your writing practice and begin your own journey of self growth & transformation..
I often write to motivate and inspire others to think positively as much as myself. Along the way I ended up mentoring others to express their creativity through their own words. Simply said it has been an enriching experience to share my experiences and motivate another to write as well.
While I know the pen will go on breathing words on paper,I pause to be thankful to all those who have been the silent and steady wind beneath my wings in my writing journey…. 🙏
©Savvy Raj
When we mix little curd, the whole milk become curd which increases its value . We take butter by churning ,which is costlier than milk n curd. When we heat the butter it becomes Ghee (Clarified Butter) which is expensive than milk & curd.
The ordinary milk when curdled, churned n heated, its value increases as Ghee.
Grape juice is not expensive. When fermented it becomes the more expensive wine.
If u make a mistake it doesn’t mean you are bad or useless. Pressures and mistakes make a man better & more experienced.
Colombus made a mistake on his voyage. He lost his way which resulted in the discovery of America.
Alexander Fleming’s mistake resulted in the invention of life saving Penicilin.
Never let ur mistakes make u fall. Your failures will polish you. It helps you identify where you went wrong, which plan failed, which approach becomes wrong.
What we learn from our mistakes, will lead us to the right path, to success.
Translated from tamil by my mother Anjana.
An old man meets a young man who asks:
“Do you remember me?”
And the old man says no. Then the young man tells him he was his student, And the teacher asks:
“What do you do, what do you do in life?”
The young man answers:
“Well, I became a teacher.”
“ah, how good, like me?” Asks the old man.
“Well, yes. In fact, I became a teacher because you inspired me to be like you.”
The old man, curious, asks the young man at what time he decided to become a teacher. And the young man tells him the following story:
“One day, a friend of mine, also a student, came in with a nice new watch, and I decided I wanted it.
I stole it, I took it out of his pocket.
Shortly after, my friend noticed the his watch was missing and immediately complained to our teacher, who was you.
Then you addressed the class saying, ‘This student’s watch was stolen during classes today. Whoever stole it, please return it.’
I didn’t give it back because I didn’t want to.
You closed the door and told us all to stand up and form a circle.
You were going to search our pockets one by one until the watch was found.
However, you told us to close our eyes, because you would only look for his watch if we all had our eyes closed.
We did as instructed.
You went from pocket to pocket, and when you went through my pocket, you found the watch and took it. You kept searching everyone’s pockets, and when you were done you said ‘open your eyes. We have the watch.’
You didn’t tell on me and you never mentioned the episode. You never said who stole the watch either. That day you saved my dignity forever. It was the most shameful day of my life.
But this is also the day I decided not to become a thief, a bad person, etc. You never said anything, nor did you even scold me or take me aside to give me a moral lesson.
I received your message clearly.
Thanks to you, I understood what a real educator needs to do.
Do you remember this episode, professor?
The old professor answered, ‘Yes, I remember the situation with the stolen watch, which I was looking for in everyone’s pocket. I didn’t remember you, because I also closed my eyes while looking.’
This is the essence of teaching:
If to correct you must humiliate; you don’t know how to teach “
A simple kind act matters more than you can imagine. Sending ripples of kindness in the very deed…
Here are few ways to do something about it today
Share a heartfelt smile 😊
Speak kindly all through the day
Give something with all of your heart without any expectation of return
Let go and forgive an issue you held in your heart.
Teach something you know very well, to someone who needs it.
Donate a book, toy to a child.
Volunteer to help,someone today out of turn.
And last but not the least, remember to be kind to your own self.
Your one gesture may start a springwell of kind acts….
Very few contemplate on kindness as in having & sharing kindness. The truth is… there is much Wisdom in Kindness.
©Savvy Raj
Let go three things to have a life well lived
Let go pressure to prove it to yourself..
Know it wreaks havoc. Trust yourself to deliver your very best.
Let go expectations that others have on you
Know you can never satisfy everyone. And demands will never end
Let go guilt trips into the past. A river never flows back It is meant to course through. Take the learning and move on.
Reminiscing and brooding, of what was or what could be or what any one did or said changes nothing.
Learn to treat yourself kindly
You have one life. Live it well
You owe it to no one but you.
All is never lost
Until you stop
Seeing the world
With eyes of faith
For faith is in you
To build and sustain
For a lifetime
So trust yourself
Witness the miracle
And keep the faith
All is well
©Savvy Raj
Sharing my mother’s musings today…
Sitting in the garden,
Sipping a cup of hot brew,
Embracing the morning rays,
Swaying trees with chirping birds,
Being around with beloved.
It is the little things in life.
Happy faces, helping hands,
To hold u back when in need.
Encouraging words to bring u back.
With a smile to renew energy.
It is the little things in life.
A good night’s sleep, after a hard day’s work,
A content mind, that never asks for more,
Sharing joys with children’s laughter around,
Having gratitude without solitude.
It is the little things in life.
Simple joys of life
Nothing extra-ordinary;
But aren’t these exquisite?
Anjana
According to an old Native American legend, one day there was a big fire in the forest. All the animals fled in terror in all directions, because it was a very violent fire. Suddenly, the jaguar saw a hummingbird pass over his head, but in the opposite direction. The hummingbird flew towards the fire!
Whatever happened, he wouldn’t stop. Moments later, the jaguar saw him pass again, this time in the same direction as the jaguar was walking. He could observe this coming and going, until he decided to ask the bird about it, because it seemed very bizarre behavior.
“What are you doing, hummingbird?” he asked.
“I am going to the lake,” he answered, “I drink water with my beak and throw it on the fire to extinguish it.” The jaguar laughed. ‘Are you crazy? Do you really think that you can put out that big fire on your own with your very small beak?’
‘No,’ said the hummingbird, ‘I know I can’t. But the forest is my home. It feeds me, it shelters me and my family. I am very grateful for that. And I help the forest grow by pollinating its flowers. I am part of her and the forest is part of me. I know I can’t put out the fire, but I must do my part.’
At that moment, the forest spirits, who listened to the hummingbird, were moved by the bird and its devotion to the forest, miraculously they sent a torrential downpour, which put an end to the great fire.
The Native American grandmothers would occasionally tell this story to their grandchildren, then conclude with, “Do you want to attract miracles into your life? Do your part.”
“You have no responsibility to save the world or find the solutions to all problems—but to attend to your particular personal corner of the universe. As each person does that, the world saves itself.’”
If someone asks your help remember this story.
A lovely read I simply had to share. I am doing my bit…
Every bit matters!
Savvy Raj 
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