# creativity#artistry#life#passion | Savvy Raj

January 10, 2019
by Savvy Raj 8 Comments

On Leadership

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.

Savvy

http://www.danceconcepts.in

#danceworkshops #dancing #danceeducation #dancelessons #lifelessons #learners #leadership #leadandfollow #danceconcepts

December 30, 2018
by Savvy Raj 9 Comments

Project 101

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

December 16, 2018
by Savvy Raj 3 Comments

On Success

Believe in your abilities,

Trust your instincts

Give your best shot,

Success is sure to follow…

Savvy

December 11, 2018
by Savvy Raj 7 Comments

Gentle is the way 2

Gentleness is not a weakness.
Infact it requires much mustering of strength.
The one who has seen pain enough
Has two paths before him laid

One of revenge and hate for that which he endured
Or a path of understanding that gentleness is the way
Through winds of misfortune and misgivings
The path of the heart leads to awakenings in awareness.

Of feeling the suffering in empathy for fellow beings.
What we endure today may have been endured by someone before
So why not create a path of compassion
Knowing change begins with you.

Savvy

December 7, 2018
by Savvy Raj 10 Comments

LOVE

Love is a gift of life
Our life is full of love
We are born of love
Love brings meaning to living

True Love is a beyond words and action
It is in the sensing of hearts and soul
The spirit of love shines through us
Whenever Love finds its way in us.

When Love speaks listen well
As it is meant to bring harmony
And peace to your being
For without love there is discord.

Love is powerful
It changes the course of destiny
Love makes the world go around.
Be faithful to love.

A lack of love creates disease
When love flows between hearts
There is abundance and joy
And true sense of well being

Be in love with the world
Beyond Around and within
For love is the answer
To every human problem

December 5, 2018
by Savvy Raj 3 Comments

Gentle is the Way!

Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet. THICH NHAT HANH

Words of wisdom from the gentle soul!!!

Gentle is the Way

Yes you are born into this world

But how must you be

Now that you are a part of it?

Your time is preordained.

Yet your destiny is in your being

So be kind and gentle with this world

And be the gift that you are meant to be.

Your gifts are in awakening your senses

So be in harmony with the living you

Flow with the now and just be

To receive what this moment offers you.

Tread carefully, hurt no one

To feel the flow of grace in and around you

Yes, Gentle is the way!

Savvy

December 4, 2018
by Savvy Raj 11 Comments

Circle of life

We are not here alone

We are interweaved in this tapestry of life

Times bygone to the yet to arrive

We create our selves with our deepest intentions

Though we are housed in different bodies

Which is an expression of our uniqueness.

We are connected in the core

Strengthened in the interconnects.

The further we seem to be in our exploration

We are simply reaching out and finding ourselves again

Amidst the many dimensions of life and living

In this wondrous circle of life.

Savvy

November 30, 2018
by Savvy Raj 5 Comments

Life is how you live it. (Part2)

Infinite moments are meant to happen;

No moment would ever be the same.

There is much within you

That can turn the way this moment feels.

Sometimes life can be challenging,

Making every moment difficult.

There can be pain and agony that may seem endless,

Or every moment may seem like a chore.

Yet, whatever the times that must pass us by,

How we feel, deep within is

In how we learn to take the moment.

In happiness and sorrow, in joy and pain

Allow the moment to manifest itself,

As it is meant to.

Don’t fight it; for as it comes, it shall go.

Remember nothing lasts forever.

In the river of time, these moments slip on

In the passage of time.

So, gear up to experience a brand-new moment

As every moment is a fresh start.

See every moment in goodwill of hope.

Awaken to the present moment

Because that’s what truly matters.

Life is how you live it

Savvy

A few musings in continuation of yesterday’s post and its comments.

November 26, 2018
by Savvy Raj 4 Comments

What is God?

Dear child,
Today you asked me what is GOD?

In your growing years, many emotional fluctuations of belief and disbelief will arise from curiosity to concern, from doubt to belief, questioning the purpose of our existence, questioning the powers undefined , the supremeness of it all ..!!!!
May my thoughts be well scrutinized by you in your quest to answers that resonate to your being . But hope to pass on a share of my simple understanding of the complexities of the undefinable ‘Faith’ in the name of God!

To me faith is the hope and strength of divinity in each of us …Without which we cease to exist as living beings .

Acknowledging the presence of divine compassion in our lives is about being able to receive as much easily as much as being able to give.

When we are focused on evolving deeper into our spiritual path of awareness , very often the body is neglected … it could be physically neglected, abused, deprived in more ways than one ,either out of sheer ignorance or due to assumption that austerity and overt practices of discipline over our body will only lead to salvation .

When the very dwelling place of our being is neglected how are the roots going to dig deeper… wisdom is not intellectual understanding alone.

True wisdom is acknowledgement of the divinity in every living being … being able to understand the union of the heart and the mind , and in the awakening of the wisdom one finds the balance in the union of action and thoughts.

Caring for our body,is a prerequisite to spiritual growth .. if you don’t love yourself, how can you love others .Eastern philosophies extoll the virtues of equanimity and the consciousness of the intuitive intellect, a sense intelligence than just rational thoughts … And when we learn that you and I are simply one… the connectedness of consciousness becomes easy to unravel . We are also able see and to accept the reality of the shades of grey in between the black and white of human behavior .

When we are able to do so , the so called negative traits of reaction , rebuttal to an action converts itself to a mindful response with equanimity .
This method invokes a sense of balance in the living being .

Simply adding an element of gratitude to all that we are blessed with will only let us ingrain a spirit of gratefulness in whatever we do …as we learn to respect and love another being as part of the same source … AND THAT TO ME IS ….

BEING HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE, AS YOU ARE, WITH ALL THAT YOU ARE …. LOVING THE SELF …AND CARING ENOUGH TO LOVE THE WORLD AROUND YOU !

AND THEN THE FAITH IN THE GOD -NESS IN YOU AND ME IS ONE !
Love
Mom

Savvy

This is an excerpt from a few reflections written to my daughter in her growing years.

November 25, 2018
by Savvy Raj 13 Comments

The Divine Touch

A fine piece of art

Has the soul of the artist

Embedded within it forever.

A poet leaves his soultraces

On his poetry

For they evoke his hearts imagery.

Like a writer leaves his hearts imprints

On the story

With his personal take on life.

The painter paints a picture

But emotes the scene

Etched deep in his heart.

The dancer graces the space

With gratitude

From the freedom in the spirit of movement.

The musicians hand creates

With artistic abandon

Signing every piece with his soul.

And in the letting go

Of the creation at hand

Without personal attachment

Marks the path of discovery

Of the value attached

In every part to the whole

For then the art

Breathes life unto itself

To inspire some more.

As it is left bare open

To be shared and seen

In the ever expanding horizon

And in the trials & tribulations

In the making, it knows

It is blessed with the divine touch.

Often as artists there is much at stake ingrained individually.

But to move beyond these narrow means is an awakening to the arising and ever expanding horion of truth in its infinite potential. And that is what gives the shape of things to come.

To see beauty in creation is to know its strength and weaknesses as they are …

knowing it is the divine creators touch that makes it unique even in its very falliability.

No matter then, the elements the energy chooses to express with… for in the very enterprise of creation is a divine transcendence.

Savvy

November 17, 2018
by Savvy Raj 3 Comments

Leap of Joy!

I remember as a young kid the day when my father took us all to watch a very beautiful movie called’ The day of the Dolphins’. It was the first time I saw these beautiful creatures of the sea. Since then I have always been mesmerized by the effortless grace in their movements.
Dolphins truly move gracefully and yet are active and fast in water. Indeed they are capable of astounding feats of great speed and agility. The reason for their ability to propel themselves well is not only because of a streamlined body but also due to their ability to use the positive pressure field generated by a moving body to their benefit. Their tails are strong, muscular and powerful. This explains their ability to swim on their sides turn quickly and also change directions fast.

That dolphins take big leaps off the water is well known. Many reasons can be attributed to this behavior. One of the reasons is that dolphins leap out of water while travelling to conserve energy as moving through air consumes less energy than moving in water. Others reason out that the leaping may be a signal ofcommunication with others of its own species. Or, perhaps the act could possibly even give them a better view of food options available.
Believed to be the most intelligent of all animals, dolphins are comparably as intelligent as a two year old human being. Along with their intelligence comes a finely developed sense of touch as their nerve endings are close to their skin. This also could be the reason as to why they are able to bond closely with the human species.

It seems so that dolphins spend the better part of their day indulging in social interactions. In fact the actions distinctly exhibited by them make for interesting observation. Talk of the manner in which they pop their heads out of the water, touching and rubbing pectoral fins, breaching, bows and more. Synchronous movements such as these seem to work so much like signals of communication in bonding between a pair… quite like a beautiful waltz !

Indeed ! What a wonderful World !

Savvy Raj

November 9, 2018
by Savvy Raj 16 Comments

Building peace

My recent poem ‘The Middle Path of Peace‘ evoked many responses. The following verses are my musings to a comment … Especially the one by a reader on the necessity of war.

I propose here a moment in peace

Through the following verses…

Hate is never meaningful, love is

War is never meaningful, peace is.

To confuse war to be the answer for peace

Is the greatest fallacy of mankind

For the war never truly ends once begun

It sprouts the seeds of hate before it is over.

Yes, wars are fought

When equality and freedom are forfeited

As a privilege of a few,

When oppression and chaos reign,

When pushed beyond resilience,

When backing down is not an option,

For it is, then, a matter of self-preservation and survival.

To confuse victory in war

Is the mark of inexperience.

No one returns from war unscathed.

Casualties are a heavy price to pay,

Let alone the truth of anguish and scars.

Wars are never the answer.

Pain and hurt leave vengeance behind

And revenge brews in spurts

To strike someday.

The heart of man is like a sponge,

Ready to absorb that which flows.

Allow the light of love to flow in;

Let thoughts of peace seep in

Through every vein.

For love heals the hurt and pain

And empathy helps move beyond revenge.

Make art of life and living

For war is just a never-ending tragedy.

Wars are fought for business, sadly.

There are no ethics to war.

To fight is not bravery.

True bravery is in finding a way

To avert the war and build peace.

Savvy

#peace #peacebuilding #peacelovers #humanity #writers #wordpress #poems #motivationalwriters #writing #Globalgoodwill#artforpeace #universalpeace #oneness #poetry

November 7, 2018
by Savvy Raj 15 Comments

The light of this now!

The deeper the depth of the background,

The more the subject comes into the foreground.

Value the contrasts for what they are

As they allow the focus on what you see.

To develop the quality of appreciation

Is to understand the strength of every now.

Witness the light of this now shine on brightly.

Learn to see the light in the darkest of dark.

Let infinite abundance of appreciation fill your heart.

Intend for the best.

Reflect on the good.

Think positively.

Be filled with the grace of hope!

Positive reflections can alter the course of our lives while turning around life experiences. It is often how we see things that makes a big difference.

When the moments in life are so sweet that the little voice in your head says, “It can’t last” just care enough to tell yourself: “Maybe it’s about to get better.”

Savvy