It’s that time of the year again to reflect on how we have fared in the year which is about to draw to a close and to make New Year resolutions – promises to ourselves that something in our lives will get better, our finances, our relationships, our career. My friend used to tell everyone around this time of the year that he has kept all the resolutions he made the year before, and when everyone looked suitably impressed, he would add, “See, I kept them all in my wallet!”
Let us not allow another year to pass us by, with our hopes and dreams still far away in the never never-land. Let us today, right now, make the decision that 2010 will indeed be the best year of our lives. Let the coming year be the time that we discover our true passions, the time when we set out to live those passions. No more excuses, no more justifications. Let’s make it a “life and death” priority for indeed it is life and death. For who among you wants to be part of a community of what I call the “walking dead”? People who would wake up each day, go to work at a job they are indifferent to, go to lunch with people they are not excited to be with, go home for dinner with people they love but have lost the passion for, watch TV programs that fail to excite or thrill, and then it’s off to bed and another same old, same old day. People who are just “occupying space”. Sad, but true for so many, if you care to admit it.
So before you heave a big sigh and wish you had not started to read this “depressing” article, let me assure you – there is hope yet! All of us can live our dream lives. It is within our grasp and within our control, and not meant to be left to ‘fate’ or the whims and fancies of some Higher Power out there!
All it takes is the courage to say to yourself, “Yes, I have one life to live and I want to live it the best way I possibly can. 2010 will be the best year of my life!” Shout it out loud, with real conviction, and I promise you, the moment you have put this desire in your heart, doors will open up that you have never seen before. People who can help you will magically come into your path. It will be as if the whole universe has heard your voice and is moving to help you achieve your dreams.
Not convinced? Well, ask yourself, what do you have to lose to believe and to act on your belief?
You can start by learning how to seize each magical moment in 2010. And to do that, you need to put on new “glasses” that are specially designed to help you recognize special moments in your life. It can be good things and blessings that you enjoy currently but have taken for granted. And of course as you start looking for the magic in each event in your life, you learn to create magic moments. And viola, you have the best year of your life!
someone said , “When we are committed to claiming the moment, we look upon, create and invent our ordinary experiences as something extraordinary. We become a magnet for the unique and special. The lens through which we view life shifts, and we become seekers of the divine in every moment. To see with new eyes, to become aware of the blessings we hold, to create new intimate moments each day – these constitute a spiritual quest. This is the art of making the ordinary moments of your life extraordinary.”
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Kisi ki aankhon ka sitara hoga
किसी की आँखों मे मोहब्बत का सितारा होगा
एक दिन आएगा कि कोई शक्स हमारा होगा
कोई जहाँ मेरे लिए मोती भरी सीपियाँ चुनता होगा
वो किसी और दुनिया का किनारा होगा
काम मुश्किल है मगर जीत ही लूँगा किसी दिल कों
मेरे खुदा का अगर ज़रा भी सहारा होगा
किसी के होने पर मेरी साँसे चलेगीं
कोई तो होगा जिसके बिना ना मेरा गुज़ारा होगा
देखो ये अचानक ऊजाला हो चला,
दिल कहता है कि शायद किसी ने धीमे से मेरा नाम पुकारा होगा
और यहाँ देखो पानी मे चलता एक अन्जान साया,
शायद किसी ने दूसरे किनारे पर अपना पैर उतारा होगा
कौन रो रहा है रात के सन्नाटे मे
शायद मेरे जैसा तन्हाई का कोई मारा होगा
अब तो बस उसी किसी एक का इन्तज़ार है,
किसी और का ख्याल ना दिल को ग़वारा होगा
ऐ ज़िन्दगी! अब के ना शामिल करना मेरा नाम
ग़र ये खेल ही दोबारा होगा
एक दिन आएगा कि कोई शक्स हमारा होगा
कोई जहाँ मेरे लिए मोती भरी सीपियाँ चुनता होगा
वो किसी और दुनिया का किनारा होगा
काम मुश्किल है मगर जीत ही लूँगा किसी दिल कों
मेरे खुदा का अगर ज़रा भी सहारा होगा
किसी के होने पर मेरी साँसे चलेगीं
कोई तो होगा जिसके बिना ना मेरा गुज़ारा होगा
देखो ये अचानक ऊजाला हो चला,
दिल कहता है कि शायद किसी ने धीमे से मेरा नाम पुकारा होगा
और यहाँ देखो पानी मे चलता एक अन्जान साया,
शायद किसी ने दूसरे किनारे पर अपना पैर उतारा होगा
कौन रो रहा है रात के सन्नाटे मे
शायद मेरे जैसा तन्हाई का कोई मारा होगा
अब तो बस उसी किसी एक का इन्तज़ार है,
किसी और का ख्याल ना दिल को ग़वारा होगा
ऐ ज़िन्दगी! अब के ना शामिल करना मेरा नाम
ग़र ये खेल ही दोबारा होगा
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Can engineers be 'Touchy feely'?
Chetan Bhagat said these words in an interview. Can engineer's be a touchy Feely. Well i think i don't fall in this category, still posting here for you guys/gals to read.
I remember the incident - I was in a restaurant, and one girl in our group was especially charming. So I, like any other male, tried to put on a wooing act. You know the routine, a nanosecond extra eye contact, a few more nods to whatever she says, and attempts to throw in those one-liners which you know you wouldn't if she weren't there. And it seemed to be working. She leaned forward when she spoke to me, and every now and again, we'd have a small conversation of our own, separate from our group. She laughed at my approach with the fork and knife, and I teased her about her hair band, which had little teddy bears.
Yes, we were flirting. A while later, she asked me the question - what did I study? I said engineering, without any particular meaning attached to it. And then like a cold metal rail, she went stiff. My jokes weren't funny anymore. Her eyes wandered to everyone else.
What was it?
Why? Why? Why?
Two days later, I still couldn't get over my great start that had dissipated listlessly upon mentioning my education. Engineer? What was wrong with that?
My mom had wanted me to become one since I was five! I had to call her. 'So what happened to you that day, hot and cold, missie?' And then she said, trying to be nice, 'Well, it's just that I am skeptical about engineers as friends. I don't know, they can be, you know, very logical and everything. Not very touchy feely'.
Not touchy-feely. Now what the heck did that mean? Well, she obviously did not mean it literally, since girls don't really suggest that sort of stuff, certainly not in the first meeting across the table. I guessed it was something to do with feelings, sort of having an emotional side. The stereotype being, the nerdy guy who sees relationships like laws of physics, to whom love is just a bunch of chemicals going crazy in your brain, and getting to know a person means obtaining their bio-data.
It's time to set the record straight. It's true that a lot of what engineers study (and they end up studying quite a lot), has to do with formulae’s, laws and numbers. No matter how hard we try, some of the vocabulary we read all day gets into our language. So when my mother said, 'Are you getting married next year or not?' I was liable to say, 'Well, at this moment in time, the probability is relatively low,' and felt it was completely normal to say it. And when my sister went sari shopping and couldn't explain the shade she wanted, I told the shopkeeper the percentages of pink, orange and red in the sari.
Yet, ladies, I don't think we're bad at relationships, love and getting to know people. We too, can be touchy-feely, as that is part of our education as well. The reason for this is that most engineering students live in the ultimate educator - boy's hostels.
Now, let me explain how this plays into this 'touchy-feely' thing. Relationships. Imagine eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth, bathing (ok rarely this one) and partying with the same people all the time. So, when you are kicking that bathroom door down for the tenth time, or when you stand in line for 'gulab-jamuns' in the mess, and when you are done with the vodka bottle and sharing all your secrets, you know it is good practice.
Yes, hostels make the man.
So, next time you are in a flirtatious situation with the techno types, go on, flirt a bit more. Of course, I am biased towards my kind, but if you find the conversation turning too geeky, just ask them, 'So, what were your hostel days like?' and chances are, you'll see a heart behind the calculator.
Coming back to my missie, I thought of what would make me win her over. Flowers. too cheesy. Music. don't know her taste (nor trust mine). Teddy bears. don't even go there. Desperate for some good lines, I just turned it right back at her. 'Yes, I know what you are saying about engineers. The thing is, unless people with depth like you start hanging out with us, we won't get any better. Can you meet me some time for some touchy/feely. oops, I mean coffee/tea?'
She giggled. When they giggle, you have won.
Hence proved.
I remember the incident - I was in a restaurant, and one girl in our group was especially charming. So I, like any other male, tried to put on a wooing act. You know the routine, a nanosecond extra eye contact, a few more nods to whatever she says, and attempts to throw in those one-liners which you know you wouldn't if she weren't there. And it seemed to be working. She leaned forward when she spoke to me, and every now and again, we'd have a small conversation of our own, separate from our group. She laughed at my approach with the fork and knife, and I teased her about her hair band, which had little teddy bears.
Yes, we were flirting. A while later, she asked me the question - what did I study? I said engineering, without any particular meaning attached to it. And then like a cold metal rail, she went stiff. My jokes weren't funny anymore. Her eyes wandered to everyone else.
What was it?
Why? Why? Why?
Two days later, I still couldn't get over my great start that had dissipated listlessly upon mentioning my education. Engineer? What was wrong with that?
My mom had wanted me to become one since I was five! I had to call her. 'So what happened to you that day, hot and cold, missie?' And then she said, trying to be nice, 'Well, it's just that I am skeptical about engineers as friends. I don't know, they can be, you know, very logical and everything. Not very touchy feely'.
Not touchy-feely. Now what the heck did that mean? Well, she obviously did not mean it literally, since girls don't really suggest that sort of stuff, certainly not in the first meeting across the table. I guessed it was something to do with feelings, sort of having an emotional side. The stereotype being, the nerdy guy who sees relationships like laws of physics, to whom love is just a bunch of chemicals going crazy in your brain, and getting to know a person means obtaining their bio-data.
It's time to set the record straight. It's true that a lot of what engineers study (and they end up studying quite a lot), has to do with formulae’s, laws and numbers. No matter how hard we try, some of the vocabulary we read all day gets into our language. So when my mother said, 'Are you getting married next year or not?' I was liable to say, 'Well, at this moment in time, the probability is relatively low,' and felt it was completely normal to say it. And when my sister went sari shopping and couldn't explain the shade she wanted, I told the shopkeeper the percentages of pink, orange and red in the sari.
Yet, ladies, I don't think we're bad at relationships, love and getting to know people. We too, can be touchy-feely, as that is part of our education as well. The reason for this is that most engineering students live in the ultimate educator - boy's hostels.
Now, let me explain how this plays into this 'touchy-feely' thing. Relationships. Imagine eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth, bathing (ok rarely this one) and partying with the same people all the time. So, when you are kicking that bathroom door down for the tenth time, or when you stand in line for 'gulab-jamuns' in the mess, and when you are done with the vodka bottle and sharing all your secrets, you know it is good practice.
Yes, hostels make the man.
So, next time you are in a flirtatious situation with the techno types, go on, flirt a bit more. Of course, I am biased towards my kind, but if you find the conversation turning too geeky, just ask them, 'So, what were your hostel days like?' and chances are, you'll see a heart behind the calculator.
Coming back to my missie, I thought of what would make me win her over. Flowers. too cheesy. Music. don't know her taste (nor trust mine). Teddy bears. don't even go there. Desperate for some good lines, I just turned it right back at her. 'Yes, I know what you are saying about engineers. The thing is, unless people with depth like you start hanging out with us, we won't get any better. Can you meet me some time for some touchy/feely. oops, I mean coffee/tea?'
She giggled. When they giggle, you have won.
Hence proved.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Altruism: A really nice story
Here is the story I liked: Shared by one of my friend.
A reporter once asked a farmer to divulge the secret behind his corn, which won the state fair contest year after year.
The farmer confessed it was all because he shared his seed with his neighbours.
“Why do you share your best seed corn with your neighbors when you’re entering the same contest each year as well?” asked the reporter.
“Why sir, said the farmer, didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours do the same”.
This is so true with situations in our lives. Those who want to be successful must help their neighbors, friends, relatives to be successful.
Those who choose to live well must help others live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.
This story exemplifies “Altruism.”
Meaning of Altruism: ‘Action that benefits another person, including comforting, helping, sharing, rescuing and cooperating. Acts of concern for other people without any hope of reward’.
Hope you liked
A reporter once asked a farmer to divulge the secret behind his corn, which won the state fair contest year after year.
The farmer confessed it was all because he shared his seed with his neighbours.
“Why do you share your best seed corn with your neighbors when you’re entering the same contest each year as well?” asked the reporter.
“Why sir, said the farmer, didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours do the same”.
This is so true with situations in our lives. Those who want to be successful must help their neighbors, friends, relatives to be successful.
Those who choose to live well must help others live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.
This story exemplifies “Altruism.”
Meaning of Altruism: ‘Action that benefits another person, including comforting, helping, sharing, rescuing and cooperating. Acts of concern for other people without any hope of reward’.
Hope you liked
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