Author Archive
On Being an Original
Posted by: | CommentsYou were born an original. Don’t die a copy! – John Mason
How many times has someone told you to be different in order to be acceptable – by themselves, by the school system or the world at large? For the strangest reason, we are becoming more and more afraid to be ourselves. We run with the crowds trying to be like everyone else simply in order to fit in – and forget who we were meant to be!
Be Yourself. The World worships an original. – Ingrid Bergman
This article is being written to give you the courage to stand up for yourself and to unapologetically “Be an Original” ! If you look closely nobody who ever was a thundering success ever tried to be someone else. They stood up for who they were, warts and all – and the world adored them, for an original is worth more than a copy!
No matter how much our friends and family try to advise us to be more like them, or different than who we naturally are, we have to remember that we may try and modify our actions , our behavior , practice to improve our skills – and all of that could serve us very well for a while.
He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away – Raymond Hull
But if in doing so, we find that we have put ourselves into a straitjacket of our own making, then something has to give somewhere – and the only one responsible is you! You will know it by your own discomfort and unhappiness.
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Reading – Let’s Go To the Lighthouse!
Posted by: | CommentsBooks are Lighthouses erected in the great sea of time – Edwin P. Whipple
For as far back as I can remember I have loved reading and books were often a gateway into undiscovered imaginary landscapes and exotic places that fed into my constant habit of daydreaming. As a skinny little girl with thick glasses and a voracious appetite for reading, when I was not out playing with my friends, I spent many a holiday afternoon curled up in the shade reading a book.
I started with the usual children’s books – stories of adventure and the classics, which were required reading at school, and as my horizons expanded, I discovered that there was an endlessly fascinating amount of literature and knowledge to be consumed by my enquiring mind. One of the books that I found rather thought provoking was Virgina Woolf’s “To the Lighthouse”. It is a story of a family torn apart by the death of the mother and how each one gradually finds their way back to a discovery of who they are, their identity amidst strife, and eventually to acceptance of themselves.
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A Dog Day Afternoon!
Posted by: | CommentsLast Thursday was a very special afternoon in our lives. Long have I dreamed of this day !
My little dog – a heartbeat at my feet ! – Edith Wharton
I have not had a dog of my own since I was eight years old. And a Jolly little soul he was ! Growing up in the years where dogs were free to roam the outdoors and come home when they were ready, meant we often encountered adventures of the most unusual kind. He was prone to chasing the neighbours chickens and often left a flurry of feathers and a bunch of irate neighbours in his wake- just for the fun of it.
Going to school without him was an impossible task as he somehow almost always managed to escape and follow me to school and excitedly chase the hysterical girls in the schoolyard . I remember many schoolday afternoons spent listening to lessons taught by exasperated schoolteachers , from outside the classroom door with my dog. The one exception was my Science teacher who, incredibly, thought he was very well behaved (which he was most definitely not) but he lived up to her expectations by being as good as gold in her class and was allowed to sit or lie down in the aisle next to me, his tail thumping contentedly whenever she addressed him.
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Steve Jobs Speech: Words to live by!
Posted by: | CommentsThey say nothing happens by chance and as I was wandering through webland in search of a specific goal, one page led to another as it often does, and my eye paused on the link to this talk.
It was the headline that grabbed my attention. How to live before you die!
This speech was delivered by none other than Steve Jobs to the graduates of Stanford University – the year was 2005. Here it is for you to listen and re- listen to it as it so beautifully encompasses so much of our own philosophy, in words spoken straight from the heart of a kindred spirit!
Leading with Humility
Posted by: | CommentsTwo of my all time heroes are Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln – Both extremely intelligent , well educated gentlemen that led nations without losing the humble touch and they retained their authenticity and simplicity despite the power they wielded.
And here are some of the powerful things they said that have greatly encouraged me in my pursuit for meaning in a world gone completely irrational.
Whatever you do will be insignificant. But it is very important that you do it. – Gandhi
Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition. – Abraham Lincoln.
Both did not have the attributes of physical beauty or strength – but what they had in abundance was a gentle wisdom and a fantastic sense of humour – and most of all that ever present humility. They wore their Power lightly without the usual trappings of arrogance and boastfulness as many modern leaders tend to adopt.
They were not about image and public relations and designer clothes. Lincoln who was known for his very plain, gaunt looks famously said: God must love the common man, he made so many of them.
Gandhi spun a loin cloth for himself out of Indian grown cotton in defiance against the Manufactured Cotton fabric that the British Rule imposed upon pre-Independence India .
