Love

Is love for oneself necessary or important? Yes, definitely it is I would say because of all the experiences that I have had up to now. According to me, self- love is basically the time that you dedicate to loving yourself; respecting and talking to yourself. Loving, respecting or talking to yourself is possible only if you make time for yourself.

Love yourself by appreciating each part of your body, accepting your life and yourself the way you are. If we do this then we won’t need to look out or crave for appreciation from others. We will be so to say self- satisfied.

 Respect yourself by considering yourself as equally important as the others. Treat yourself with respect, hold you head high and have great self- esteem. Respecting others will be possible only if you respect yourself. As it is rightly ‘You can only give to others if you have something.’ Talk to yourself by spending quality time with yourself. Spend time with yourself talking about the current and the future plans, affirm yourself and heal your wounds. For a long time I feel, I didn’t make time for myself and also took myself for granted. I thought if my needs were not met, it was okay. Maybe the thought of being humble was running in my mind then. However now I have come to the realization that humility and low self- esteem/ self- respect are 2 totally different things. A little child is the best example of humility. Low self- esteem/ self- respect/ self- love arises because I don’t give time to myself and think that I’m too busy to do that or there are better things to do than give time to myself.

I had such a scheduled/ time- tabled life that I didn’t even give time to myself to take a look at the wonderful face that God had and has given me. I thought that giving time to myself was a waste of time and that I had to ‘do’ things in order to be successful. Hence I was busy in doing so many things without realizing who I was at the core of my being. I was a robot then, dancing to my own tunes of completing tasks and also a fulfiller of others expectations and beliefs.

These ripples of low self- esteem/ self- respect/ self- love showed itself in non- socialization. Everything had to start and finish on time, if not; my whole plan would be disturbed which I wouldn’t easily allow to happen under ordinary circumstances. I would get irritated if anyone came to talk (disturb) to me out of the stipulated time i. e. during meals. I wasn’t selfish but it was the reflection of how I treated myself that replicated on others.

Lately when I was giving shape to my beard, I felt loved, I felt like an aura of love came over me when I spent time trimming my moustache. When I looked in the mirror, I realized it was I who was loving myself. I felt so good about myself that it felt like a ‘eureka’ moment that I got over trimming my moustache.

It felt like slowly things were falling in place. The corrections given to me by my friends, superiors and others seemed to make sense. Because I wasn’t giving time to myself I ended up in very meager time spending with my friends. The tasks at hand seemed more important than the people around me. I had made a time tabled embryo for myself.

I must say that getting out of it hasn’t been easy, because I had to go against my own grain. It was like going against the current. The Lord helped me to love myself and extend it to others. Now I feel that I am open to listen to anyone at any time. Change is possible only with the Lord’s help. Without Him there is no change that can effectively take place.

Everything seems to fall in place with God’s grace. This growth experience has taught me that I must be humble and approach the Lord to help me solve problems that I face with regard to myself and also in relation to others.

Upbeat music

According to a new study it is said that listening to upbeat music can have an enhancing effect on individuals working in a team. The level of their co- operation in the team will increase. However the type of music being talked about here is happy upbeat music. The participants of the research that was held tended to contribute their token to the groups value when upbeat music was played and kept it to themselves when heavy metal songs by less than well- known bands was played.

However the problem that arises here is that different people have different tastes of music which will definitely differ from that of the others. The upbeat music is termed as pleasant music whereas the heavy metal songs are termed as less pleasant. This problem is solved in the following words said by Kevin Kniffin, researcher at the Cornell University in the USA. ‘Happy music has the power to make the workplace more co-operative and supportive overall.’ The researchers suggested that starting the day with this simple consideration in mind could result in happier employees and more teamwork.

T

Does your name begin with: T

            You are very sensitive, private and sometimes very passive. You like someone who takes lead. You get turned on by music, soft lights and romantic thoughts. You fantasize and tend to fall in and out of love soon. When in love you are romantic, idealistic, mushy and extremely pushy. You enjoy having your senses and your feelings stimulated, titillated and teased. You’re a great flirt. You can make your relationships fit your dreams, all in your own head. Once you put your mind to something you manage to stand by it and see your dreams through. You aren’t very good at expressing your feelings. You like things your own way. You do not like change; you like to hold on to things. This may not always be good because if given an opportunity things may develop into great things. You work your way to the top. Attention must be given to what others say because even though you don’t want to hear it their advice may turn out to save your life!

WALNUT TREE (Oct 24- Nov 11)

            Unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egoistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

Hands

‘I give my hands to do your work and Jesus Lord, I give them willingly…………….’

The hymn in its entirety expresses human strength in the joy of the Lord. Basically the person singing this hymn says that He is happy to offer himself/ herself to the service of the Lord.

 

Whenever I look at my hands or the hands of others, the first thing that pops up in my mind is that God has blessed all of us abundantly. Looking at the intricate design of the lines on the palm of my hand, I am taken up. Some might argue that these lines are there because the infant’s fists are clasped together. However the significant thing to note here is that each of us have a unique design and more especially fingerprints.

When I look at my hand, I feel that God has perfectly made it; 5 fingers, 1 palm, 1 wrist, all of this combination is so perfect that it allows us to catch hold of things, write, eat, throw, punch, break, open, and do many more acts of grasping….etc. All I can do is thank You my great Lord for the wonder of my being.

God has given us these wonderful pair of hands and in a way has told us, ‘Go and reach out to others, do good and comfort others in their time of need,’ I am happy to see myself and others using their hands to console the sick, the dying by using my/ their hands.                                  

Organ donation

‘Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.’ There are many in this world who need a heart, a pair of eyes, kidneys and other organs to live perfectly well. Urging all the readers of this article to pledge themselves to organ donation. This article is basically a takeoff point from the article of Jaya Row named Gift of Life which appeared in the Speaking Tree, a Times of India Publication on August 7^th, 2016.

She cites the 17^th mantra from the Ishavasya Upanishad which says, ‘Let the body, the pranas and mind go back to the totality.’ The reason for citing this mantra is basically to bring us to the realization that we have had the custody of the earth’s resources in the form of our own body and other material things. The following words put down by her touched the core of my being because I too had thought of this long ago and still continue to reflect on it. She says ‘At the time of death we no longer need them. They are being left behind. Let them serve someone else.’

By doing organ donation, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, we are giving something to someone else which will be useful to him/ her. By donating organs or at least by pledging to do so, is by itself an act of kindness, charity and concern for the other. Jaya Row calls this a ‘win- win scenario’ where both the parties are at benefit and obviously no one is at loss. This can happen only if one has an attitude of service towards others and a heart which accommodates the wellbeing of others.

 

All of us know that there is a basic desire to do good in all human beings, however what prevents us from doing good according to her is ‘sheer ignorance.’ She says that most people do not know that their organs could be of use to those whose organs have failed, or those suffering from a malfunctioning heart, liver, kidney or eyes. This ‘ignorance’ leads to ‘no- action’ being taken in this line.

She then goes on to mention about those who want to donate their organs but don’t know how to go about with it. Those people, in the rush of their daily routine, fail to make the effort to find out. She says that knowledge is of great essence. Taking this point further, I would say that ignorance is a cause of much distress in the world, more especially in our country. One catholic priest once said, “The ones who blabber the most are the ones who are ignorant, the wise keep their composure.” (Interpreted, not exact words).

Next, she mentions about those who have wrong notions about organ donation. Some believe that donating eyes or a kidney may result in one being born blind or without a kidney in the next life. Here, ‘Fear of loss and adherence to blind belief and superstition keeps you from doing the simplest, yet most noble act of giving.’

By donating organs what we are actually doing is giving life to another which is a noble act. The act of being selfless and donating ones organs can happen only when one constantly keeps on thinking of serving the other. When one starts thinking about the wellbeing of the other things automatically begin falling in place. The attitude of giving takes place in a better manner when one is aware of what one already has. We have a lot and are blessed with much, however she says that the mind has the knack of yearning for one or two things that we don’t have or possess. This only leads one into deficiency mode which eventually leads to unhappiness. However when we shift our attention to what we already have, we become grateful for all that we have and receive. This leads to an irresistible desire to give, serve and contribute to others.

Many scriptures ask us to give; this is basically because giving brings us success. What you give to others, you will get back in double or even more measures. Grabbing things for ourselves only makes us more and more selfish, tormented and agitated while giving to others bring us much happiness, despite the fact whether we possess much or not. The principle is simple, ‘The more you give the more you will get.’ 

“We make a living by what we get.

  We make a life by what we give”                   - Winston S Churchill