Gerald D'Cunha

  “When you bring the light into your dark house, that’s when you see the cobwebs and spiders.” OSHO D iwali is just a few days away. The other day, this young kid from class X1, did not turn up to my class. There was no message from him, nor any response to my messages. So, when he turned up for the next session, I asked him, “Why were you absent?”. The boy replied, “Sir, I was busy with Diwali cleaning.” “But, why didn’t you inform me, and why didn’t you respond to my messages?” “Sorry Sir.” No further questions... We moved on... The next morning, the lady, who lives a few floors above my classes, called up... “Sir, you know, Diwali is coming... I am getting my widows cleaned (Read: washed with running water!). Hope you accommodate for twenty/thirty minutes.” “No issues, ma’am,” I said, “Please go ahead.” When you clear the mess in your house for the coming Diwali, beware... you may end up messing up someone else’s. Earlier this lady would not take into acco...

  “The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree, but hold hands.” Alexandra Penney   M y Mom passed away, on this day, a year ago. Today, as I write this Post, her memorial mass must’ve just concluded at the local church in our hometown, Mangalore. My wife and I had booked the air tickets some three months ago and we were keen to attend this first memorial mass. But, due to my wife’s health condition, we had to drop our plans ... Mom – we called her ‘Mai’ – lived nearly for ninety years. Except for the last two years, she led a simple yet productive life. She had five sons to raise... I was her second son. Our Dad (we called him ‘baab’ ) died of a sudden heart attack on 2 nd January, 1983. He was 57 and Mom was 48. What I cannot erase from my mind is how fondly our Mom would remind us, her five sons, on Dad’s every death anniversary... “It’s ten years today, since Dad passed away”... “Today, it’s twenty years” “Today, it’s thirty years”... She did that till ...

  “What makes people weak? Their need for validation and recognition,  their need to feel important.  Don’t get caught in this trap.” Paulo Coelho   T he proof of the pudding is in the in the eating. Meaning, your theory – the inspiring words, the positive philosophy, and, even, the most sincere love and trust – yes, in the end, it doesn’t matter much... The final outcome, the result – it does. No matter in how many ways I try to tell a parent, “Your kid will do well in life, please relax,” – the parent wants the kid to do well in the ‘exams’ in hand... This means, if the kid shines in the exams in hand, the kid will shine in life, as well... I want to see the result – now...  I want to taste the pudding – now... I want the proof. From my years of teaching experience, I can safely tell the anxious parents this: Every kid will have to find his own garden and his own time to bloom. Today, he may not catch up with his piers... and, that’s perfectly ...

E at fresh food... I agree. Eat simple food... I agree. Eat in moderation... I agree. Eat with a happy and grateful heart... I agree totally. But then, can you and I eat ‘fresh food’ always, considering the hectic pace of our lives? Frankly, we cannot. Many of us have to accept this reality... That, eating happily with a grateful heart is more important than eating freshly-cooked food... Frankly, we are all on a space mission... We have to choose between the Moon and the Sausages... E very migrant, who comes to big cities like Mumbai - with no money, friends or connections, but only a dream – has lots of struggle stories to share later when they succeed in in life. But, these struggle stories, invariably, inspire other strugglers, and not the children of those telling the ‘stay-hungry, stay-foolish’ stories... One such young kid I came across yesterday. He wasn’t ready to eat the tiffin packed and sent by his mother... “I eat only fresh”... The tiffin went back home, go...

“There are two great days in a person’s life:        the day we are born, and the day we discover why.”       William Barclay   “S ir it’s going to be my 40 th b’day,” messaged Shripad, last night, “Will you write a blog on me?” This soon-to-be-40 boy (He is still a ‘boy’ for me) never ceases to amuse me... Shripad is going to be 40 on this October, 16... and, the countdown has already   begun! In fact, the count down, every year, begins when October 2 approaches... Early in the morning, on 2 nd October, Shripad calls up to greet me: “Happy b’day Bapu.” It’s going to be eighteen years, now... Shripad was in TY B’Com. He was brought to me by his parents. “Sir, he is a ‘special child’; he has some learning and coping disabilities... But, he refuses to be treated as a ‘disabled’ or a ‘special’ child... He wants to be treated like everyone else.” Well, I have written so many times about Shripad... He had...

  “A clear mind heals everything  that needs to be healed.” Byron Katie   I think, Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such words have entered our lexicon mechanically – yes, just like that. To be frank, you and I very, very rarely feel their profound meaning when we voice them, several times a day... The reason for that - again, I think – is, that we rarely get into a silence before we voice these words... Only in silence we can really feel the profound meaning of such words – Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such... T wo days ago, I was waiting outside the Cath lab of Parel’s Gleneagles Hospital (earlier known as Global Hospital). My wife was taken inside for the angioplasty of her left coronary artery (LCA) which had ninety percent blockages. Just a month ago, she had under gone the angioplasty of her right coronary artery (RCA) which had hundred percent blockages. The long passage of that waiting area had ma...

  “What you do makes a difference; and, you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall   J ane Goodall passed away (this October, 1) living an eventful life for close to 91 years. In my view, what is the most inspiring thing for us to see is: She lived a life as young, curious, and passionate as she had decided to live it when she was barely a 10-year-old… For those who aren’t familiar with this amazing woman, I say this: There is loads of material on her life’s work with chimpanzees in African forests (Tanzania) – books, magazine articles, videos, speeches, TV appearances, award shows and much more – that, I have no intention to write, here, anything biographical about this legend… My intention of mentioning Dr. Jane Goodall, who spent her entire life dedicating her life around animals – especially chimpanzees – is to remind ourselves, that our work has an impact on others… That means, what work you and I do – all our lives – can be...