SHAPING-UP A TREE


















Little children are so pure, so beautiful. These days, I spend a lot of my time with these innocent angels… Yes, to teach them some things, which will help them grow up as fine individuals in life. The world calls such things as ‘Personality Development’. Whatever they call it, it is about growing up in life with a strong mind and a beautiful heart. Yes, a healthy body, as well. 


From my own experience of growing up over all my fifty-four years in this world, I have been whispering in those lovely hearts two things in this regard:


“Honey, don’t complain too much.”… “Learn to forget and forgive quickly.”


In fact, little children have the shortest memory: One moment they fight like worst enemies; the next moment they cozy-up like the best pals! That’s really so refreshing about children. They don’t bear grudges; they don’t conspire against others… They don’t like poison in their hearts… In fact, they do not know what poison is!


Bearing grudges and poison in their hearts and plotting against their opponents, the children learn gradually, as they grow up, from elders. From us. And, how did we learn such things – Was it not in the same manner, from our own elders?


Children understand value-lessons so perfectly. For a teacher, when the little faces glow up with this simple wisdom, it is such a satisfying experience; it is so blissful…


The greater teachers, however, are always there at home… The parents, the grand parents, the uncles and aunts… the ones who teach our children by live examples. And, we know how powerful and superior examples are compared to precept!


So, these little angels come to me to carry home something fine about living. I said to ‘carry home’!


Carry home my precept… Where live examples are all ready to learn for the little hearts…




Like my precept, the examples have to be 

in the same spirit… even stronger and finer…
 


“Honey, don’t complain too much… Please learn to forget and forgive quickly.”


Else, I wonder - How do personalities develop?


Every tree was a sapling once… and, as the old saying goes: 


“A tree can be shaped when it is just a sapling.”




GERALD D’CUNHA


Pic.: Abhishek Iyer

Comments

Anonymous said…
Excellent post! Punit
April 27, 2013 at 3:36 PM
Nutan Singh said…
Lead by example!!!!! Nutan
April 27, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Fathima said…
Good post, very inspiring! Fathima
April 27, 2013 at 7:51 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...