HERE IS A NEW DAY... WITH A NEW CHALLENGE










Pic.: Pushpa Mistry Kamath


“You can only lose what you cling to.”
— Buddha
Last week, I had invited a very dear friend of mine to spend an hour with our young PD-students. She did a wonderful job… helping young-ones to correct the most common mistakes they committed while communicating in English.

My friend is a very gentle and helpful soul. Now retired, she had been a very popular English teacher… and, like all teachers do, had impacted lives of thousands of students through her teaching career.

This morning, I saw a message from my friend… She wanted my e-mail id. Our students had loved her session and found it very useful.  Even though I had conveyed it to her and thanked her profusely, while sending to her my e-mail id, today, I, once again, conveyed to her my students’ and my own sincere feelings…

“Gerry, in fact, I needed the e-mail id for that reason,” my friend wrote to me,  “I realized that a lot of threads were hanging loose and hoped that if I explained it all in detail to you in the mail you would be able to explain it to them.”


“Ma’am, I really appreciate and value your concern,” I replied to my friend, “If you could do that, I would be grateful.”  Then, something inside me prompted me to add this: “Ma’am, but, it is okay… It is all about doing our ‘bit’… You did from your end, I do from mine… Beyond that, each one has to find it for him/herself, So, let’s do what is possible and let’s do it with all our heart and good intention. Take care.”


The day after my friends’ session here, I had been to Ahmedabad. One of my dear friends had invited me to conduct a motivational programme for the new staff of a leading bank. I did it with all my heart and good intention over two days for two different batches… Yes, I came back with the thought, that it was the ‘best’ of what I had offered so far in my life…


So, when my friend asked me, “How was your Ahmedabad trip?”, once again, something inside me prompted me to tell her this:


“It was great ma’am… It was for the new recruits of a leading bank… a part of induction training…I had it for two days for two different batches. As I said, I gave my best, which is my ‘bit’… I have left it behind in Ahmedabad… Here is a new day, a new challenge. Love.”



“Hmmm,” my friend commented, “like the old monk in the story, eh?”


“Yes ma’am, I really think, that we should learn to see all our efforts that way… Just don’t cling, don’t live in the ‘hang-over’… don’t die for others’ validation… least, don’t try to please them… The less we cling, the less we remain addicted… I am learning it the hard way… learning to approach life as though it is my first day here… Hope, it is not a sermon early in the morning. We’ll catch up soon, ma’am. Love.”

“Yes, of course,” my friend ended the conversation, “Have a great day.”


A friend had come ‘here’ to help me and my students… I had gone ‘there’ to help another friend and his students… We gave our best, lived our best… and, yes, like that old monk, who had dropped the young-and-beautiful woman long behind, we both are learning to drop our young-and-beautiful memories long behind…

Yes, it is new day here… a new challenge… We are embracing it with our new eyes and new hearts…

“Capre diem!”… “Seize the day!”



GERALD D’CUNHA



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