GOD NEVER BLINKS... ANYWAY
One of my prized
possessions is the little book ‘ANYWAY: The Paradoxical Commandments’. written
by Dr. Kent M. Keith. In the introduction, the author narrates the interesting story
behind the creation of this inspirational book. He says, decades earlier, when
he was a student leader, he had penned down the ten Paradoxical Commandments
starting with: ‘People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered. Love them
anyway.’
Dr. Kent went on to become a famous author, speaker and motivator. But,
his Paradoxical Commandments were nowhere to appear in his talks or speeches
ever since he first wrote them. Those were not the days of social media –
Facebook, WhatsApp, twitter, Instagram and so on… So, like all good things (and
bad things) did, his ‘ten commandments’ were being circulated quietly by those
who liked them. Years later, a dear one of Dr. Kent had found the Commandments on
the wall of Mother Teresa’s Kolkata home (Missionaries of Charity), displayed prominently
for the visitors. This was the melting moment for Dr. Kent… Least did he
imagine, that what he had written as a student leader, decades ago, would be glorified
by a blessed soul! This moment was the trigger for the creation of the book ‘ANY
WAY: The Paradoxical Commandments’.
Even today, I keep getting the forwards on social media attributing
them be written by Mother Teresa!
I smile!
There are many such amazing Life Principles
doing rounds on social media. Once such is ’50 Life Lessons’ attributed to ‘Regina
Brett, 90 year old, of the Plain b Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio’! A very dear friend
of mine shared it with me, this morning, on WhatsApp. The moment I saw this, a
smile adorned my face... Here is why…
Regina Brett, an author and a cancer survivor, was born in 1956. So, she is 61, now. She had written
in 2006 a column for Ohio’s largest newspaper, ‘Plain Dealer’ titled: ‘50 Life
Lessons’. The column became so popular that people started sharing it over and
over again in various versions, the last version being, ‘Regina Brett, a
90-year-old…’!
Regina must be smiling, too! She got her book published in 2010 (Grand
Central Publishing) by the title: ‘GOD NEVER BLINKS: 50 Lessons for Life's
Little Detours’. It was her first book and it became an instant best-seller!
Here are the 50 lessons…
Hope, you are smiling…
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: Niyothi Lobo
Videos: YouTube
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