AN EASY WAY TO BUILD OUR SELF-CONFIDENCE

 

“There are two seas in Palestine;

there are two kinds of people in this world.”

Bruce Barton

 

It’s not possible to pause, after every step, after every breath, and say ‘Thank You Lord’. But, it’s possible to do it, sometimes… may be, after every day or week or month or year. Well, the frequency and the duration shouldn’t matter… the surge of gratitude in our bosoms should. If that doesn’t happen, we are simply some hard, heartless stones!

A parent of one of my students became my FB friend, today. We all have a reason why we are on social platforms like FB or Instagram. My reason is, that I want to share my daily blogs through FB. Now, whether my FB friends read it or not, I keep writing and keep sharing. Many of them, I am sure, read them. Now and then, when some of them like, comment or share, yes, I feel happy, satisfied and motivated to keep writing.

So, whenever a new friend gets connected on FB, I make it a point to draw his/her attention to the Blogs I write daily. “I will be happy if you can read them, now and then, if not regularly,” I tell them, sincerely. Then, I add this: “A word from you will be highly appreciated and keep me motivated.”

Self-promotion?

Whatever that is… I sincerely feel, that a word of appreciation does encourage me… Makes me feel good about what I am doing, and it helps me  keep doing it, longer and better.

I know, that everybody cannot blog like I do. But, all have their own ways of sharing their happiness, wisdom, sense of humour, love for nature or their obsession with some political leader or ideology, or whatever sane or insane stuff it may be. And, each one of us has only these two options here: to  pay attention to them, or simply ignore them.

My Blog, today, is about our attitude towards those posts from our friends, which we really like and find beneficial to us.  Just as it’s not possible for any of us to pause after every step, every breath, and say ‘Thank You Lord’, it’s not possible for us to pause at every Post of our friends and say, “I liked it,” or “Thank you.”

But, then, what about saying that now and then and help each other feel good about ourselves and stay motivated?

Two days ago, I had narrated the story – ‘There are Two Seas in Palestine’ – to the young children of this parent, who had become my new FB friend. In fact, ‘There are Two Seas in Palestine’ is an amazing poem by Bruce Barton. I don’t forget to narrate it whenever I speak to young ones about building their self-confidence. Here I narrate it again, in my own words:

 

‘THERE ARE TWO SEAS

IN PALASTINE’

River Jordon flows in two directions. From the one side, it joins the Sea of Galilee. This sea is a generous one… Every drop of water, that it receives from the River Jordon, it passes on… it shares. Because of this, it constantly flows… The water is fresh here and there are birds flying over it, boatmen sailing in it with their songs… People have built their townships along this sea and trade and business are prospering around this… People are happy!

On the other side, the River Jordon joins another sea. This sea is a suspicious one; it doesn’t trust anyone… Every drop of water, that it receives from the River Jordon, it keeps tightly to itself… It doesn’t pass on, doesn’t share. Because of this, there is stagnation… The air is thick above it… Nobody can drink its water… No birds fly over it, no boatmen sail in it with their songs… There are no townships along, and no one travels that way unless on an urgent business… There is gloom and an eerie silence. And, this sea is called ‘The Dead Sea’!

You see, there are two seas in Palestine; there are two kinds of people in this world’!

When I narrate this story, I try to make this point: Appreciation is the hunger of our soul… We all are hungry for it, die for it. If our self-confidence mirror has a crack today, it is because we have received more criticism and discouragement than appreciation and encouragement. Unfortunately, what has happened has happened… We cannot reset the clock; we cannot force other people to like us, appreciate us, thank us, and encourage us… We can’t  force them to share their knowledge with us and empower us. But, the question is: Can’t we do that – appreciate, compliment and thank others? Trust others more and share our knowledge and empower them? Can’t we become the Sea of Galilee?

Yes Sir, there are two seas in Palestine; and, there are two kinds of people in this world!

 

GRALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s:  Pixels/1. Jeremy Bishop  2. Victor Freitas

Videos: 1. TheSoundProject  2. Ronie Shalvis