Gerald D'Cunha

  “Pride feels confident in how much it knows; humility is humbled by how much it has to learn.” Collins Hasty   I write these Blog posts in English; and I do it almost daily. I have put together – written/edited/published – more than thirty books for the Dawn Club. I have been teaching Commerce students for over four decades, for which I create material… Yes, I do all this in English… But, English was not my medium when I was in school. I spoke Konkani at home and Kannada was my medium in school. I had a huge fear towards this language, which had added to my inferiority complex. It was only in my degree college, when, inspired by my idol, Prof. B.S. Raman, I was desiring to become a fine teacher and writer like him, that I resolved to overcome my handicap of communicating in English. I was 17 or 18 then. I am 64 now. Even though more than forty-five years have gone by, I still consider, that I have miles to go as far as learning to communicate in English is concer...

  “What you sow, you will reap.” Jesus Christ   E very book, published by THE DAWN CLUB, carries inside it a bookmark. Most of these books have articles written by little kids, young ones and even adults. To me, there doesn’t appear any difference between the little kids and the adults. The young ones and adults, yes, they all come from the same seeds… If the seeds contain love, the society grows in love. On the other hand, if the seeds contain poison, it poisons the society… So, the bookmark inside our every book has this old saying: “You can count the seeds in an apple; but, you cannot count the apples in a seed.” How true! If you and I, the so-called adults, are here today, it’s because of the seeds sown in us, years ago. If you and I are spreading love today, it’s because of the seeds of love and kindness sown in us, years ago. On the other hand, if you and I are spreading hatred and enmity, we need to examine the seeds sown in us, years ago… A friend of ...

  “We all have a blind spot; and it’s shaped exactly like us.” Junot Diaz   I took some time to grasp the meaning of the quote mentioned above. Our blind spots are those flaws of ours which we are not able to see. I can hear you say this: “No. Blind spots are those flaws of ours which we are unwilling to see… Unwilling to accept.” The above quote reminds us, that each of our blind spots is there in us, exactly how we  would want it to be there through our vanity. It takes real strength of our character – honesty, humility and innocence – to bring us to see, accept and take corrective action about our blind spots… Vanity complicates this process, you see! S ome days ago, I was at a family gathering. It was a beautiful evening, with good food, singing and bonding. The party was almost over… Just before we were to leave, one of my sisters-in-law (who is known for her straight-forward attitude) yelled, “Hey, there is a hole in your sock!” Before I could look dow...

  “Trying to change people, and their views, is like throwing paper into a fire.” Anthony Liccione   “S ir, why are these kids so out of focus?” A dear friend of mine, who teaches young college kids, messaged me, last night. I knew, that my friend was frustrated and had lost her cool with some of her students. As a teacher myself, I could sense this pain immediately and assured her that I would be calling her in an hour. By the time I called my friend, she had regained her composure. She described to me about the confrontation she had just had with a girl student. My friend was upset about the lack of respect and remorse in this young girl… The casual attitude towards studies had annoyed my friend and the girl was defending this attitude and, to the contrary,  blaming the teacher. My friend, who is a passionate teacher and an idealist, was feeling let down and hurt… “What’s wrong with these kids? Why are they so out of focus, Sir?”… She was asking me.   All t...

  “All bad behaviour is really a request for love, attention or validation.” Kimberly Giles   W hat is 'Be real', really means? To me, it means 'Be human'. Which means, enough of playing ‘God’… This place called ‘Earth’ is a real world, and not a ‘Paradise’. People are ‘real’ here and not angels. So, ‘Be real’ means, be able to deal with people around you realistically. This shows the way I deal with two kinds of people around me… The first kind includes those who are empathetic, and who listen to me without judging… advise me with a genuine concern and not with a sense of manipulation. They make me open up, express my fears, anxieties, sorrows as well as joys freely; and, in the process, they help me feel good about myself. Yes, this validation is very crucial for me to feel ‘real’ – a human. Unless I am able to do it with genuine people around me, I will suffer inside… feel deprived of love, care and concern. So, this is ‘good validation’. On the oth...

  “How a person wins or loses is much more important  than how much a person wins or loses.” Tom Krause   “S ir, is there a class today?” Mehul’s* mother asked me, half-an-hour before the class. “Yes Ma’am, there is,” I replied, “In fact, they are expected to write a Test, today.” “My son is glued to the T.V.,” the mother updated the position at home, “He is expecting India to win the Semi Finals.” I was surprised to see Mehul in the class five minutes before the Test time… “What happened to the match?” I asked… I was not following this World Cup series, and I didn’t even know, that it was the Semi Finals yesterday, and Pakistan team was already in Finals… Mehul seemed visibly shattered… That’s when I guessed, that our team had lost… Mehul is 17. I have been seeing this mega disappointment for years before Mehul was born… When India loses to Pakistan, it’s just not palatable… “How can we lose to Pakistan?” is the painful question… “It’s okay if we lose; ...

  “Learn as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi   A n hour ago, I was talking to my younger brother, Rony, over the phone. Rony, along with his wife, Meena and son Jeswin, have been living in Kuwait for several years. Just a few weeks ago, Jeswin moved to Malaysia to pursue his degree course. They have made arrangements in a rented apartment for Jeswin, who, presently, lives all alone in this apartment. “What about his food?” I asked Rony, this morning, “Does he know to cook?” Rony laughed and asked, “Didn’t we learn to cook, Dattu* ? He will learn.” Times were different for every generation. My grandparents lived in their own time and they had to deal with their on struggles. The same for my parents, the same for us… and, the same will be for our own children, too. I remember my parents, particularly my mother, worrying about me when I was moving out of my protective nest to settle in this big city. She did worry ab...

  “The way you do small things is the way you do all things.” Jens Wolffs   “W hy bad things happen to good people?" Well, in my view, this is not a good question. We shall never get an answer to this question… Never, ever. One of my favourite Gospel singers and songwriters is Dottie Rambo. I just love her lyrics and, of course, singing. She and her whole family devoted their lives singing glory to God… Then one day, during one of her successful tours, the bus carrying her and her group met with an accident (due to bad weather condition). While many got badly injured in this accident, the only person who lost her life was Dottie! “Of all the people, why Dottie, God?” I spend a lot of time listening to Dottie’s songs (sung by several other singers, too). Last afternoon, while listening to one of her touching songs, ‘Too Much to Gain, to Lose’, I heard her brother say this: “We don’t understand some of these things….” That’s all you and I, too, can console oursel...

  “At the heart of all anger, all grudges and all resentment, you’ll always find a fear that hopes to stay anonymous.” Donald L. Hicks   T here is sense in singing glory to a person when he or she is dead and gone. It makes sense only if we say,   “I love you,”… “Thank you”…   “I am sorry”… etc., when the person is alive and around us. Yesterday, all over the world, Christians observed what is traditionally known as ‘All Souls’ Day’. On this day, we remember our dear and near ones who are no more… We go near their graves and pray… We light candles, place fresh flowers, get overwhelmed and cry… Frankly, this is a powerful experience. If observed meaningfully, it can leave us a lot healed. But, I said, “If observed meaningfully”! When our near and dear ones are alive and around us, we tend to think, that we all are going to be alive and around for a long, long time, if not ‘forever’. So, the thought, that ‘Life is short’, that we should express our lo...