Gerald D'Cunha

  “Your strength doesn’t come from winning. It comes from struggles and hardships. Everything that you go through prepares you for the next level.” Germany Kent   S ome months ago, I was watching Kamiya Jani’s interview on her YouTube channel - ‘Curly Tales’. The man she was interviewing was the Celebrity Chef – Mr. Sanjeev Kapoor. Towards the end, Kamiya asks Mr. Kapoor, what advice he has for the budding chefs. The answer to this question impressed me so much, that I keep talking about it to my young students…      The question: “How can I become a celebrity chef”      The answer: “ You can’t become a celebrity chef…                             You can only create a body of your work                             that becomes worth celebrating.” I have been writing my ‘little things’ for ages. There are thousands of bog posts, out of which, I can produce scores of books. I have thousands of scribblings written in dozens of diaries, out of which, I can produce hund

  “Remember the blue sky… It may be, at times, obscured by clouds; but, it is always there.” Andy Puddicombe   I was talking to a young college-girl, yesterday. “What are your main hobbies? What activities make you happy and peaceful?” I asked her. “Sir, it is crochet,” the girl said, “I find it very relaxing.” To this young girl, it is crochet; to me, it’s my writings; to someone out there, it may be swimming, exercising, singing, poetry, reading, or, simply, sky-gazing… Each one of us pursues some activity or the other as our hobby that makes us happy and peaceful… very relaxed, as the young girl said. Our days can be frantic… running and rushing, keeping us constantly anxious… A hundred emotions, when clash inside the mind, it can drive us crazy… Only, when we slow down… step aside from our rush, we can see things ahead clearly. Katherine King puts it beautifully: “Slow down… You will get there faster.” E very activity can be done with our mindfulness… breat

  “No one, who puts a hand to the plow and looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62   T he Kingdom of God - of the world after my death - does not appeal me… even though, many tell me, that it promises the ‘eternal peace’. Well, if I strive sincerely to seek the Kingdom of God of this world – here on earth while I am alive – yes, perhaps, the Kingdom of God of the world beyond and its promise of eternal peace make some sense… To me, the Kingdom of God lies within me… It is very much here and now… After all, who has seen the tomorrow? Everything has to be done by me here on this earth, now… while I am still alive, and in my senses… If peace is important to me, it is important for me to drop all my complaints, once and for all. Once I choose peace, I cannot effort to ‘look back’ in regrets, guilt, blame and resentment… These things and peace cannot go together. Perhaps, Jesus Christ’s strong words (in Luke 9:62) are intended to send across this warning to us:

“We all see only that which we are trained to see.” Robert Wanton Wilson   S ome years ago, our Centre - The Dawn Club Centre of Excellence - published a book by the title- ‘I AM GOOD, THE WORLD IS GOOD’. We had invited many little ones, young ones and adults to get in touch with their prejudices – which blocked them from viewing people from ‘other communities’ as ‘our own’… The book was highly appreciated… How I view my outside world depends on how I view my inside world. If my heart is clean, mind is clear and – if I nourish my ability to see right as right and wrong as wrong – then, I can   be an instrument of peace and harmony… Imagine, from cradle to grave, we live wearing clean filters – unbiased, caring and compassionate… Imagine, the world that gets shaped through such an outlook! All conflicts first arise within us… They get brewed inside our respective echo champers… The echo chambers, like I am White, I am Black, I am Indian, I am Pakistani, I am Christian, I a

  “Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age.” George Sand   O n 3 rd of this July, my Mom completed 88 years. She had five sons. Harry, her third son, passed away a couple of years ago. She remembered the birthdays of all her sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and most of our relatives. She even remembered the wedding and death anniversaries of most of her near and dear ones… But, after her fall, two years ago, Mom has been confined to her bed and wheelchair. Her memory is gone, and she cannot recognize anyone… We four, her surviving sons, decided to meet and celebrate her 88 th birthday this time. Her life had been, always, church-centric: Jesus Christ, Mother Mary, Patron saints… Holy Mass, Holy Sacrament, hymns, confessions, priests, Bishops, and the Pope… at home, the daily rosary and angelus… She lived by the Lord’s Prayer – ‘Our Father… Give us our daily bread…” So, it was befitting to organize a beautiful Mass at home on Mom’s 88 th birt

  “Rocket ships are exciting; but, so are the roses on a birthday.” Leonard Nimoy   A s far as the space-programme is concerned, our country has come a long way… From the humble beginnings - when a tiny rocket was transported on a bicycle to the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3 a couple of days ago – yes, it has not been an easy journey at all for our space scientist. The thought and the sight of the rocket going to up makes all of us proud. Like millions of my fellow citizens, I, too, got goosebumps, watching Chandrayaan 3 going up, and listening to Vande Mataram, here on ground zero… Goosebumps! While most of us got goosebumps watching our self-made rocket going to the Moon, I wonder if you get similar goosebumps when we watch the birth of a new baby – be it of any creature here on earth – Similarly, I wonder if we get similar goosebumps, when surgeon open a human heart to mend it… or, for that matter, any part of human body… I wonder if we get similar goosebumps when w

  “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” Nido Qubein   T wo young boys have just joined me for class 12. Both have two things in common: 1. They have been referred to me by two of my well-wishers and friends. 2. Both boys come from under-privileged families. After more than 45 years of teaching the same thing, over and over and over again – many ask me this question: “Don’t you feel tired and bored?” I do, sometimes… Sometimes, tired… sometimes, bored… and, sometimes, even, impatient, frustrated and angry. So, why do I still continue teaching? That’s because, I only wanted to be a teacher, and I still want to be a teacher… I do not see myself as anything else. Even in my writings, I still see myself as a teacher… Therefore, despite my occasional fatigue, boredom, temper and frustration, I consider, that teaching is the medium through which, I am destined to make the maximum difference… I deal with youn

  “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”   B eautiful quotes are like effective capsules… Consumed at the right time, they can make all the difference between success and failure, just as the right capsules do to make a difference between health and sickness, life and death. The other day, someone told me, that she, regularly, reads my blog posts. But, she added, “Many times, the quotes that you share inspire me to read your posts.” I smiled and confessed, “Many times, it’s the quotes that inspire me to write my posts, too.” Life and living are, actually, very complex… We cannot encapsulate them in small pills. But, then, as I said, consumed at the ‘right time’, the little pills and capsules can make all the difference… It, also, indicates, that the way we choose to live our lives makes our lives complex… or simple. For example, for a last couple of days, I have been delightfully watching some FB reels by this little angel,

  “A goodness you do by waiting for a return is not a goodness, but just a cunning investment in the future.” Mehemet Murat Ildan   L ife is short… It gets even shorter through our complaints. When our complaints occupy our major mind-space, it is difficult for us to notice and appreciate the beautiful gifts we are blessed with… Complaints make life look like a bottomless pit… No matter how valuable gifts God puts into it, they all go down into this pit with no bottom! Our complaints breed our unhappiness – our disappointments, hurts, sorrow, self-pity and pain. A major complaint, which many of us carry in life, is, that we do not find people reciprocating our goodness towards them... Sounds familiar? Let’s see it from both ends… We complain, saying, that those who we have helped are ungrateful to us. On the other hand, others who have helped us complain, saying, that we are ungrateful to them. Thus, just as we feel hurt and angry, there are others feeling hurt and

  “The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.” Edsger W. Dijkstra   I am a slow coach; especially, when it comes to technology and gadgets. It is an everyday sight to behold: while I make fuss about my young students not doing their homework, or not being able to grasp some ‘simple’ accounting entries, I ask them to fix my ‘simple’ issues with my phone or laptop… I know, I am not alone in this situation from my generation of teachers and parents… I, also, know how kindly we comfort ourselves saying, “It is okay… It is okay not to know some things, sometimes” Actually, it has come to - not knowing ‘many things many times!” Yes Sir, I do not know, actually, many things, many times… But, again, I comfort myself, saying this: “I know some things well… and, that’s enough to see me through the rest of post-65 life.” The way we live life has changed so much and so fast! Now, they say, it’s the age