Gerald D'Cunha

  “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that, within me, there lay an invincible summer.” Albert Camus   I think, if young ones become aware of their strengths early in life, it will help them become confident individuals. It will help them to dream, and believe in those dreams. Just imagine those young ones, who are unaware of their strengths… How would they ever dare to dream, and pursue them? Whenever young ones ask me what I mean by ‘strengths’, I tell them this: “Your strong character-traits.” Yes, what else can it be? Mercifully, all young ones are blessed with their own strong character-traits. It’s possible, that many of them are unaware of this blessing. That’s why I said, that when they become aware of their strengths early in their lives, it will hep them to become confident individuals. Only confident individuals can dare to pursue their dreams… It's to be taken by young ones as a good news… It should give them hope. I wasn’t aware of my ...

  “We act out of courage; we react out of fear.” Aegelis Sophizo   A n emotionally-charged mind doesn’t think rationally… Objective thinking – based on reason – is possible only when emotions are kept under check… Our reactive behaviour is a classic example. When we react from anger, hatred, envy, fear and insecurity, it’s not a rational behaviour… It stems out of our loss of self-control. The instinctive, caustic comments we make about others only leave us exposed… not others. Well, when you read what I have just said in the two paras above, it’s highly possible, that you may wonder, "What an enlightened soul this man is!” I wonder, too. But, thinking, why, despite knowing this truth, I have not been able to stop me from ‘reacting’ for every ‘silly’ situation, all my own life! Yes Sir, between our ‘knowing’ and ‘doing/practicing’, there is a ‘space’… Just as between the ‘stimulus’ and ‘action’ there is… Like many that read books or listen to people who impart ...

“Sometimes, even to live is an act of courage.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca   I seriously think, that the most valuable gift you and I can give to ourselves – is to be kind to ourselves! And, I, also, think, that you and I have never seriously paused to reflect on what ‘being kind to oneself’ means… For each one of us, there are two kinds of pressures to deal with. The first kind of pressure is the one which others put on us: to perform better, and even better… to excel, shine, beat, stand out, earn more, become ‘number one’, crack this and crack that… become famous, rich and everything that ‘shows, glows, shines’… Yes, this kind of pressure is from outside. Teachers, parents, coaches, team leaders, bosses – we all know what such pressure is… how it can work as a double-edged sword… make it or break it. We justify, saying, “How can anyone excel unless and until put under such pressure?” The point taken, Sir. “Diamonds are cut under pressure” … Yes, ‘Diamonds’. But, diamon...

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off; then, encourage them to try again next year.” Chad Sugg   I met this old friend, last evening, after over forty years. Those were my initial years in this city (then, Bombay) … I had African bushy-hair on my head, a flat tummy, loads of youthful energy… and, above all, a carefree outlook towards life. Obviously, I was single, and the serious thoughts about my ‘tomorrow’ had not yet sprung inside my mind… From such a state of my mind, I could only hear the mountains calling… I really thought, that ‘Success’ – the proverbial Pot of Gold – could be found only ‘there’; that I had to climb frantically to lay my hands on it… And, once that done, I could shout from the top to the world below – “Hark, I have arrived!” The idea of success has undergone a sea change in me over these forty-plus years… I no more look for the Pot of Gold ‘over there’, at the top of the highest mountain… No more do I feel the need to shout to the world – “...

  “From the pine tree, learn of the pine tree; from the bamboo, learn of the bamboo.” A Zen proverb     I see the entire Cricket-loving world around me going hysterical over Team India’s performance in the ongoing World Cup – and, particularly on watching the terrific display of bat by Virat Kohli   and mesmerizing spell of bowling by Mohammed Shami   in the Semi Finals… “Why not?” Yes, why not the world around me and I celebrate what is worth celebrating? Why not heap praise on those who deserve it? So, I, too, am still not done with this hysteria… The Kohli’s bat and Shami’s bowl still keep me awake… Yes, Sir, they do. But, in the midst of all this hysteria, my thoughts go to one quiet and composed man, who is the head coach of these Gladiators of a team – Rahul Dravid… The deep seas are always quiet, you see. Rahul Dravid – ‘The Wall’ – has been always so… And, I have always loved and admired him for that… A s a teacher of young college-ki...

  “Every child comes with the message, that God is not yet discouraged of man.” Rabindranath Tagore T hey say, that there is a child in all of us, and, no matter how old we grow in age, height, weight and our accomplishments in life, the child continues to live in us as innocent and as little it used to be… If that is true, today’s ‘Children’s Day’ should be celebrated by all of us… Children that we all are… O ur nephew, Daniel – who we call ‘Baby Shark’ - turns 5 today. I do not know if he is told the legendary stories of Daniel from the Bible (Old Testament) … his wisdom, the gift he possessed to see visions, interpret dreams, and God’s protection towards him. I strongly believe, that our Daniel needs to visit those stories, as he grows up… Whether or not you and I were born on ‘Children’s Day’ – and, whether or not you and I were named after the Great Daniel from the Old Testament, let me tell you this: we, as children, were always ‘Daniels’… We possessed those mil...

  “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” Mother Teresa   T wo days ago, a middle-aged man had come to my office on some work. He worked in a housing-society office. As he was talking to me, the man got a call, and from the discussion, I could make out, that it was from his young son… “Don’t hurry, I am telling you… Why can’t you wait till I come home in the evening?” this man was telling his son quite angrily. But, the son seemed adamant, and this man – the father – told his son, “Take from the dibba … But, don’t spend more.” “Any problem?” I asked the man, once the call ended. “For some days, my 18-year-old son has been asking money to buy a (pair of) jeans for this Diwali…” Then, the words got choked… “Children don’t understand their parents’ problems… I told him to use some loose cash his mother has saved in her dibba .” A re we in the midst of giving and receiving Diwali gifts to our near and dear ones? Is the shopping over, or sti...

  “There is always a door, no matter how dark the rooms is... Find it and get out.” Shafqat Bashar   W e have heard the saying, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein had said this. Let me paraphrase it this way: “We cannot solve our problems from the same place where we find them.” It means this: From the place we find our problems, we see everything through a smoky screen… The mind is cluttered, confused, scared … It is in pain and anger. How can we find a way out – a direction – unless the smoke gets cleared, and the visibility comes back? So, in the statement above, we are encouraged to step aside from the place where we find our problems – calm down, be patient, drop the blame and self-pity, our anger. And, this is that ‘new place’ from which we are able to think clearly, see clearly, and act wisely… Yes, every solution emerges from this place… a ‘new place’! F or quite some time, a dear young-man ...