Gerald D'Cunha

  “Live a life as a monument to your soul.” Ayn Rand   O ne of the highly motivational books, which I had read over and over again, was Dr. Robert Schuller’s ‘Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do.” Dr. Schuller had convincingly sold his ‘success philosophy’ to his readers as ‘Possibility Thinking’... Please note: Dr. Schuller was drilling into our heads, that only Positive Thinking wouldn’t take us anywhere... We needed to be practical, by applying ‘Possibility Thinking.” And, in his bestselling book - ‘Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do’, Dr. Schuller graphically narrated to us the story of building his dream project – ‘The Crystal Cathedral’ in Garden Grove, California... Yes, how a smalltime, countryside Pastor conceived and achieved a mammoth dream through his practical philosophy – ‘Possibility Thinking.” Crystal Cathedral (now Christ Cathedra), Garden Grove, California I t was the early eighties... Here, in the city of Mumbai, I was a newcomer...

  “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain. But, all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” Andy Rooney   T wo days ago, my wife and I were watching the latest NETFLIX series ‘Hello Bachhon’. It’s the story of widely popular (and successful) teacher Alakh Pandey... how he started teaching Physics through YouTube and, eventually, became a sensation, scaling it up – and up – and up... into brand ‘Physics Wallah’. Yes, like every success story of an underdog, we found it very inspiring... Alakh Pandey Sir had a hard time while doing his studies. He genuinely wanted to help students who couldn’t afford to pay high coaching fees for competitive exams. So, from the depth of that sincere intent, his pursuit to reach a wider audience kept growing, and kept even growing... There is this disturbing scene in the last episode... A young IIT aspirant, under tremendous pressure and frustration, ends up taking an unthinkable step... Well, while wat...

  “The most critical time in a battle is not when I’m fatigued; it’s when I no longer care.” Graig G. Lounsbrough   O ne of the powerful imageries, deeply imbedding in my mind, relates to this period of Lent... Jesus Christ’s prayer at the lonely place – Gethsemane Garden. He knew, what’s coming upon him... He had lost his courage... He was feeling his humanness completely... Thus, He had gone, accompanied by a few trusted disciples, to pray for courage... That prayer was so intense, the Holy Book says, that Jesus sweat blood... Down on His knees, He had prayed: “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt.” It wasn’t possible for Jesus Christ to arrive at this crucial stage before he could experience the courage and peace... He prayed hard before acceptance brought in Him – peace... Now, He was unafraid, he was ready to face whatever was supposed to befall upon Him... In Lent, we ...

  “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of the children.” Nelson Mandela   I was up by 4, this morning. I hadn’t blogged for a few days. The ongoing war – even though it wasn’t happening in our country – had cast a gloom over my mind, too. My last blog was about the war, which I had posted just as the war had broken out... Now, even after a week, the war is only escalating... “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.” Well, we don’t need a Gandhi to make us see how blind the whole world has become... S ome days ago, I had visited the residence of a very elderly person (85). He and his elderly wife (80) lived all alone. When I walked into their house, what surprised me was this: the TV was on, full blast... the relentless images of war, the anchors screaming hysterically against the frightening sounds of the sirens... Yes, this elderly couple was glued to this endless poison dished out by these TV channels without realizi...

  “Older men declare war. But, it’s youth that must fight and die.” Herbert Hoover   S o many of my relatives (including the families of my two brothers), friends and students – past and present – live in the Middle East countries. And, as the war has broken out, they find themselves caught up in a frightening situation... The first thing I did, after waking up this morning, was to send this message to each one of them: “The news of conflict in the Middle East is very worrying. Pray for your safety and well-being. Hope the situation returns to normalcy, soon. Love and prayers.” Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other countries in the Gulf region are small ones. If war escalates, it will be devastating for the entire region. There is hardly anything, you and I – and our friends and relatives living there – can do to douse the engulfing inferno... Yes, except going on our knees and praying hard - “O God, please bring in sanity.” Whatever the reason b...