Gerald D'Cunha

  "I dream my painting and I paint my dream." Vincent Willem van Gogh   C larity is a powerful aide in life. A confused mind only takes us in circles… It makes life a clutter. I am a dreamer… But, I do not wish to get trapped when I dream. As Wilfred Peterson says, I like to see big, and keep it simple. One of the challenging things for every dreamer is not to lose his soul under the weight of his dreams. Somewhere, along his path, man, often, compromises – forgets the very reason why he dreamt so passionately… Therefore, the wise counsel: “Keep it simple, Keep it honest, Keep it you.” Let me read it backward… Most of us dream with our pure hearts and   fine intentions. We are honest to the core. But, along our paths, we tend to get entangled and lose sight of our basic objective. Yes, we lose it in the complex web of confusion… Never to lose your soul… Never, ever. That’s what ‘Keep it you’ means… What we think, we create; what we feel, we attract; what w...

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN By Robert Frost Two roads divulged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads divulged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I don’t think, they have stopped including this poem in today’s High-school English text books. I hope, they haven’t. We had it in our ninth standard. And, you know ...

“ Is that what they call a vocation - what you do with joy as if you had fire in your heart, the devil in your body?” ” ―  Josephine Baker W hen I look at my own life ( I will be 59 this year) and when I look at the lives of thousands of young-ones who I was privileged to come in contact with (through teaching, training, guiding, mentoring etc), I strongly feel, that one of the greatest blessings in life is - the clarity on one’s vocation… That is, what one wants to do in life… His career choice… His calling in life. To me, what is perplexing and heart-breaking is this: In a city like Mumbai, where kids are born in decently educated and affluent families, where kids are sent to the so-called ‘best schools’… where kids are exposed to dozens of extra-curricular skills and famed academies, and, above all, where personal and career counseling - and also the options to choose from are like an endless galaxy -  yes, in an atmos...

Pic.:Sherry Haridas T he best thing we should do when confused is: do nothing!  We do that, many a times, right in the middle of the road. While crossing a busy road, if we find ourselves caught between the vehicles coming from both sides, we have two options before us: to panic and show our confusion, or stand there still. If we panic and show our confusion, we end up confusing vehicles on both sides... Instead, if we stand there still, right in the middle of the road, invariably, the vehicles from both sides will pass... the road will be now clear, so will be the mind.... It is time to move! This principle applies everywhere else in life, too. The traffic in our minds is crazy, at times, making us run helter-skelter... only to add more mess, more confusion into our lives. If we operate from our confused states, the mess will only increase... We end up making some bad decisions in life! Confusion is the sign that there is clutter in our minds. And, the clu...

This is an old advice: While crossing a busy street, look on all sides. If you find yourself in a chaotic or a panic situation, just stand there, still. Just don’t move… Do nothing. I, often, do that right in the middle of a traffic-infested street… when I cannot figure out to which direction I should move… move forward, backward or sidewards . Yes, when I am confronted by this confusion, this madness on the street. I, suddenly, decide to freeze there, and do nothing… And, invariably, the trick works… The traffic moves past me… The way becomes clear… and, I move where I had set for! And, the same trick comes handy to me in the midst of my daily life… this daily frantic rush… when pressures from all sides send me on a panic mode… when my mind fails to decide how to clear past this traffic, this clutter… this madness… Yes, heeding to the old advice, I, suddenly, decide to stand there, still… Freeze… Do nothing! Believe me, it wo...