Gerald D'Cunha

  “Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings  instead of your own.” ― Harold Coffin   ‘T hou shall not covet.’ This was the last of the Ten Commandments. When our Sunday-school teacher tried to explain to us the meaning of the word ‘Covet’, I don’t remember getting it. With time, I understood the term referred to ‘lust’ -– an obsession with what rightfully didn’t belong to us. Thus, I kept adding to this ‘lust list’ –- ‘Thou shall not covet thy neighbours’ wealth, spouse, success, and whatever that’s his. For long, I wasn’t able to follow the Tenth Commandment… To be specific: ‘Thou shall not covet thy neighbours’ success’. When my neighbour succeeded, I would simply feel jealous of him… Oh, that familiar feeling of being a small person, a loser! Trust me, this feeling of inadequacy lasted for many years in my life. Then, a time came, when I started rejoicing in my neighbours’ success… I started seeing him as myself –- his success/glory as my own…...

  “Afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” Robert Frost   T he morning, soon, becomes the afternoon, you see! We grow old… It’s afternoon, now… What the morning suspected, yes, the afternoon knows… That’s something so beautiful about Life… With age, we mature like good wine… That’s something so beautiful about Life, too! So, when I complete 64 tomorrow, how shall I celebrate this milestone? Do I know, that some hours are still left for the celebration, and, anything can happen in those few hours? I think, this tendency of counting our age by the number of years simply drops when we begin to value each blessing in our lives. Rightly, it is said, “Count your age not by the numbers, but by your blessings.” So, I ask myself on the eve of completion of my 64 years on this planet, “Can I start counting, at least, 64 blessings in my Life?” It sounds silly! Like everyone else, I, too, have never bothered to count my blessings. I know, I will get ti...

  “Count your many blessings, Name them one by one; And it will surprise you What the Lord has done.” From the song/hymn ‘Count Your Blessings’   I think, one of the greatest blessings in life is to be able to ‘stay relevant’ as you age. By this, I mean, to be able to keep ‘contributing’… keep ‘giving’. There is something of value in all of us, which God has placed in all of us. Now, that ‘something’ can be one or two talents, skills or strengths of ours. Most of us think, that, while our talents are God-given, our skills and strengths are our own. But, the more we reflect on this, the more we realize, that even to own some of our skills and strengths, we need God’s grace. When we acknowledge this truth, we feel confident and peaceful. I completed 63 yesterday. A thought dominates my mind and heart: “Have I been able to stay relevant, by being able to keep contributing and giving through my God-given gifts?” When my mind and heart say ‘Yes’, I feel the surge...

Pic.: Manoj Nair     “Your blessings lay beyond your fear.”   ―   Shannon L. Alder “M ay God bless you.” “Stay blessed.” “Count your blessings.” “Feel blessed.” Honestly, I do not use any of these phrases casually. For, I know how much power they come packed with! This Post is inspired by some very mundane incidents of my life… But, none of them have passed by without making me strikingly aware of how blessed my life could be! J ust ten minutes ago, this happened. I call him Sharmaji,. He must be in his fifties. I have been watching him, for more than two decades, here, in this colony, where I work from. He comes twice every day on his bicycle to deliver fresh buffalo-milk to his loyal customers. Many years ago, I had the ‘fortune’ of teaching his son and daughter, both. Now, I said ‘fortune’… and I know why I said it. Because, it was his dream to provide them good education and see them placed well in life. The son,...