Gerald D'Cunha

  O ne of the nails you and I hammer while we raise our houses of failure is - giving up when we feel discouraged. Trust me, it’s not easy to be optimistic and stay hopeful when this nail hits us hard. But, then, one thing is sure: If you and I love life, believe in the goodness our hearts possess – and, above all, if we recognize how fortunate we are for the blessings God has bestowed upon us, yes, right through this deep sense of gratitude for the gift of life, all our feelings of discouragement can dissolve. Nothing is going to cripple our souls till we choose to celebrate life... All of us start dreaming, because we believe in our innate goodness... not because other believe in us. Others belief in us can be a great help, but not before we believe in our own selves... Giving up when discouraged – when people say ‘No’, or show discouragement – yes, giving up when discouraged is a pure excuse. As Jim Rohn puts it, it’s a nail we allow ourselves to be hit hard with -   ...

“N ine tenths of education is encouragement,” said Anatole France. Just read those words again! We knew Lobo family for many years. They belonged to the same Parish (the local Catholic Church) as we did, and they hailed from the same native village as we did – Mangalore. There was one more common factor between Mr. Lobo and me: we both came here from utterly humble roots as migrants. Yes, Mr. Lobo, who expired a month ago, at the age of 71, served in Air Force and retired as a Director in BPCL… has left behind a much greater legacy of encouragement and mentor-ship than a person like me can ever think of… It was evident, today, when I was listening to several people who were fondly and gratefully remembering Mr. Lobo’s gentle and generous encouragement in their lives when they needed it the most… Today* was the Month’s Mind Mass of Mr. Lobo, which my wife and I had attended. Lobos lived a full life, with no regrets or baggage whatsoever… Theirs...

T wo summers ago, one afternoon, a lady called me up. “Sir, my name is Bageshree,” she said, “I want to enroll my son, Rutwik, for your PD course. He has just given his SSC Board exams.” Well, it was not just the son but also the mother who ended up being the students of THE  DAWN CLUB PD programme. Bageshree came about as an earnest learner… and, I could sense that unshakable faith she had in her talented son. She had brought him up as an all-rounder and she was determined to provide him a fine education abroad. Thus, immediately after our summer programme, she moved with her family to Singapore and enrolled her son for the right stream in a right institution… Bageshree and I remained friends through FB ever since. She has been a regular follower of my Blog and she never failed to give me her sincere appreciation… It always meant a lot to me… and, I would admit it to her as I always do with whoever gives me a word of appreciation when I hunger it the most. Latel...