Gerald D'Cunha

  “Thanksgiving is an attitude, but must be rooted in the ‘gift of life’, if we ever hope to be thankful for the ‘gifts of life’.” Graig D. Lounsbrough   “L ife is a gift.” Like many others around me, I use this expression quite often. However, ‘using’ this expression and ‘feeling’ this expression are two different things. Like the quote above reminds me, that the ‘thanksgiving attitude’ must be rooted deep in the ‘gift of life’, if I ever hope to be thankful for the ‘gifts of life’… This means, the ‘gift of life’ precedes all other ‘gifts of life’. F or several years, I have been showing this touching ad-film (from Lifebuoy) during our Personality Development sessions. Little kids, young kids and adults, alike, get moved by its core message. Here is this film…   “What separates privilege from entitlement is the gratitude,” says Brene Brown. All privileges are Life’s blessings. But, we tend to take them for granted. Yes, often, we arrogantly assume, t...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty A fellow-learner in our Tai Chi class seemed quite disheartened and restless during our session, last morning. “Relax my friend,” I heard Kannan trying to cheer up this fellow-learner, “Don’t take it so seriously.” Kannan himself was a student… After more than eighteen months in our Tai Chi class, he himself wasn’t getting so many moves right… and, on seeing the disappointment of our fellow-learner, Kannan had said the right thing: “Relax my friend… Don’t take it so seriously.” But, then, Kannan could go only so far… For, the fellow-learner wanted it ‘perfect’, and it was not happening… Later, while I was with Kannan alone, he told me this: “When I was battling for life in the hospital (Kannan is a cancer survivor), tied to tubes, masks and machines all over me, when all including my doctors couldn’t tell whether I would come alive or dead, I would worry about the people at home – my wife, my son who was still studying… I would worry ...

If you are asking me to define my Life by a single stroke – say, how I feel right now, then, you are asking me to commit a huge blunder! Friend, this moment need not define my life… this one single stroke.   For, however ecstatic or horrific this moment might seem, it can not define my whole life. Like a sneeze, it is there in my life, at this moment. But, sneeze is not my life… What about the thousand laughters or winks? The Football Word-Cup final, 2006 comes to my mind. France vs. Italy. Zenedine Zedane, the sage-like French Captain, was to retire in a few moments. It was supposed to be a very emotional, very poignant moment for him, France, and his billion fans, like me... We were waiting for a happy ending. But, what happened was not very happy… far from it. Just in the spur of the moment… in front of a billon viewers and a packed stadium… provoked by something very offending mouthed by the Italian defender, Marco Materrazi, Zedane ...