Gerald D'Cunha

  “I sit before flowers, 
 hoping they will train me in the art of opening up.” Shane Koyczan   T oday was the second session for this group of young kids. They come from underprivileged areas of our suburb. An NGO has been helping them through computer and AI skills. The same NGO has requested our Centre to help them in their soft skills… develop self-confidence, communication and interpersonal skills. I found one of the young girls a bit lost during the session. “ Beta , you are feeling ok?” I asked her. Then, to involve her in the proceedings, I nudged her gently to come up to the stage and tell something about her… To my surprise, the young girl did not get rattled. She stood there in front of about 20 of us (including her peers, two instructors and me). “You can speak in Hindi, if you wish,” I encouraged her, “Or, you can mix Hindi and English.” The girl chose to do it mixed… “Friends, my name is Muskaan… I have recently cleared my tenth standard, and I ...

I have written about this before… yet, I am writing about it, today: The very thought that some people always think about me fondly… that they keep me in their hearts always… yes, this is a self-empowering and self-healing thought. I am very conscious of the fact that at every point of time, I am in someone’s heart… that they love me, care for me and accept me for what I am… This thought keeps me eternally hopeful, loving and loveable… even a lot fearless in life. It is true, the other way around, too. There are some special people who I have kept in my heart, always… And, that very thought must be so reassuring and empowering for those people. The beauty of this is, that we do not have to tell it from the mountain-top. This is a silent act of loving and caring… It reaches miles afar, it touches and you can feel it from oceans and deserts afar! These people do not ask you, “Why didn’t you call me on my birthday or anniversary?” Nor, do we ask the same to them. They...