Gerald D'Cunha

Pic .: Rajiv Sharma I n life, the lesser I resist, the better for me! And, it applies to, almost, every situation and person in my life... whose presence has become what, in my frustration, I, often, yell out as - ‘a pain in my neck’! Nobody - or nothing - in my life can become a pain in my neck, unless I allow him or it  to be! Yes, people can not eat my head... I allow them to! Situation in life can not destroy my peace... I allow them to! When someone behaves the way I don’t like, I can tell him about it in a dozen different ways... But, in spite of my telling, if his behavior doesn't change, my reaction to it, should. Else, he will continue to dwell in my head as my perennial tormentor, make my head constantly spin... and, most certainly, he will end up becoming that nasty pain in my neck. Or, wherever it is! The troubles in our lives, too, may come uninvited. And, who, in his senses, wants them? Yes, when troubles come, our natural insti...

“T ake it easy…” “But, that is not that easy…” “Not easy, because, you are trying too much to be at ease… To be at ease, stop trying, stop struggling… Just let go, sigh, smile… laugh. And, laugh loudly.” These were the dialogues my mind was involved with, last night… I had given a unit-tests break for my students. They were supposed to resume yesterday. But, then, considering the past track-record of some of my students, I decided to remind them through sms’s. One of them, Himanshu, replied: “I will be there sir, bang on time… Don’t be tensed!” I was in the midst of a lecture for another batch when I happened to see Himanshu’s message… Believe me, I was laughing… and, laughing so spontaneously, so happily… and I was feeling so good about it… Boy! My 17-year-old Himanshu  is asking me to take it easy… Chill! Yes, I needed that dose so badly, last evening… I immediately read out the messa...

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...

"Why has the flow of the river suddenly stopped?" I posted my last blog on 2nd Feb. It is almost a month now. My friends ask me the question: "Why has the flow of the river suddenly stopped?" Life is like a river. Its job is to flow; no one can stop it from doing so. And, if any one attempts to do so, it finds a new way to flow, a new direction. But, the essential thing is the 'source'. A river always has a source; it flows 'out' of it. It is only when the source itself dries up, that the river stops flowing. I am still connected to my source; I am still flowing. During these 'dry days', I was busy producing a small book for our Housing Society. I had titled it as: 'THE CHOICE... WITH A HEALING TOUCH'. It is a book of about twenty-eight pages. I poured my soul into it. Yes, the river did flow ... only in a different direction, for a while. The book opens with this passage: "What applies to an individual, Also applies to a Society...

Yes, it isn't that bad. Life isn't that bad ... I have come, this far. All the life-situations which I dreaded about, over which I had spent sleepless nights, have come and gone ... without taking away my life, or spirit, or hope. Life isn't that bad. All those difficult people, who I thought made my life miserable, over whom I had spent such a colossal amount of energy, are all, today, going about their lives, here and there. But, certainly, they are off my back; certainly, they no longer hold the keys to my happiness. Life isn't that bad. All those demons of my soul - fear, insecurity, lack, jealousy, anger, violence, greed, lust, unfaithfulness, arrogance, indifference and, above all, ungratefulness ... yes, all these demons have never, ever succeeded to take over my soul. Not completely; not yet. Life isn't that bad. All those worries over money - How will I sail through this month? How will I protect my tomorrow? What if I can not work from tomorrow? Will my sa...