Gerald D'Cunha

  “What makes people weak? Their need for validation and recognition,  their need to feel important.  Don’t get caught in this trap.” Paulo Coelho   T he proof of the pudding is in the in the eating. Meaning, your theory – the inspiring words, the positive philosophy, and, even, the most sincere love and trust – yes, in the end, it doesn’t matter much... The final outcome, the result – it does. No matter in how many ways I try to tell a parent, “Your kid will do well in life, please relax,” – the parent wants the kid to do well in the ‘exams’ in hand... This means, if the kid shines in the exams in hand, the kid will shine in life, as well... I want to see the result – now...  I want to taste the pudding – now... I want the proof. From my years of teaching experience, I can safely tell the anxious parents this: Every kid will have to find his own garden and his own time to bloom. Today, he may not catch up with his piers... and, that’s perfectly ...

E at fresh food... I agree. Eat simple food... I agree. Eat in moderation... I agree. Eat with a happy and grateful heart... I agree totally. But then, can you and I eat ‘fresh food’ always, considering the hectic pace of our lives? Frankly, we cannot. Many of us have to accept this reality... That, eating happily with a grateful heart is more important than eating freshly-cooked food... Frankly, we are all on a space mission... We have to choose between the Moon and the Sausages... E very migrant, who comes to big cities like Mumbai - with no money, friends or connections, but only a dream – has lots of struggle stories to share later when they succeed in in life. But, these struggle stories, invariably, inspire other strugglers, and not the children of those telling the ‘stay-hungry, stay-foolish’ stories... One such young kid I came across yesterday. He wasn’t ready to eat the tiffin packed and sent by his mother... “I eat only fresh”... The tiffin went back home, go...

“There are two great days in a person’s life:        the day we are born, and the day we discover why.”       William Barclay   “S ir it’s going to be my 40 th b’day,” messaged Shripad, last night, “Will you write a blog on me?” This soon-to-be-40 boy (He is still a ‘boy’ for me) never ceases to amuse me... Shripad is going to be 40 on this October, 16... and, the countdown has already   begun! In fact, the count down, every year, begins when October 2 approaches... Early in the morning, on 2 nd October, Shripad calls up to greet me: “Happy b’day Bapu.” It’s going to be eighteen years, now... Shripad was in TY B’Com. He was brought to me by his parents. “Sir, he is a ‘special child’; he has some learning and coping disabilities... But, he refuses to be treated as a ‘disabled’ or a ‘special’ child... He wants to be treated like everyone else.” Well, I have written so many times about Shripad... He had...

  “A clear mind heals everything  that needs to be healed.” Byron Katie   I think, Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such words have entered our lexicon mechanically – yes, just like that. To be frank, you and I very, very rarely feel their profound meaning when we voice them, several times a day... The reason for that - again, I think – is, that we rarely get into a silence before we voice these words... Only in silence we can really feel the profound meaning of such words – Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such... T wo days ago, I was waiting outside the Cath lab of Parel’s Gleneagles Hospital (earlier known as Global Hospital). My wife was taken inside for the angioplasty of her left coronary artery (LCA) which had ninety percent blockages. Just a month ago, she had under gone the angioplasty of her right coronary artery (RCA) which had hundred percent blockages. The long passage of that waiting area had ma...

  “What you do makes a difference; and, you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall   J ane Goodall passed away (this October, 1) living an eventful life for close to 91 years. In my view, what is the most inspiring thing for us to see is: She lived a life as young, curious, and passionate as she had decided to live it when she was barely a 10-year-old… For those who aren’t familiar with this amazing woman, I say this: There is loads of material on her life’s work with chimpanzees in African forests (Tanzania) – books, magazine articles, videos, speeches, TV appearances, award shows and much more – that, I have no intention to write, here, anything biographical about this legend… My intention of mentioning Dr. Jane Goodall, who spent her entire life dedicating her life around animals – especially chimpanzees – is to remind ourselves, that our work has an impact on others… That means, what work you and I do – all our lives – can be...

“May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.” George Carlin   T oday, we talk a lot about Good over Evil . Lord Ram’s triumphant victory over Ravan is what we celebrate, today. Well, to many of us, it’s symbolic… Ram and Ravan, we believe, lived on this earth thousands of years ago. But, the idea of Good and Evil still lives in this world, today… And, importantly, it lives within our hearts, right here, right now… Yes, it’s a constant personal battle you and I have to engage in… It never ends. I think, that’s why we celebrate Dussehra – to remind ourselves to stay vigilant… To choose Good over Evil in every step we take… It’s a tough choice… but, the right one to make… Incidentally, today is, also, Gandhi Jayanti … Bapu ’s last words keep haunting us: “ Hey Ram !” E ach one of us has spent these ten days in his or her own way… My colleague, a college Professor, has lived on only water – no food at all – only water… and, he has walked barefo...

  “On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own buttocks.” Michel de Montaigne   A ttentive listening has another name: Humility. Putting it in another way, we cannot pay complete attention, unless we listen with a desire to learn… and, for that, we need to drop our guards, our defenses, our judgements. In fact, the thought, that ‘We know’ blocks us from absorbing the good lessons from others… Often, we listen with an intention to defend our positions… We are ready with our responses even before the other person has completed his statements… We are busy judging the other person… We are busy proving our knowledge… We seem to get a strange kick in being right… “I will not utter a word unless you look up and listen to me completely,” I said, once again, this morning, to couple of my students, “Your eyes listen better than your ears do.” From my decades of teaching experience, I have realized this: Attentive listening stems from our desire to le...