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...

I f you do not know where Mangalapuram is, let me help you: it’s Mangalore, now called Mangaluru… Magala Uru , which, in Kannada means ‘Daughter’s place’. Anyway, friends from Kerala, always, called it - and they continue to call it - as ‘Mangalapuram’. We are immediate neighbours… a lot of spill-over! Mangalore is so full of Keralites… They run so many businesses - from hotels to recruitment agencies… They work in every sphere – in hospitals as doctors, nurses and technicians… in offices as mangers and clerks… in schools and colleges as students and teachers. St. Aloysius College, where I studied, had hundreds of Malayalee students and scores of teachers, both in school and college. They belonged to all communities – Hindu, Muslim and Christian. But, the amazing thing about them was: they spoke only one language – Malayalam. The language bound them so much, that their religious affiliation dissolved when it came to observing festivals like Onam, Eid and Christmas. It...

“Times will change for the better when you change.”  ―  Maxwell Maltz A friend of mine and his family had planned to visit Kerala on a short trip. They were to leave today evening. I asked him, “Is it safe to travel at this point of time? The images and the reports are scary.” “We are evaluating whether to go or not,” my friend replied. At the time I was communicating with my friends, a certain anxiety of mine was weighing me down. “What may happen?” is the constant question that weighs us down when we are anxious about our future. Despite all my positive thinking, I know, that my immunity level against anxiety is quite low… I become anxious, quickly… I get into depressing thoughts... I worry. But, fortunately, this cycle passes. And, once this entire cycle is over, I shed off my anxiety and march on… “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future,” Kahlil Gibran says, “but from wanting to control it.” The friend ...