Gerald D'Cunha

  “Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.” Kahlil Gibran   W hy do we call some things in our lives – ‘a pleasant surprise’? For these two obvious reasons: 1. It’s pleasant 2. It comes as a surprise. No matter how frantically you and I try to control our future, we simply cannot. We can only think about our future… plan for it, work for it and, even, pray for it. But, beyond that, we cannot do anything. Like many around me, I, too, have spent too many sleepless nights worrying over my future. But, what has happened in my life, yes, a large part of it had not been thought over or planned about. It has come as a pure surprise. Yes, mostly pleasant… Some, unpleasant. When I see this reality, I learn to let go of my need to control the outcome of my efforts. I learn to do my work with all my heart, with total focus and dedication. That done, I learn to simply trust the kind Universe to do the rest. Money, health,...

  “I don’t go with the flow, nor do I go against it. I create my own.” Laurie Buchanan T he very thought   of ‘Going with the flow’   has a very calming effect on our minds. I am talking about very simple situations in our daily lives (like arriving at some consensus), as well as complex situations which are beyond human control (like calamites such as Covid, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes etc.) While the former offers us the options to go or not to go with the flow, the latter   (calamities) offer no options to us, but to go with the flow… But, wait a minute: Even when calamities like floods, tsunamis, earthquakes or Covid strike us, do we passively declare, “Take us – Thy will be done?” Or, do we try, with all that we possess, to fight, to survive and to outwit the current? That’s where, I think, we need clarity on the idea of ‘Going with the flow’. When we use this phrase, we should be aware of what we are saying… In all life-situations, whether within ...

Pic.: Anima D'Cunha F or last couple of Sundays, I found Kannan to be quite. It is Almost two years now since we first met at our Tai Chi class. I never found him as quiet – as withdrawn – as I found him recently. He always had some interesting and inspiring stories to tell… he hopped from one to another and yet another… All this would happen either during those few minutes before our class started or during our short breaks… None of those stories came planned nor would he remember them once told… But, I would remember and come home and weave a nice blog out of them… A quiet Kannan, therefore, was just unthinkable… So, yesterday, during one of the breaks in our Tai Chi session, I asked Kannan, “Sir, we have hardly interacted during last some sessions…. Unusual, isn’t it?" ‘’No Gerry, not unusual,” Kannan quickly brushed aside my observation. “Most of us go through these moments of withdrawal and low profile… and, I really think it is a natural cl...

If roses and cactus both are needed to make our gardens, and if both of them have their own place and an irreplaceable beauty about them… then, this must be said: “Let the roses be… Let the cactus be.” A worried parent was talking to me on phone, this morning. He and his wife are really worried about their young son. The young boy is just unwilling to work hard, focus on what they had thought as his career would be: Medicine. No, the boy seems way behind and frustration is consuming the hearts of his parents. In life, it is very difficult to let go… Yes, for all of us. In this case, it is difficult for the parents to let go of their ‘control’… their clinging to their ideas, plans, aspirations about their son… even the social image, unwittingly, they have webbed around their hearts… It is tough to accept and come to terms with the reality that their son is a ‘young man’ now and he does assert, does resist, does rebel…and, all this is for the rig...