Gerald D'Cunha

  “ Half of life is lost in charming others. The other half is lost in going through anxieties caused by others.   Leave this play. You have played enough.” Rumi. T rying to please others is akin to handing the remote of our personal peace in others’ hands. The need to please others stems from another innate need: to seek other people’s approval – their validation. Yes, it’s a human need… Hence, ordinary people like you, me and others crave to see Likes, Loves, Wows and generous comments on every single line we post or every single picture we share on social media – we justify it saying, “What’s wrong with it? We are humans, after all!” Rumi and other wise souls, for hundreds of years, have drawn our attention to this human craving. Excess attachment to other people’s approval and validation only undermines our own self-confidence… Beyond a certain point, it not only drains us, it, also, hurts us very badly. What other people think of us should never be...

Last night, I watched on T.V.   the Oscar-Awards ceremony, with my family. Some of my Hollywood favorites were present: Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Oprah, Meryl Streep, George Clooney... and, many more. And yes, there were our own A.R. Rehman and the rich-couple, Anil and Tina Ambani. Meryl Streep got the Best-Actress Oscar, last night, for portraying the stupendous role as Margaret Thatcher, The Iron Lady. It was her third Oscar... and seventeenth nomination! When this otherwise tough-as-iron lady came on the glittery stage to receive her Golden Trophy, her heart had almost stopped! When she collected herself and spoke, there were tears in my eyes! The French actor, Jean Dujardin, who bagged the Best-Actor Oscar for his leading role in 'The Artist', was hysterical as he stood there with a note in his hand... His heart pounded so much, that I could sense that, here, ...

Does Devil tempt my mind? Or, is my mind itself a Devil? It's months now, since my first blog article was published. I was glad and proud about it. Many of my well-wishers sent me feedback, and, obviously, 'nice' ones. Many of them kept urging me to post my new articles ... at least one in a week. Writing is my passion, and I do write on a daily basis ... and, I write them in the form of my notes. So, what a big deal? Why didn't I post a new piece during all these months? Perhaps, I wanted to see what would happen if I do not yield to that 'compulsion' to have my 'notes' published ... I wanted to see what would happen if I step back at the very hieght of popularity. It is very tempting to go by the popular wave, yield to the pressures of your friends and well-wishers. When I did not have a blog, I longed for one. The blog came ... and with it the pressures and compulsions: "I must do it, come what may." But, a voice inside screamed at me: ...