Gerald D'Cunha

  “The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.” Mignon McLaughlin   T his morning, two of my well-wishers had come to see me. They love my writings, and they keep encouraging me to keep on writing. Both these women had lost their husbands to cancer, some years ago. Now, that’s behind them… Their children are working and busy with their lives. “Grief is behind me… I have dealt with it completely,” said one of them during the course of our discussion, “I am only worried about the future.” “Whose future? Your children’s?” I gently prodded. “Her own,” clarified the other woman, who knew her friend well. A good advice (to offer) comes to us instinctively in situations like this… “Don’t worry about your future; everything will be alright”… It’s a readymade advice, I am sure. “All of us have anxieties about our future; but, worrying over them is a sheer waste of time”… Again, it sounds familiar. The three of us there had anxie...

  “Do not cross the bridge till you come to it.” A proverb   I t’s said, that worrying is like trying to cross the bridge before it comes. Today, suddenly, a couple of things have started occupying my mind space… I, suddenly, feel overwhelmed by these thoughts and find myself worrying. Interestingly, these things, which are weighing me down, lie in the future. When I calmly look at them, I am able to see the reality, that worrying about them is simply going to drain my energy… It’s not going to help me. Instead, if I slowly and steadily approach towards this distant bridge, I will be able to find strength to cross it… And, cross I will… For, I have crossed many, many such ‘distant bridges’ in my past, too… However, there is merit in being aware of these distant bridges… When I know, that I will have to cross them, whenever I come to them, it’s important to stay vigilant. Through this, I am able to prepare myself to cross it. Yes, burying my eyes in the sand and...

  “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,...

  “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” Abraham Lincoln   W e, often, use the phrase – ‘One day at a time’ – more as a cliché. When everything is going fine, and when the sky is sunny and bright, who cares for ‘One day at a time’… Life is, always, ‘stored’ for the future, you see… When the chips are down and the tomorrow looks totally clouded – as it does now – to most of us, the phrase ‘One day at a time’ – is no longer just a cliché; it’s is a fresh commandment to live by… Abraham Lincoln – or whoever said it – was right: The best thing about our future is, that it comes one day at a time… Yes, for all of us, that is. It’s not possible, for any of us, to foresee our future or secure it completely. When our ship is caught in a storm, the focus should be on stabilizing… with loads of patience and with all that we can… Only once the ship is steady, and storm subsides, can we sail on towards our destinations… To be desperate in a s...

"When life itself has become a prayer,  we are connected to that source of love and life."  -  Brian Hardin P rayer doesn't need my mouth, eyes, ears, hands or legs. Yes, I am not dumb, blind, deaf or without limbs. What if I couldn't speak, see, hear or use my hands and legs? And, what if I did not belong to any religion?  To me, prayer is a quiet, private communication with our Creator... by whatever name you and I call Him or Her. Therefore, it really makes no difference... I believe, that there is this Supreme Creator behind all these things... and, He must be 'one'! L ast night, my wife and I were invited by a close friend of ours for a Navratri aarti and dinner. He is a Tamilian brahmin and his wife is a Gujarati brahmin. Both are Chartered Accountants. There were two more families as guests - one Rajasthani and one Maharashtrian. The traditional Golu was beautifully decorated by my friend's children... The dres...

I was watching, today, a very inspiring video showing Amir Khan’s incredible transformation from Fat to Fit for his upcoming movie, ‘Dangal’.  Amir Khan plays the role of an ex-wrestler, Mahavir Singh, who was forced to give up his dream of winning gold for India in international wrestling due to lack of financial support. But, he desires to make champion out of his future son, one day… Well, my blog is not about the story of the film. Let me not spoil the suspense! About eighty percent of Amir Khan’s role in the movie revolves around Mahavir in his post wresting days… weighing around 97 kilos. And, the remaining twenty percent revolves around his young wresting days. The video is about how Amir Khan gained those 97 kilos for his role and how he shed them by more than one-third to play the young wrester! Amir Khan is 51, mind you. He makes a few movies and he is very choosy about them. But, once he decides to do it, he commits in an extra-ordinary manner… His...

Mr. Patni retired from his Government service about ten years ago. But, he has been active all through these ten years. His day has a well-defined frame, which includes his daily walks and morning and evening rounds with his one-year-old grand-daughter.  Around eight, every morning, when I reach my work place, I invariably meet Mr. Patni with his beautiful grand daughter. She greets me with her sunny smile… which means: “I am so happy with my grand pa!” And, the grand pa, too! For Mr. Kanade, another retired gentleman, his Doberman brings the same kind of joy. I see him in the mornings, I see him in the evenings… The Doberman is happy; Mr. Kanade is happy. And, I see, every morning, at least fifteen ladies – most of them are middle-aged, or senior citizens - coming out of the temple, just outside my classes. They have just finished their morning Yoga session. And, almost at the same time, I see this group of about five buoyant elderly m...