Gerald D'Cunha

  “Problems are not big or small. It is based on how big or small your understanding is.” J. Tisa   T he more we worry about what’s happening in others’ lives, the more we invite turmoil in our own. When I say, ‘others’, I mean not our dearest and the nearest ones. When there is turmoil in the lives of our dearest and the nearest ones, we just cannot brush it aside, saying ‘It’s their problem’. They are our own; hence, their problems bother us… weigh us down. When ‘others’ are not our dearest and the nearest ones, well, their problems do not weigh us down. When they narrate their problems to us, we do not involve emotionally, instead, just superficially. Not so? Disagree? Well, I agree, that all of us may not react to others’ problems in an identical manner. But, we realize the thresholds of our limits… We realize, how much stress we are able to withstand… and, we learn what and when to let others’ problems be. Experience teaches us this: The more we focus on others’ business ...

  “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.” Mark Twain   T HE DAWN CLUB used to conduct a very popular Workshop regularly. It was titled – “Is it Love or Is it Obsession?’ Basically, it was intended to help youngsters recognize the traces of heathy and unhealthy relationships. We held this Workshop for several years. During the break-time, in one of these Workshops, I was introducing a   middle-aged gentleman to a young man. “Are you married?” asked the middle-aged gentleman, quite seriously. “No, Sir, I am happy,” replied the young man, light-heartedly. All of us started laughing. What we had intended to convey through a 3-hour-long intense Workshop on intimate relationship, was conveyed in a flash, by this happy-go-lucky young man… The take away was simple: ‘If you are not happy on this side of the fence, you can’t be happy on the other side, too!’ Or, was it this: ‘I am already happy. So, why to lose it?’ I remember another incident. I ha...

“Always remember that you were once alone, and the crowd you see in your life today are just as unnecessary as when you were alone.”  ―  Michael Bassey Johnson D r. Murthy, a very sharp and outstanding scientific brains, passed away some days ago. He went about pursuing his private career, first in the field of Semi-conductors, and, later, in the field of solar energy, after he took VRS from BARC. I had the privilege of being a teacher/coach for his three children. That’s when I had the opportunity to interact with Dr. Murthy… I remember that evening, some thirty years ago. I, with the help of dozens of my students, had just founded The Dawn Club, and was burning with idealism. I was surrounded by innocent college students, who neither had any money nor had any first-hand experience of the practical world outside. They simply clustered around me and followed as if I was the Pied Piper of Hamelin! I knew t...

Pic.: Rajiv Sharma I was watching on TV, last night, the special programmes on President Obama’s visit to India. I have long admired the way he communicates with such depth, confidence and élan, all at the same time, and all extempore… Yes, no matter how long he speaks. I follow him - of all the other things I admire him for – for this strength of his: the power of public-speaking. “How does he do it?” my wife was spellbound, last night, “THAT is public-speaking!” “You are right, darling,” I expressed my agreement, “THAT is why we are glued to him, like this!” But, this Post is not about President Obama’s phenomenal ability to move people with his gift of gab. By now, no one on this earth would need me to point it to him or her… I, myself, have blogged many times about it, in the past… There are so many of his great speeches – particularly relating to his two-time Presidential-elections… Just a click on YouTube, you have them, right before you…...

"Why has the flow of the river suddenly stopped?" I posted my last blog on 2nd Feb. It is almost a month now. My friends ask me the question: "Why has the flow of the river suddenly stopped?" Life is like a river. Its job is to flow; no one can stop it from doing so. And, if any one attempts to do so, it finds a new way to flow, a new direction. But, the essential thing is the 'source'. A river always has a source; it flows 'out' of it. It is only when the source itself dries up, that the river stops flowing. I am still connected to my source; I am still flowing. During these 'dry days', I was busy producing a small book for our Housing Society. I had titled it as: 'THE CHOICE... WITH A HEALING TOUCH'. It is a book of about twenty-eight pages. I poured my soul into it. Yes, the river did flow ... only in a different direction, for a while. The book opens with this passage: "What applies to an individual, Also applies to a Society...