A heart stirring thought.... from an admirable person

Gone through your blog and your thoughts....

Have you ever seen the cactus flower. The flower has same qualities which others flowers have, beauty, softness, awesome color. However, nobody uses these flowers. They never think that how daring that plant is, which manages to grow in such an adverse situation; and inspite of the adversity.. it grows beautifully.

My bizarre thoughts say that maybe sometime all cactus plant would have bud flowers....
However, when the saw the adversity and fate (negligence) of other cactus plants of there family, they stopped budding flowers.

Again, a thought flashes on my mind... isn't this the case with my country, India... as well as the world....

There are many people who like to spread beauty, awareness, peace and sanguinity amongst the people around.However, seeing the fate of the people who think on similar lines, they take a step back.

However, there are some who still dare; inspite of all odds, inspite of the clouds of terrorism, unrest and treachery which have almost engulfed our atmosphere, they dare to change today for a better tomorrow. Thank God, such people still exist.

I too have thoughts like you. Just the difference is, you give them shape of blog and I try to kill those thoughts by my paintings and sketches.

The most special ingredient in the dish of your life is: "YOU"

Have you ever wondered - What is the most special ingredient in the dish of your life...? "YOU"

"YOU" are the secret to all your dreams, all what you have ever wanted or dreamt to achieve.

Let me clarify...

Friends, you know to achieve something great, the first you need to do is believe that you are special. You have been born on this planet to do something big, to make a difference. Yes, you are special. You have a purpose.

Believe you can do it and definitely you will.

Recently, I have been reading several books and also watched several movies and I really appreciate the fact that many of these means of mass awareness, are spreading around this message of the power of self belief.

I loved this movie "Kung Fu panda". It was a very enjoyable movie, but it did contain learning; a learning which if you understand and start applying, will be the key to all that you desire for.

It is the promise of something special that makes it special.

The story of "Kung Fu Panda" goes like..
the Valley of Peace is protected by the Furious Five, a quintet of warriors trained in kung fu by tortoise Master Oogway and his protégé, the red panda Master Shifu, and consisting of Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane.

One day, Master Oogway has a premonition that the snow leopard Tai Lung, Master Shifu's former student who gained a thirst for power and became evil, will escape from prison and attack the Valley. Oogway instructs Shifu and the others to hold a tournament in order for the next Dragon Warrior to be chosen in order to receive the power of the Dragon Scroll, a parchment said to give limitless power to whomever reads it, and defeat Tai Lung.
There is this overweight Panda Po, who accidentally happens to become the new Dragon Warrior of the Valley of Peace.

Unwilling to believe Po is destined to become the Dragon Warrior, Shifu attempts to conspire with the rest of the Furious Five to shun Po and make him leave the temple as soon as possible, but finds that Po, inspired by Oogway's confidence in him, is very determined to learn despite his size and clumsiness.

Without going into further details of the movie; let me put a question... Can you guess what the Dragon Scroll contained? Your wildest guess... - IT WAS AN EMPTY REFLECTIVE FOIL.
Then what was the secret? Was it all a joke?

No, the secret was “YOU ". The reflective foil shows your own reflection.
It’s your power of self belief which will help you sail through all odds and reach the pinnacle that you have always dreamt for yourself.

How this secret is revealed is quite an interesting part of the story, however, am sure you can watch the movie for yourself.

That’s the belief which I always talk about.

Let's cook and garnish the dish of our lives with this special ingredient: the belief that the outcome will be awesome.
Let's paint our lives with the colors we want, with the brushes of dreams and aspirations with the belief that our painting will be the most beautiful among all the paintings which our eyes have ever witnessed.

Let's be alive friends. Let's never stop dreaming and never stop believing that an angelic tomorrow awaits us. Let’s look to the horizon where a new day will begin.

The awakening

I cast a look around me; I feel overwhelmed with what I see...
The world has changed, really beyond imagination.

Some changes have affected us, the people, positively whereas some have proved to be disastrous...

The change which makes me wonder most is the change in our mindsets.Citing the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai which our country, India, had to combat; things are slowly getting back to normal.

However, what do we define as "NORMAL"?

When will there be a case when our nation will awaken and say "ENOUGH".
How long will we behave like dummies. Something happens, we call our loved ones, see they are fine, feel a bit emotional about the incident for a week or so and then get back to our daily lives.

When will we start feeling the pain of others, our fellow country men? When will we realize that tomorrow we can be one among the innocent people who lost their lives? When will be understand that we need to stand together and act, change our mindsets, awaken us and paint the picture of the world around us, in colors chosen by us, not by "THEM".

Its our country, our lives. We "ARE NOT" puppets in their hands. They can’t choose when we will die and how long we live. They can’t and won’t paint the lives of my country men in blood.

My nation, my India, my county... its mine.

Let's realize this. Let's stop being insensitive and indifferent. Let's not turn a blind eye to what is happening around us.

Some of you may be wondering: What can we do? Our leaders are corrupt. Our nation’s security system is at fault.

Friends, it’s very easy to point fingers. Aren’t we who have selected our leaders, isn’t someone amongst us, who is dishonest? If each one of us changes ourselves, our mindsets, awaken the giant within us and then influence people around us; a day will come, when our entire nation will be alive, not dead; when we can dream of a beautiful tomorrow full of peace and security and not of uncertainty. Where we can say once again: “I AM PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN”.

Friends, let’s start taking up our responsibilities seriously, let’s vote, select best leaders, who are motivated like us, who have big dreams like us, who have unlimited passion like us. Let’s together lead our country on the path of success and abundance.

Let’s begin our journey with Tagore’s below prayer in our minds:

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
-- Rabindranath Tagore

Nostalgic School Memories

Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted...

You will find your way....

Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted...

You will have your day....

As I cast an eye down the memory lane...looking back on whatever life has enfolded before me till date, I am full of a mixture of feelings. Feelings of joy, amusement, a little dash of sorrow, some regrets, but tons of happiness, love and laughter to carry forward in life.

School days are the most memorable part of one's life. Those days of innocence, freedom from the chains of worries and tension, a golden period full of liveliness and vivacity.

At school, I was a quiet and introvert child. However, deep within my self, I had always been a deep thinker. I now wonder how bizarre some of my thoughts had been. They had a spiritual and philosophical bend even at that tender age. I always loved reading motivational poems and songs, motivating my friends to do something innovative and new. Now I understand, I basically loved motivating people, which now has become so much a part of my self.

I remember the few lines from a song we used to sing at my school, Carmel Convent, Durgapur.

Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted...
You will find your way....

Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted...
You will have your day....

This chorus has and will remain engraved in my mind forever. Just try to take a deeper look into the meaning of these few lines.

Like a flower/shrub/tree blooms, wherever it’s planted… A fertile soil or a barren desert, the peak of snow capped mountain or lush green plains. It never complains, so should we learn to bloom wherever we are… under whatever circumstances and with whatever limitations. We should make the best utilization of our limited resources to carve our way through all twists and turns of life and reach the pinnacle: the zenith which we have identified for us.

This does not mean that we should live content with small means, never dream big, and be happy with whatever little we have; never ever think of venturing outside our boundaries… NO, I don’t mean this.

This to me is equivalent to death. I want to be alive, vivacious and lively… with the sparkle of big dreams in my eyes, with the hope of the most beautiful tomorrow that my mind can picture. This is my symphony of life….However, for the attainment and fulfillment of these most cherished dreams, let me awaken within me the infinite power and belief which will help me sail through all the ups and downs… all my limitations… which, I wont put it as a limitation now…My surroundings is the garden in which I have been planted. A beautiful, fragrant flower can grow anywhere… as I said, in lush green plains as well as desert, on a snow capped mountain as well as on the sea shore.

Let me put my heart and soul in making myself that sweet fragrant flower, which will always bloom where it’s been planted…as long as it is there on this planet, spreading its beauty and fragrance in the atmosphere, making the world around a more beautiful and serene place for others as well as myself.

Let’s bloom where we are planted, we will find our way….

A ship in harbor is safe... but is that what ships are for?

Are ships built to be in harbor forever?

In order to be safe and protected should we always remain within our secure zone... and never venture out???

Life is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, roses and thorns, success and failures. However, only for the fear of failing, we dont even give tough things a try.

For the fear that our dreams will get shattered, friends, do we stop dreaming.

Life is an adventure, dare it!!!

Let your dreams go wild, dream what makes you come alive. Find out that thing, that is your purpose, then go and do that. The world needs people who are "ALIVE".

Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete.
If you're alive, it isn't.
---Richard Bach

Friends, find your mission and live your mission. Don’t compromise.... You are on this planet for particular purpose... find that purpose.

I often wonder all of us generally, and especially nature lovers like me; wonder at the beauty of nature. The beautiful, snow capped mountains, the sparkling brook, the lush greenery around, the plains, the azure sky, the beauty of the sunset, the red streaks in the blue sky, the flying birds, the colors of the rainbow, the morning dew on the roses... its all awesome. The beauty which leaves you spell bound. However, have you ever taken a chance to see, discover and wonder at the beauty within you? The beauty of our soul. We seem to pass by ourselves without wondering.... never realizing the beauty within us... beauty of our dreams... dreams which I repeat, have been the silent guides to what life has enfolded before us till now... and will enfold in future.

Let’s explore ourselves, our dreams and passions, let’s find our purpose... and like the ship set out on a journey to live that dream.

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
----Mother Teresa

Story Time : The touchstone

The Touchstone story

The story goes to the time when the great library of Alexandria burned. One of the books which was saved, was not a very valuable one. So a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.

The book wasn't very interesting. However, between its pages was a secret : The secret of the touchstone !

The touchstone was a small pebble which when brought in contact with any metal, would turn the metal to GOLD.

The secret said that the touchstone was lying under thousands and thousands of pebbles, that looked exactly like it, near the shore of the Mediterranean. The secret to recognize the touchstone was : the real stone would feel warm, while the other ordinary pebbles were cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.

He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.

We must learn to be open and alert. When an opportunity knocks at our door, we must grab it and make the full use of it. We must also try to create our own opportunities. Its possible. With the realization of your purpose, faith and confidence in your dreams, you can create opportunities for yourself. Believe me, then there will be no looking back...

Wherever we are, in whatever profession, lets realize our dreams, lets give it our best, the ultimate, the utmost passion, perseverance and determination.... remember

"When work is your purpose, hard work is not an option, its a necessity."

Movie Review : October SKy

October Sky

This weekend, I had nothing much to do.
Finally free from office work and traveling, I decided to spend some time with myself.

Decided to catch up some movie, when I came across this movie which was lying saved in my laptop since more than 1 year.

This movie was made in 1999; some 9 years back...however, I loved the movie. Though it is late, yet, I wanted to share my thoughts, views and learning about the film.

The movie strengthened my belief: Follow your dream... With passion and dedication…..
Believe in your dream and yourself.

In life we need to choose our path, we need to find out just one thing: “What do we really want?"

When we know the answer, that answers becomes our purpose.... Our focus...The thing that drives us… it’s a pulsating passion beating deep within us; a part of our blood, so much a part of our real self.

Friends, when we are driven by such a passion, the “IMPOSSIBLE” becomes “POSSIBLE”. A dead end transforms and becomes a new path towards the achievement of that objective, that mission.

Quoting from the novel “The Alchemist”:

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person realize his dream”,

The movie strongly supports this.

It’s the story of a young boy, Homer, living in Coalwood, West Virginia. In the town the coal mine is the town's largest employer and almost every male living there works, or will work, in the mines.

John Hickam, the mine superintendent, loves his job -- despite its headaches and inherent dangers -- and hopes that his boys, Jim and Homer, will one day join him working there.

As the townspeople gather outside one starry October night, they see the Soviet satellite Sputnik race across the sky. Homer watches with admiration and wonder. At the same time, the dream to build a rocket shapes in his mind.

His life moves through various twists and turns, circumstances when he is forced to give up his dreams, however the purpose finds him back.

With his group of friends and support from his teacher Miss Riley, they try a number of tests and experiments; some of which prove to be disastrous and produce adverse effects.

Wading through all obstacles, Homer and his pals set out to prove that they can build a rocket that will soar unimpeded into the sky, proving that they have what it takes to leave the confines of their predetermined, coal miner lives.

The movie also brings forth the fact that sometimes, your loved ones, may not believe in you and what you want to do. However, if you have the focus, the clarity and the determination, the inexhaustible passion, things will change for the better sooner or latter : “Everything will fall in place".

The movie is based on true story. "October Sky" is an anagram of "Rocket Boys", the title of the book on which the movie is based.

Friends, don’t you find the movie very close to what we have been discussing in various other posts of this blog: Beliefs, The Giant within us, and the confidence map.

No doubt, I felt the movie so very close to my heart.

Struggle: Opportunity follows struggle. It follows effort. It follows hard work. It doesn't come before.

Let me tell you a story on Struggle... how struggle makes us only stronger and how sometimes we need to go through tough and rough times in order to emerge more stronger and powerful, with our skills and qualities better sharpened.

Little Ravi and his friends, Kunal and Mohit were playing in the garden. Oops, the ball went into the bushes. Ravi rushed to pick the ball when he sees a green caterpillar on the leaf of a bush. He is fascinated. Wow!!! What a peculiar creature....

He shouts "Kunal, Mohit!!! Come; come fast...See what I have just discovered!!!”

His friends were equally fascinated by the small insect, trying to make its way through the foliage of leaves.

They lifted the leaf carefully, with the caterpillar on it and rushed towards Ravi's home, which was close by; meticulously taking care that the caterpillar doesn't fall off.

Ravi got a small jar and put the caterpillar into it and also put some leaves for the caterpillar to eat. They all used the watch the caterpillar each day, with great excitement.

Ravi's mother explained to the boys how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly.

They were thrilled. They watched day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge out.

One day it happened, a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out. The boys flocked around it. They watched... the butterfly was struggling to come out of the cocoon. It tired and tried but kept failing.

The boys were very concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress! They wanted to help the butterfly.

Ravi rushed in and brought scissors.

He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly starting emerging...
As the butterfly came out the boys were surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. They to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body. They thought that in time the body would also shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand.

Nothing Happened!!!!

The butterfly kept crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
It was never able to fly....

The boys were very upset and confused.
Ravi's rushed to his mother and explained the situation to her.

Ravi's mother was a biologist. She explained that butterfly was SUPPOSED to struggle.

The restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the small opening of the cocoon are God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.

If God allowed us to go through all our life without any obstacles, that would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Not only that, we could never fly.

Coal needs to bear high heat and high pressure before becoming a diamond.

Lets not fear struggles. Perhaps it may be God’s way to make us stronger and more powerful.

Make a choice of what FEAR stands for you.

1. Forget Everything And Run
2. Face Everything And Respond.

Confidence Mind Map

Self confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your wits. Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.

Beliefs

Believe in yourself - If you wont, nobody else will...

Who do you think is the Giant?

Lets introduce ourselves to a genie who can create wonders for us...