valuefirst

“ When you stop complimenting what is beautiful, you stop thinking what is beautiful” (from RD).   I feel that this art of appreciating others will die a natural death unless we as individuals do something about it. When I think of appreciation I don’t mean a simple selection of the “Like” button in FB. I personally feel many a times we do this even without comprehending what the person is trying to convey in her/his post or picture. It seems more like a socially desirable behavior on part of the FB community to like others as you would want them to like you. Bitter but true.  When you appreciate someone or something it means that you have eyes to see, nose to smell, ears to hear, body to touch and most importantly mouth to speak and hands to write those lines. All our senses are being put to a beautiful and substantial use.  The point I am trying to drive home is that appreciation as a mode of communication and motivation is steadily disappearing. How many times have we mad

I am not sure whether parenting was as difficult 20, 50 or maybe even 100 years ago but am certain modern-day parenting has assumed distinctive proportions and status in minds of most people. Parenting from being an art has slowly transformed into being a science. “ Every action has an equal (mostly magnified) and opposite reaction ”. It is one of those things which can be appreciated and understood only by those who have either lived through or are living. Once a parent, always a parent, I say. Technology I guess has a major if not the pivotal role in bringing about this revolution. Children find it much easier to communicate with the devices rather than indulge in the age old human-to-human contact (read interacting with parents). Not a day goes by when I am not reminded by my daughter “how she is a product of 6 billion years of successful evolution” and I should treat her like one. How about acting like one, my darling by-product? Couple of months back I had the privilege of

I am often reminded of my childhood days when I used to visit my grandparents. My maternal grandfather was a doctor, social worker, writer and most importantly a good human being. He had a story for every night and all the lessons we needed to take. I remember when we used to go to his place he would tell me so many things. He knew “Bhagwad Gita” by heart. He was a doctor by profession but never stopped himself from indulging in hobbies that he loved. He loved music, art, social work etc. He always believed in giving back to society. There is no age to fulfill your hobbies. You can learn playing guitar when you are in your 30’s, go for trekking to unknown places when you are in your 40’s etc. Never ever stop yourself just because you are of certain age. Just remember there are no age limits for learning and for stopping to have fun. Until and unless you bring this balance in your life, work and play, you will never be a happy person. Always keep something’s just for yourself. Do the

What are we if not for our roots? What we are and what we will be is all defined by how strong or weak our roots are. If we need to understand ourselves, it is very important to understand our roots. One is able to appreciate more of what one has got if we understand where we come from. If you want to stand strong to brave all storms that might hit your life, you need to have strong roots. That is why when any structure is being built; the maximum time is spent on constructing the foundation. They are never visible to the external world but that is what bears the weight of the building. Beautiful exterior can never be a match for a strong foundation.  So focus on the basics and the fundamentals. Rest all will be built effortlessly. Concentrate on building excellence, success will follow. For growing ups, values learnt at home and education at school form the foundation on which many a dreams can be built. Even if the dreams are fragile, they will withstand the test of time

I am proud of the things that you do and concerned for those that you don’t. It’s about making choices. Keeping silent and not making one is also a choice!  Always remember that for fulfilling your dreams there are only two paths that you can take – the easy path or the right path.  Easy path will give you instant gratification. You will always be ahead of time because you would have taken all possible short cuts. You will please everyone on the way because you would have spoken what they would have wanted to hear and not necessarily what was right. You would feel a lot lighter because you would have dropped your conscience and integrity on the way and not picked up anything new. There would be no obstacles on the path because it is an easy path. However, if you take the right path you will have new possibilities & dimensions that you might not have thought of before you embarked on your journey.  You will find obstacles which will have to be overcome and in the process

If I were to ask the meaning of success there would be as many explanations as people. It means different things to different people. It is money, fame and power for some whereas peace, tranquility, satisfaction with life for others. There is no one definition which truly captures the essence of this term. We need to find our own definitions and then live by it. It is very important to do this early in life.  In the book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll. In one of the chapters there is this conversation: “Which road should I take?” asked Alice on arriving at a fork in the road she was travelling on. “Where do you want to go?” replied the Cheshire Cat. “I do not care where” said Alice. “Then it does not matter, which road you take” said the Cheshire cat, slowly vanishing till only its smile remained.  It’s the same for most of us. You will always find yourself on crossroads where you will have to take one road to reach your destination. Which road you take will depend on w

Never be afraid of saying no when you know "this is not what I want to do"; Never be afraid of saying yes when you are sure of what you are getting into; Never be afraid of walking alone when you know you are on the right path and not many have the courage to join you; Never be afraid of standing alone for what you believe in, for not everyone can stand for themselves, or others; Never be afraid of giving your hand to someone who needs your support even if they don’t ask or deserve it; Never be afraid of saying “yes I did it” when you know what you did was right; Never be afraid of saying “I was wrong” when you know that you did go wrong this time; Never be afraid of saying thank you to something which would seem like your right and only natural that people are doing it for you; Never be afraid of saying sorry when you feel that from your heart; Never be afraid to say “I love you” to all you truly love; Never be afraid to fall in love just because there

Growing up has never been an easy job and would require constant personal reflection on your part as to how you want to grow up. People younger than you will not make sense to you and ones who are older will want you to “grow up”. Still there is a certain magic about growing up.  You must always remember that you are not the only one who is passing through this age. There have been numerous people before you and millions who will follow you. There is a difference between turning a particular age and being that age. After birth the only way to live is to grow up. Everyone has their own journey and experiences. No two growing up experiences or outcomes have been the same ever. The best thing about growing up is that you get to script your own future in the way that you want it to be.  You are what you choose to be. With growing up comes responsibilities’ and I am sure you must be feeling the same. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I think of what the future holds for

A person who knows HOW will always have a job. The  person who knows WHY will always be the boss (not said by me). Why do mama and papa always say that you need to put in more and go that extra mile for gaining knowledge? You assume knowledge is only in the context of studies. You think getting good marks and being better than most in your class is what is necessary. Right? Now let me give you a fresh perspective on knowledge. Just step back and visualize that you are looking at someone who is say just about your age, has the same likes and dislikes as you and is as smart as you. Now you become the parent of this vivacious, smart kid and think how you can help this kid to become a happy and responsible adult. This kid has to grow up and make a place for herself in this big, big world. She will not always have the protection of her parents or elders.  So she will need to learn how to manage herself. She will have to live on her own so that she can pay her bills and lead a life wh

It’s a new day but how is it different from what it was yesterday or tomorrow? May be not. It’s only change in date and nothing else. But I am amazed at the power of any new day. It’s the same day…same 24 hours….same morning and night…yet for every person the value it holds is so different. The same day means achievement for some; despair for others; new beginning for some and ending of an era for some. …it is happiness and togetherness for many and separation and hurt for others. The beauty of each day however is the hope that it brings. It turns the tides for all of us. It gives all of us the power to make it different from what it was yesterday. But I wonder how many of us realize this power to change within themselves. This supremacy that has been bestowed on us by nature to shape our today is something that needs to be realized by us. There are so many living things on this earth but we humans are the only ones who can exercise this power. I was reading in an article yesterday