Nugget # 125 Life lessons from the Disney Movie SOUL

Hi friends,

 This week I’d like to share a few life lessons from the Disney movie SOUL. The movie has got layers and layers of meaning that we could draw from, however I would like to share a few soul touching parts for me! 😊

The story begins with a music teacher Joe Gardner teaching his bored students’ music. He himself is not very thrilled with his job. His dream has always been to play Jazz for a living. As the movie proceeds, we see how he finally gets an opportunity for a gig with a jazz musician Dorothea Williams at the Half-note Club. He is extremely excited at finally being able to live his dream…. Unfortunately, he slips into a manhole and thus falls into a coma. His disembodied soul finds himself in a queue to the ‘Great Beyond.’ Terrified of dying, he runs in the opposite direction exclaiming that he absolutely couldn’t die without playing jazz with Dorothea and tries desperately to reach back to earth so that he could audition for his part and thus land the job he has been waiting for his whole life.

He then reaches the ‘Great Before’ where he becomes part of a mentorship program where mentors help mentees find their spark to enable them to be ready for earth. Joe is assigned Number 22; an impossible candidate who is so cynical after having been rejected by great mentors such as Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Muhammad Ali, Carl Jung and the like. Together Joe & 22 try different passions like art, photography, cooking, music, archery etc in the Hall of Everything but nothing appeals to 22. Finally, they reach earth via “the ZONE” with the help of Moonwind (a spiritual sign twirler) who helps locate Joe’s body and helps in sending Joe back to earth. The only problem being that Joe accidentally enters the therapy cat’s body and 22 into Joe’s body. Thus begins an interesting journey during which 22 finds her spark enjoying the little things in life. Having discovered the real joy of living, 22 really doesn’t want to leave Joe’s body. Angrily Joe tells 22 that the reason 22 got her badge complete was not because she had found her purpose but because she was living through Joe’s body. A broken 22 throws him her completed badge and leaves. Using her badge Joe returns to the earth. Despite his jazz show becoming a success, Joe still feels a deep vacuum in his heart. Inspired by the items that 22 had collected while on earth, Joe plays the piano and enters the Zone with the intent of returning 22’s badge. He finds her but discovers she has become a lost soul, obsessed with the idea that she has no purpose. Joe chases her down and shows her a helicopter seed she had collected to remind her of her time on Earth. Joe’s actions restore 22 to normal; he returns her badge and accompanies her for as long as he can on her journey down to Earth. As Joe prepares to enter the Great Beyond, he is offered another chance at life in return for finally inspiring 22 to live. The next morning, Joe returns to his body on Earth, committed to living life fully.

Life lessons:

1)Our spark- (that which brightens us and gives us the joy or thrill in life) need not really be our soul’s purpose– We see that all his life Joe lived an unsatisfied life not realizing how blessed he really was as he was always chasing his unfulfilled dream of becoming a professional jazz player. Music may be what brought him excitement in his life but that was not the sole point of his existence. Similarly, in our life too there may be many things that excite us- our passions that bring us to life, but we must realize that just chasing those moments will never bring us real joy in life. A truly happy person is one who enjoys the realities of life with its ups and downs and considers it a bonus when they get opportunities to do what they really love to do. In other words “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans!”- John Lennon

2) It is the many small moments altogether that make up our life – The little objects that 22 had collected during her short time on the earth- a half-eaten bagel, a lollipop from the barber shop, a spool of thread from Joe’s mother, a stub of a subway ticket and a helicopter seed brings back to mind Joe’s mind the beautiful moments that they had together and the importance of just living in the moment and savoring every bit of it. 22 , while occupying Joe’s body simply loved the wind brushing against his clothes and hair, relished every bit of the pizza, appreciated Connie trying her best not to give up playing the trombone, enjoyed listening to the life story of Dez the barber. 22 got her spark from enjoying the tiniest things around her – which was the opposite of Joe who was so busy chasing his jazz dream that he was ignorant of his many everyday reasons to smile. “Every moment in our lives is a miracle we should enjoy instead of ignoring.”- Yoko Ono

Let me conclude this week’s post with this quote reminding us to savor every moment of our life because that’s what life really is all about!

Nugget of Life – “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”- Omar Khayyam

Have a wonderful week!

Cheers,

Sparky laurie

 

Nugget # 124 Life Lessons from ‘Gunjan Saxena- The Kargil Girl!’

Hi friends, This week I’d like to share some lessons I learnt from an Indian biographical movie named Gunjan Saxena” – The Kargil Girl !

The story begins in an airplane with a young Gunjan Saxena repeatedly asking her brother Anshuman to allow her to open the airplane window. Her brother doesn’t let her. Seeing her teary eyed,the airhostess takes Gunjan to the cockpit of the plane. Her eyes sparkle as her mind soars . On that crucial day, she decides to become a pilot.

From the very beginning, we see how her brother keeps telling her that girls couldn’t become pilots , the most that she could be was an airhostess. Their dad who is a Colonel corrects his son and assures Gunjan that she could become anything she wanted to but first she needed to complete her education. Irrespective of different hurdles in her way, Gunjan completes her studies and works towards her dream. Meanwhile, both her mother and brother (who is also an Army man) try to dissuade her by saying that the Air Force is not the place for women. Gunjan ignores all the naysayers and goes ahead with the formalities. Soon she finds out that she is the only lady candidate who is selected. She then must face her medical test, during which it was found that she is overweight by 7 kg and short by 1 cm as per the Air Force requirements. She is devastated; however, with encouragement from her dad, she sheds the extra weight. Miraculously, she passes the height requirement too as her arm length and leg length was 1.5 cm more than was required by them. The overjoyed Gunjan goes for training where she finds herself  subjected to various inconveniences and injustices due to the male dominated order of the air force. Badly shaken , she takes leave and returns home contemplating marriage. However, she is called back to Defence on Emergency. Due to war, more Airforce pilots were needed. Once again, her elder brother tries to prevent her from going but Gunjan ends up going. She goes for the mission but is asked to abort the mission as her Senior Officers felt that it would be too difficult for her, especially being a woman. Sadly, she complies remembering all the times that the people she had come across had all kept on discouraging her from pursuing her dream. It is then that the news of badly injured army soldiers comes and the Superiors are left with no choice but to send Gunjan. She successfully completes the risky mission and is finally rewarded and acknowledged for her courage!

Life Lessons : Just sharing a few parts that touched my heart! Hope it inspires you too!

1. “Let’s work on that which we can control, leave the rest to God”- Gunjan’s dad says the above lines when he tries to inspire her to lose weight so that she could qualify for the IAF. She reminds him that even if she tried , she wouldn’t be able to increase her height no matter how hard she tried!  His reply was “… those who try hard and never give up in life, are always rewarded with success in the end.”—His words prove prophetic as she qualifies in her 2^nd medical test.
2. “Man proposes but God disposes.“- During her 2^nd medical exam, the examining Officer says that height-wise, she is 1 cm shorter than requirement but the length of her arm and leg are 1.5 cm above requirement!!! The Officer says to Gunjan’s dad ; “Colonel , when God selects someone to fly a plane, who are we to reject her? So Congrats! your daughter is selected.”
3. “ Never underestimate people. You never know who is going to end up saving you.”-  The Officer who always belittled her and called her weak and never believed in her, actually believes in her and acknowledges her finally when Gunjan risks her life (even going against orders to abort)and saves him.
4. “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do” – H Jackson Brown Jr.  Gunjan always believed in herself even when all those around her (except her dad) kept discouraging her .“I have told you that I will not always be there to save you, but now I believe that if I ever needed it, you would always be there to save me!”- says Gunjan’s elder brother finally accepting her and saluting her.

Just a peek into this must see Movie and must hear song!

Have a wonderful week!

Cheers,

Sparky Laurie

 

Nugget # 123 Life Lessons from ‘THE LIFT BOY’!

Hi friends,

This week I would like to share with you some Life Lessons I got from ‘The Lift Boy’ ; a  heart-warming Indian family movie.

The story is about the life of a lazy 24 year old engineering student Raju who is forced to take up his father’s job as a Lift Operator in a posh residential complex when his father faces a heart failure and is advised rest. What starts as an irritating and temporary arrangement for Raju happens to change his life altogether!

Life lessons-

1)Dignity of Labour- On their first meeting itself, we see the snobbish Raju laughing condescendingly when Mrs Dsouza, the owner of the building asks him whether he has any relevant experience to fill in for his father’s job. We see many other instances when he feels its below his dignity to be a lift boy , one being when he tells his mother that being a lift boy is just pressing buttons and asks her whether he has studied engineering to do just that? There’s also an instance when his father asks him to iron his uniform and Raju just straightens it with his hands and reminds his father that he is not a doctor but just a liftman and so that’s all what’s needed.

“Show respect for everyone who works for a living , regardless of how trivial their job.”- H Jackson Brown Jr.

2) Not everything that seems insignificant is really so- During the course of the movie, we see a painting on the wall inside the lift. There’s hardly anything noticeable about it. Its just a painting of a yellow lollipop ,seemingly insignificant ….but only towards the end we realize how important that small painting actually was!

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”- Camille Pissaro

3) Never be afraid to try something new- When ‘Princess’, a pretty young resident of the building shares a lunch box with Raju- he at first refuses it but later tries and actually enjoys it.

“If you’ll never try, you’ll never know!”

4) Cherish opportunities to make memories- Its really heartwarming to hear Mrs Dsouza narrate to Raju her love story and later take him to church to meet her late husband, Colin. These few moments she shares with Raju gives him the necessary information about her ; later on in the story. As they say , Life is fragile. Take nothing and no one for granted.

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”- Dr Seuss

5) Never push your unfulfilled dreams onto your children- In the lift, we hear Princess & Raju exchange childhood stories. Princess shares about how from the time she was born, her mother has been pushing her to become an actress because of her unfulfilled dream of becoming an actress and how all that Princess wanted was to be an ordinary 18 year old girl. Raju shares how he had to accompany his mother to different houses as she worked as a maid.

 It is a turning point in the story when his father reveals to Raju that Mrs Dsouza has been the sponsor of his education all this while and how his dad was indebted to her because of that. So his dad asks him to focus on his studies and become an engineer. It is with sadness in his voice that Raju reveals to Mrs Dsouza about how his father had forced him to take engineering when his real love was Art- reading and writing.

“Children are born persons superior to us by virtue of their innocence & sovereign to fulfil their own destiny.”

6) Do your best and leave the rest – When Mrs Dsouza ( an artist from Cambridge University) hears about Raju’s repeated failure in his engineering Drawing exam, she decides to take him under her wing and help him in his preparation. During this time, on one occasion, Raju asks her a question that crosses any exam student- He asks her what if after all this preparation, I do not pass? She answers, “We shall reprepare & give it another shot. Just focus on being as prepared as you can & give it your best. Don’t think about the outcome.”

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”

7) Life is Abstract! – Raju asks Mrs Dsouza whether she has had a dream or something she wanted to achieve in her life. She replies that she had wanted to have children but it never happened. The brokenness in her had made her such a beautiful person. She then adds that she wanted to paint a Masterpiece …something that she would be remembered for. The curious and eager Raju asks her what it is about it and she replied that it was about Hope and was a work in progress. He replies that that was such an abstract concept and she replied that Life too was Abstract ! ( there’s nothing concrete about it!)

“My strength did not come from Lifting Weights but lifting myself up when I was down.”

Towards the end of the movie, we catch a glimpse of her Masterpiece. It’s indeed a painting that she would forever be remembered for!

8) One Act of Kindness Can Change the World! – While having supper, one day Raju asks Mrs Dsouza why she had been so selfless and kind to him, after all he was just the “Lift Man’s Son.” She replied that “he was more than that to her.” She then begins to narrate how on one day about 20 years ago, while she was with her husband Colin in the lift, she was crying as they had realized that she could never have children. The little Raju seeing her so sad hands over his yellow lollipop to her! A gesture that had changed all  of their lives and brought them all together that day. She then reminds him that she could spend so much time with him because of his failure in his exam and thanks him for their relationship. He too thanks her and touches her feet for her blessing. She hugs him and blesses him.

“No act of kindness, however small is ever wasted.”- Aesop

9) Don’t let today go by, tomorrow may not come–  Raju performs the exam well and is in a hurry to meet his teacher but it is then that his dad gives him the sad news that Mrs Dsouza passed away in her sleep early that morning. He adds that they would have to take care of her last rites as they were the only family she had. As she had earlier taken him to see her husbands grave they know where she needed to be buried. All the inmates attend her funeral.

“…Act ,act in the living Present. Heart within and God Overhead.”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Have a wonderful week!

Cheers,

Sparkylaurie

 

Nugget # 122 Life is like a game of Badminton!

Hi friends,

Today as I watched my kids and their cousins play badminton, a few thoughts came to mind. Sharing them with you.

1. Introduction – In the game, we serve the shuttle cock to the person in the opposite court and he returns it back. In life too, we meet people for the first time and say Hi or give a hand shake to the person and they return the handshake.
2. Time is a deciding factor- As the game progresses, we see more exchanges , sometimes the shuttlecock falls to the ground and we have to pick it up and continue the game. Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win but the game continues. Similarly in life, we have ups and downs but we still continue until our time is up!
3. We have a choice – Some days may not be good for us , we may be distracted or we may be tired and we can choose whether to play on or to take a break and come back to play another day for a fresh game. In life too if we observe there could be many reasons why a person would prefer to make some space for both parties. On some days we could just stop and pick up from where we left on another day when we feel better.
4. More to the game than just winning points– I don’t know about others but to some of us ,the points we earn as the game continues really don’t matter as much as the exercise and the camaraderie. Do we play to win or do we play to be happy?
5.  Failure is inevitable–. If we play a game, there is no doubt that we lose some and we win some. The really  important part of the game is the participation and the learning that we take back with us. There may be some games where we fail just like some friendships change with time or maybe differences of opinion. We slowly learn that we can go through life without them , maybe we become a bit wiser by learning from them.
6.  Conclusion – At the end of the day, when its all been said and done, there is just one thing that matters; “Did I give it my best?’ And if the answer is Yes, then we can conclude that is what really matters!

Nugget of Life-  “Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible!”- Frank L Gaines

Have an exciting week!

Cheers,

Sparky laurie

 

Nugget #121 Life lessons from a dear friend!

Hi friends,

Hope this post finds you all in the best of health and spirits. Its after a long while that I am able to share something. Exactly last year this day I lost a very dear friend of mine, (let’s just call her ‘S’) who passed away due to a stroke. She was just like an elder sister to me. Anything I went through I could share with her and she would always see me through, rather pray me through it . There was always an understanding ….even after a long gap, we would meet and connect as if we had never been away. Whenever she called , there was always a chuckle in her voice as she called me by my name…Till today her chuckle haunts me and sometimes I just feel as if this is all just a bad dream and she would call me and  we could just pick up from where we left.

We had met in Church when her son and my son had become friends and we mothers just smiled at each other and that was our first introduction and the beginning of a life long friendship.

Life lessons :

I’d like to share some lessons that I have gathered from her life over the years of our friendship!

1. Life is a wonderfully gift- wrapped present and never let fear nor inexperience keep you from unwrapping it! Otherwise you would never enjoy the gift in all its fullness.- She always used to tell me – “Hey ! Laurie I was just a small town girl when I came to this place but how much I have learned over the years!”
2. Use every talent you have – ‘S’ always spent every waking moment doing something creative with the manifold talents that God had so graciously bestowed on her. An artist, a singer, a speaker, a Bible- study teacher , a wonderful cook, a compassionate person and best of all a wonderful smile for anyone who needed it!
3. Time is precious!-  I have yet to find a person who was so conscious of time that she actually divided time into small segments. She knew how to prioritize her time so well its as if she knew that time was short and she squeezed every moment to be a blessing to her family and friends.
4. An Animal lover- It was about 1 month before she left us that her pet dog Duke had left them and she was so sad about it ,she sent me a video about dear Dukes life!
5. Honesty- She is one of those few people who know how to be refreshingly honest! She would tell us the truth whether we liked it or not but also never in a blunt or unkind way. For her, every person was a soul who needed God. She was one person who always used to cheer me on whenever I wrote a new post. ‘S’ would encourage my writing for the Glory of God.
6. An Intercessor– ‘ S’ was that kind of person who devoted a great deal of her time in praying for others. Anything that I went through I could share with her and she would go to God with that matter on her knees and pray for it as if it was something for herself. Later when the matter was resolved we would forget but she would remember and ask how that matter was. Such was her sincerity and earnestness in prayer.
7.  Yes to all the Opportunities that came her way-  No matter what it was, whether big or small, given a chance she would do her best in the given circumstances. I still remember how when I was going through a tough time, she came through for me and even spent time teaching me from the Bible.
8.  Discipline-‘ S’ always used to study voraciously from the Word. When I commended her for being such a diligent student, she just said simply “ Laurie, now I have the time to deposit the Word in me , I don’t know about later so I will do the most I can now.”
9. Simplicity and Humility– In this world, where glitz and glamour is what the vast majority of people are after, she came across as someone so simple and humble and yet so classy and tasteful in all that concerned her.

I could go on and on forever but I’d like to end with my favorite  quality or life lesson ‘S’ taught me in her 47 years.

10. Loyalty- This is particularly a quality that one rarely finds especially in today’s use -and -throw culture …where we find absolutely no faithfulness or devotion to anything. In order to explain this quality better, I’d like to share the life-changing lesson that ‘S’ taught me.   As we were quite close, there was frequent communication between us, either through messages or calls or emails or in person but somewhere along the way, she became busy and I felt forgotten. This hurt me and in spite of my repeated calls or messages, I couldn’t get things back to the way they were. So one evening, I called her up in anger and told her Goodbye and that I was going to delete her number from my contacts. Her response startled me and brings tears to my eyes even today as I am typing this. She simply said “Laurie, if you want to delete me, you can but I will never delete you and I will always keep loving you and praying for you.” – Now that’s love and loyalty. So now , I still believe especially when things in life go bad , that she’s there somewhere out there praying to the Lord for me and then suddenly everything seems alright!

I’d like to end my eulogy to my dearest ‘S’ with this song “We’ll meet again!” because we believe to meet again in Heaven someday. This song is dedicated to her :

Nugget of Life: “ When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I could not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.”- Erma Bombeck

Have a wonderful week!

Cheers,

Sparky laurie

 

Nugget #120 Life lesson from little N!

Hi friends,

As we are all going thru the Corona Pandemic I wish you all are well and safe. Just thought of sharing an inspirational moment with my little boy while he was in his bath. Eureka…. comes at times when you least expect it ! I hope it inspires you as it did me.

This afternoon as I called my 5 year old son for a bath, he ran in just the opposite direction to collect his floating toys. I impatiently called out to him & started his bath. He quickly put his toys in the tub and started playing with them ; eyes twinkling and chattering away. As I quickly finished off his bath and was ready to dry him up, I heard him squeal … “Oh Mama , you just missed it. You missed the magic…. Never mind, I’ll show you next time!”…. Immediately I felt a sense of loss as I realized what had just happened. Though physically I was with him, my mind was no where in the bath room with my child. I then realized that this had been happening to me all day long. I had been rushing the whole time. Surely, I was doing the task in hand but in reality my mind was a million miles away ….sometimes focused on the next thing I had to do.

As I dressed my son, I stopped for a moment and made an effort to intentionally listen to what he was saying – with all of my senses. I breathed slowly…. I savored the moment and truth be told, I actually felt relieved. As my son had mentioned, I tried to capture the magic in the moment. One word came to me…. MINDFULNESS; the life lesson that my little boy had taught me. ‘To be present in the moment and cherish it fully lest a moment’s carelessness causes us to miss the magic of the moment! ‘ 🙂

Nugget of Life : “Wherever you are, be there totally!”- Eckhart Tolle

Cheers,

Sparky Laurie

 

Nugget #119 Life lesson from a Clock!

Hi friends,

This morning, getting the kids ready for school, I glanced up at the clock and panicked! It showed 8.40 am and still having a few more things to do urgently, I hurried up confused and wondering how time had so quickly passed! After dropping off the kids, I glanced at the time on my mobile and then at the wall clock. Surprised , I realized that the wall clock had been running 20 minutes faster than the actual time. That made me exclaim out aloud….”this clock had confused me by not fulfilling its purpose” ….(which is to tell the time correctly.) And that’s how this nugget came to mind! 🙂

The clock is something we find in every house and we have all experienced times when it either runs too slow or too fast or just stops working, the same thing applies to our life too. We all have a purpose in life. Purpose indicates much more than our career,family or business, ambitions etc. Purpose may be defined as the reason for existence of a particular person or thing. No matter how costly or how ornate the clock, the purpose of the clock was never just to look cute hanging there on the wall, its real purpose is to tell us the correct time so that we can adjust our activities accordingly.There’s an element of trust also that we place in the clock and its function.

In his book ‘THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE’, Rick Warren mentions that Our Purpose always deals with our service to God & others. Unlike the usual self-help books which make us focus inwards, this book states that Our life’s Purpose is always much bigger than our self and focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose. “None of us is an accident. We are all made by God and for God and until we understand this, life will never make sense.”

When connected with our Purpose, we will be totally energized to use our talents and skill set to be a light and will brighten the corner where we are! Live your life on Purpose!

 Nugget of Life: “A Life without Cause is a Life without Effect!”- Paulo Coleho

Cheers,

Sparky Laurie

 

Nugget# 118 Life lessons from an ATM machine!

Hi friends,

Hope you are doing fine. This nugget came to me quite recently when I went to withdraw money from an ATM machine. I inserted the card and waited for further instruction so that I could complete my transaction. However, there was no response from the machine no matter how many times I tried in different ways. I then left the kiosk sadly wondering whether I had made some mistake. I returned to my car and told my father what had happened.Immediately without missing a beat,he suggested to try the other ATM bank located nearby. I was suddenly filled with new hope and walking into the kiosk entered my pin number. I was delighted to hear the instant whirring of the machine and watch the money come through in different denominations exactly as I wanted it. I collected the money and stepped out happily. Any guesses about my choice of ATM machine next time I needed one? Definitely the second choice had become my first choice in a matter of moments. Let’s see how we could apply this to our life.

1) In our journey of life , we meet different kinds of people for the first time and sometimes no matter how hard we try,we simply cannot go ahead with that relationship since there’s no proper response from the other side. Sometimes we just have to walk out without guilt or condemnation that we have not done enough to make that relationship work.

2) We should not keep ourselves so deep in thought about the previous relationship that we miss out on the better oportunities just next to us. In my experience with the ATM, deep in thought i missed noticing the nearby ATM kiosk. Fortunately , my father pointed it out to me. Sometimes in life however, there may not be anyone to point out to us and we may just miss the golden opportunity that was awaiting us. Thus, in life too we must always keep an open mind and  be optimistic so that we do not miss out on any further chances in life to accomplish our dreams.

3) The second ATM machine  not only gave me money but presented it to me in sufficient smaller denominations so that I wouldn’t have to go through the difficulty of obtaining change later on. Similarly in life , sometimes we come across people who not only accept our friendship but also go the extra mile to make sure that we too are happy in the relationship. Such friends are the best kind of friends. They are the ones we treasure the most in life.

 

Nugget of Life : “Many people will walk in and out of your life,but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”- Eleanor Roosevelt

Have an awesome week,

Cheers,

Sparkylaurie

 

 

 

Nugget# 117 Life lessons from Chacha Nehru!

Hi friends,

Hope you are fine. Today ( Nov 14th) is celebrated as Children’s Day in India. It is the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ( India’s first Prime Minister) ,more fondly called Chacha Nehru as the favorite uncle to children all across India. He often wore a rose on his jacket.Some say that he began to do so from the day a child pinned one on him.He thought of each child as a light of the future of the country.He would meet thousands of children at rallies in Delhi.He received handmade birthday cards from children in Jaipur and would send back thank you notes signed in person.Such was the love he had for children.Children’s Day continues to be celebrated to increase awareness of rights, care and education of children.It is celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world.

Pandit Nehru was a great champion for introducing the English language in schools and colleges in India.He is one of the few at that time to receive foreign education.He was also a great philosopher and writer. He once remarked,  ” Life is like a game of cards.The hand you are dealt is determinism,the way you play it is free will.”- Nehru

Just like in a game of cards,we are handed over 7- 10 cards depending on the number of players, we have no choice but to play with the cards that life has handed over to us.We cannot change it, but the choice to make the best of it and to win depends on us alone. Similarly in life, we can make the most of what life has dealt us with and with a positive attitude we can play to win.

Nugget of Life: ” What we are is God’s gift to us, what we become is our gift to God.”- Eleanor Powell

Happy Children’s Day!

Cheers,

Sparky Laurie

 

 

 

 

Nugget #116 Life lessons from God’s own country!

Hi friends,

Hope you are all fine. This is a post I’ve been postponing for a bit now simply coz I do not have the words to express the extreme anguish,pain & suffering of the people in Kerala who are suffering from floods. Heavy, incessant  rains during the monsoon season  are not something new to the Keralites. The present crisis however is said to have been caused due to a myriad of reasons : one being the low pressure area developed in the Bay of Bengal,another being the simultaneous opening of shutters  of many dams raising the levels of water thus flooding  the residential areas in the neighborhood. Landslides caused due to deforestation and unscientific construction of buildings near the course of the river has been the cause of destruction to people and property of many in those areas.

One look at the morning paper or listening to the news is sufficient to bring tears to anyone’s eyes. Separated families, orphaned children, lakhs of  people in the relief camps waiting for food, clothing and medicine.Roads transformed into water bodies causing people to wade in knee deep water and boats replacing cars and buses. Many people on the terrace of their houses watching and calling out for help to the Rescue and Relief helicopters hovering around on the lookout for those stranded in the deluge affected areas.

Following are 5 lessons we could learn from the floods in Kerala Aug 2018:

1) Be safe than sorry- In life many times there may be instances when well wishers /other people advise us or even warn us of some course of action to be adopted against imminent danger. Though initially they may seem far-fetched, it wouldn’t  harm us to give some thought & do what we can in that particular area.

Kerala: Though the head  of the UN Department of Disaster Management- Mr. Murali Thummarukudi had sounded an alert in mid- June that there were chances of water level rising by July: this had fallen on deaf ears and nothing was done to prevent this. 😦

2) Prevention is  better than cure– In life too,there may be many things we have to make provision for though we may not require it immediately, something like the squirrels do- storing food for the winter season. Often people don’t make long-term investments and instead indulge in a consumer culture whose mantra is “eat,drink and make merry.”

Kerala: The Times of India had mentioned in an article dated Aug 17th ’18 that the state was both unprepared and underprepared: “Kerala is an exception in that it does not have a battalion of the state disaster response force (SDRF),which is mandatory as per the rules to tackle natural calamities.”

3) Solidarity– It is in times of adversity that people iron out their differences and come together as one & fight towards the same objective. I am reminded of the Bible verse: “Behold how good and pleasant it is  for brothers to dwell together in unity.”-Psalms 133:1

Kerala: It was a heart warming spectacle to see the government,the media,the industrialists  and the common public to join hands to save the perishing brethren  by involving in the Rescue & Relief Work. The help rendered by the Army, the Navy & the Airforce deserves a hearty salute from us. The caring & sharing in the sorrow of Kerala shown by its  neighboring states is a beautiful picture of India’s Unity in Diversity .

4) Every coin has two sides– Nothing in this world is an unmixed blessing, Social Media is not an exception,so let us benefit from its advantages and shun its disadvantages.

Kerala :Whats app , Twitter and Facebook played major roles in Disaster Management in locating people who needed to be rescued,  by sharing the helpline numbers as well as the updates,communication and overall boosting the morale of the people.

5) Gratitude – It is often said that,” For us to really appreciate the things in our life, it should be taken away from us for sometime. “The blind know the value of eyes.

Kerala: Many of us went through days of power failure & water shortage as well as flooded roads. We didn’t experience the kind of suffering that many thousands around us did but we sure did learn a very precious lesson in these days and that was to say ‘Thank you’ to God for everything ; from running water to the spinning fan to the humming refrigerator to uninterrupted Internet connection ,all with tears in our eyes and a smile on our face.

Nugget of Life- ” Bad things do happen in the world, like war,natural disasters,disease. But out of those situations always arise stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”-Daryn Kagan

In conclusion, here’s praying for speedy relief measures and better climatic conditions in the coming days.

For those of you who would like to know more , do check the link below:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/2018-kerala-floods-here-is-how-you-can-help/article24725213.ece

Have a blessed week,

Cheers,

Sparky laurie