Your Attitude

My Dear Rishi,

I enjoyed talking to you on the weekend.

.Recently, I got a gift from a complete stranger. A 70 year old gentlemen in Bangalore airport gave me a small book called "Finding Your Strength in Difficult Times By David Viscott. He had a book marked one of the pages and requested me to read. Our entire meeting lasted for probably less than five minutes.  Today I am sharing this with you.....I really enjoyed reading it and thought this is really powerful.

Your Attitude

By David Viscott

Your attitude shapes your world.

When you intimidate others, you live in a fearful world.

When you are sad, you bring out the hopelessness in others.

When you act like a child, you invoke parental attitude.

When you act like parent, you inspire inspire rebellion and helplessness.

When you act dependent you invite others to abuse you. They resent you for smothering them.

When you act controlling, you lead people to use you. They think you have it coming for treating them unfairly.

When you act competitively, others want to beat you for putting them down.

Your attitude creates obstacles that you have to overcome and all your lucky breaks. No one wants to help a braggart, and everyone wants to repay the person makes him or her feel good.

The person who makes you feel good is free, and has no need to control or own you, can admire your achievements,without envy, and can be giving without expecting anything in return.

Your pattern of choices, becomes your attitude. When you chose to hold in feelings you become bitter.

When you are expressive, you become free.

Being free is letting others be free.

In this world you get what you give.

Rishi, it does not matter how much education you have or money you have, having a great attitude matters son. I wish you are free to be yourself , allow others to be free and in this lies your freedom, freedom to choose and see the world as is.

I love you Rishi, and I miss you very much..

Lots of  love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy.



There I Grow Again

My Dear Rishi,

Once again I am making a very difficult journey. We make certain choices as a result our whole perspective changes and the decisions/ choices we make changes our life forever. At times like this I always find solace in what my grandfather told me when I was about 8, "MARCH FORTH".  He said, it is message for my life as it coincides with an important mile stone of my life., just with a different spelling.  At every critical juncture in my life although very difficult, I have been "Marching Forth" and meeting what life has to offer me.

Today's story is the last of the series which I received from a couple in Brussels Airport. The story is called, "There I Grow Again".

There I Grow Again–Author Unknown,

“Maybe you have seen the Great Barrier Reef, stretching 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef.

 On one tour, the guide was asked an interesting question.

‘I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colourful,’ a traveler observed. ‘Why is this?’

 The guide gave an interesting answer. ‘The coral around the lagoon side is in still water with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves, storms–surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested, it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And, it reproduces.’
 Then he added this telling note: ‘That’s the way it is with every living organism.’

 That is how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive. Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness.

 So you have problems–no problem. Just tell yourself, ‘There I grow again.’”

Rishi, a bend in road is not an end of  the  road. Life is beautiful despite its ups and downs. Like the above picture we need to take a different perspective and look at the overall beauty. One of my favourite poets, William Blake describes the beauty of life much more eloquently than I can...

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand.
And eternity in an hour.

Rishi I love you very much and miss you dear

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy..

Needing Others

My Dear Rishi,

It was nice to see you after three months finally online and talking to you. My dad was very happy to see you too. It was nice of your mother to let you meet him online during this phase of his life.

This is the third story which I received  in Brussels airport en route to India. Today's story is about, " Needing Others"

Needing Others. – Author Unknown

“Many living things need each other to survive.

 If you have ever seen a Colorado aspen tree, you may have noticed that it does not grow alone. Aspens are found in clusters or groves. The reason is that the Aspen sends up new shoots from the roots. In a small grove, all of the trees may actually be connected by their roots!

 Giant California redwood trees may tower 300 feet into the sky. It would seem that they would require extremely deep roots to anchor them against strong winds. But we’re told that their roots are actually quite shallow in order to capture as much surface water as possible. And they spread in all directions, intertwining with other redwoods.

 Locked together in this way, all the trees support each other in wind and storms. Like the aspen, they never stand alone. They need one another to survive.
 People, too, are connected by a system of roots.

 We are born to family and learn early to make friends. We are not meant to survive long without others.

 And like the redwood, we need to hold one another up. When pounded by the sometimes vicious storms of life, we need others to support and sustain us.

 Have you been going it alone? Maybe it’s time to let someone else help hold you up for awhile.
 Or perhaps someone needs to hang on to you?”

 The following is a quote from Lewis Timberlake from Timberlake Monthly, and featured in the Points to Ponder column of the May 1997 issue of the Reader’s Digest

“While on a tour of California’s giant sequoias, the guide pointed out that the sequoia tree has roots just barely below the surface of the earth.

‘That’s impossible,’ I exclaimed. ‘I’m a country boy and I know that if the roots didn’t grow deep, strong winds will blow the trees over.’

‘Not sequoia trees,’ said the guide. ‘They grow only in groves, and their roots intertwine under the surface of the earth. So, when the strong winds come, they hold each other up.’

 There’s a lesson here. In a sense, people are like giant sequoias. Family, friends, neighbours, the church body and other groups should be havens so that when the strong winds of life blow, these people can serve as reinforcement and can strive together to hold each other up.”

Rishi, I have been to the Giant Squeoia or as they call it Red wood forest in Northern California. They are absolutesly amazing. Some of the trees in the forests have been on this earth for over 500 years. I call these nature's cathedrals for humanity. I hope some day we both can take a trip to these beautiful forests....If you sit in the nature and observe you can learn lot of lessons like this and you can apply in your own life.
Aristotle, called humans a social animal. We need other people i.e. family and friends to support each other especially during trials and tribulations of life. Always remember love, no man is an island....we all are connected and we need each other.

I love you Rishi and miss you.

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy,

The Tree

My Dear Rishi,

I have called you few time and you did not want to talk. I guess you may have been playing or watching television and did not want to be distracted.

Last week I mentioned, a couple in Brussels airport shared some wonderful stories here is the second one from the series. Today's story is about a Tree.



“‘How can I do what you say,’ asked the child, ‘and still be me?’
‘Look at me,’ said the tree. ‘I bend in the wind, droop in the rain. Yet I always remain myself, a tree.’
‘Look at me,’ said the man. ‘I can’t change.’

‘Look at me,’ said the tree. ‘I change every season from green to brown to green again, from bud to flower to fallen leaf. Yet I always remain myself, a tree.’

‘I can’t love anymore,’ said the woman. ‘With my love, I have given away all that I am.’

‘Look at me,’ said the tree. ‘There are robins in my branches, owls in my trunk, moss and ladybugs living on my bark. They may take what I have, but not what I am.’

 Whether we know it or not, we are like the tree. Only our pride hangs on to a false sense of self, wanting to keep everything, refusing to follow advice or spiritual direction.

 What we do doesn’t matter; how we do it is what counts. Change and growth is as natural as the sun coming up every morning and the setting of it every night. Go with what is inside and listen to what your heart tells you. Why not if even for just today, reach out once more to a place that exists outside yourself without fear or judgment for yourself or from others…just once more.

 ’We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.’ –Plato”

Rishi, the day you let go and just be, then life opens up to you. Rishi I have travelled far and wide in this world but the longest journey I ever took was the journey from Head to Heart.  This journey can be difficult but need not be, but once you take this journey Rishi, you will be a transformed man. You will always be true to yourself.

Love you Rishi...I miss talking to you....

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy.