A Child's perspective on how poor people live

My Dear Rishi,

It has been fantastic since Tuesday, we spent time together going to Singapore Science Center to see Dinosaur Live exhibits, Moving Art of Song Dynasty, playing in wild wild wet water park, reading stories to you, putting you to sleep. I love you Rishi.  On Tuesday evening as I was having my dinner, when  an elderly gentlemen whom I have never met joined me. We started a conversation. During the conversation he shared a beautiful story and I wanted to share with you.

One day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah,” said the son.
“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

Rishi, I learned many things from this gentlemen during our conversation. The two important lessons which will stick with me for rest of my life are very simple and hope you can also learn from this story and encounter.  Although he was a stranger, we opened up and started a conversation. I learned, "Strangers are friend's who are yet to be discovered". Right attitude is more important than all the material wealth in the world.

I love you and I am enjoying spending time with you, listening to your songs, stories and your hugs, kisses....I love you Rishi...

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy.

Purpose of Life

My Dear Rishi,

Earlier this week I was talking to my friend..  I was rather despondent and wondering what is the purpose of life.

My friend shared something very beautiful with me and I wanted to share with you.   When my friend's father passed away a family friend said, " It is not how long the light shines but how bright the light shines". My friend found purpose of her life in those simple, yet  beautiful and powerful words. My friend has dedicated her life to let her light shine bright so that the rays of light touch every one who comes in her path. In doing this she has found  purpose for her life.  Rishi, I really hope you will some day meet her love, she is such an inspiration an awesome person. Interestingly, you both share same birthday.  I feel blessed to have a wonderful and inspiring friend like her in our lives.

Rishi another meaning of your name is "Ray of Light".  I really hope, wish and pray that you live your life so as to let your light shine so bright that it touches all of humanity. My prayer for you Rishi is very simple:

God! Please grant Rishi the Gift of Life and Gift of Light

The light should shine so bright that its rays reaches the darkest corners of people's heart

The light should shine so bright that its rays touches all of humanity

The light should shine so bright that its rays heals all the wounds of humanity

The light should shine so bright that its rays dispels fear, hatred, and animosity

The light should shine so bright that its rays brings in warmth, love and joy for humanity 

The light should shine so bright its rays brings peace, harmony and understanding for humanity.

Thank you God for your blessings.

I just can't to wait to see you soon love....I can't wait to hug you, kiss you, talk to you, listen to you and play with you.  Miss you Rishi....

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy.

On the Night You Were Born

My Dear Rishi,

We spoke today only for four minutes. You may have been  tired after a hectic weekend.  I cannot wait to see you soon.

I wanted to read you from Nancy Tillman's book, "On the Night You Were Born"

On the night you were born,

the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered,

"Life will never be the same".

Because there had never been anyone like you....

ever in the world.

So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain

that they whispered the sound of your wonderful name.

The sound of your name is magical one.

Let's say it out loud before we go on,

 

It sailed through the farmland

high on the breeze...

Over the ocean...

And through the trees...

Until everyone heard it

and everyone knew

of the one and only ever you.

Not once had there been such eyes,

such a nose,

such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.

In fact, I think I'll count to three

so you can wiggle your toes for me.

When the polar bears heard,

they danced until dawn.

From faraway places,

the geese flew home.

The moon stayed up until morning next day.

And none of the ladybugs flew away.

So whenever you doubt just how special you are

and wonder who loves you, how much and how far,

listen for geese honking high in the sky.

(They're singing a song to remember you by.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.

(It's because they've been dancing all night for you!)

Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind.

(Listen closely...it's whispering your name again!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,

or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,

or a little bird sits at your window awhile,

it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in story or rhyme

(not even once upon a time)

has the world ever know a you, my friend,

and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet

and played every horn

on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born.

Rishi, Daddy loves you and misses you sweet heart....

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy.

P.S: See you soon love.

The Crown on Your Head

My Dear Rishi,

Today we spoke for about twenty minutes and you told me two stories.  One story was about The Fox, the Tiger and the Elephant and the second story you told me was about A lion and the Naughty boy.  You were very creative in making up your stories, what I really liked was, for the second story you came up with a moral too...Brilliant! sweet heart.

Today I read you story from Nancy Tillman's book....

The Crown on Your Head

By. Nancy Tillman



(This picture is from our first Christmas together)

On the day we met and I put you to bed,

I noticed a crown on the top of your head.

It was made up of sparkling, glimmering things

like moonlight and fireflies, and dragonfly wings.

As the days came and went,

it was faithful and true....

and it grew right along the rest of you.

I always knew just what you meant crown.

It said that you are MAGNIFICENT.

(That means you are grand from your toes to your chin.

Take a deep breath, and let that sink in.)

That's about as high as a word can climb!

That's the top of mountain...

a steeple chime.

That's over the moon in a nursery rhyme...and it means, like a star,

YOU WERE BORN TO SHINE,

(Blink three times and ...there you are!

You are twinkling, little star!)

In other words, from your very first day,

you were chosen to glow in a very big way!

With your crown made of glittering, high-flying things,

you've got wind in your pocket, your wishes have wings.

You can run like you mean it...., so, let the wind blow...

There's no telling how high you can go!

Whatever it is you choose to do,

no one can do it exactly like you.

Ride on the big slide! And if you fall down,

remember your glorious, marvelous crown.

It won't flicker or fade. It won't dime. It won't leave.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE.

Do you, my child? I hope that you do,

The world is a wonderland waiting for you.

And you get to share it with all your friends, too!

They each have a crown that is faithful and true.

No one's brighter, no one's duller

It's only a crown of a different color.

So sometimes, just every now and then whisper "I believe" again.

Your crown is your best friend forever, by far.

It tells the true story of just who you are.

That's why every night, when I put to bed,

I'm careful to kiss the crown on your head.

A Note From Your Crown

I'm made out of magic, most people can't see

(which is really quite clever, if you should ask me).

But if you ever you're worried and really must know,

you can tell that I'm there by the warmth of my glow.

Press your hand to the top of your head.

Feel me? Okay. Put your worries to bed.

You are loved.

I love you and miss you Rishi. Just can't wait to see you, hold you, hug you...

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy



The Carrot, an Egg, and the Coffee bean

My Dear Rishi,

It was fun talking to you for an hour and I enjoyed you telling me stories about Gorilla and Elephant, Tortoise and Hyena and other stories.  You also sang a Happy Song. We did additions, multiplications and subtractions. You are really good Rishi, daddy is proud of you

Today's story is about how to deal with adversity or trials and tribulations that life presents us.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Rishi, we all have choice, either to become BITTER or BETTER while dealing with life's trial's and tribulations. In my personal experience, if we operate from a place of Ego (Edging Good Out), Selfishness and Self-centered one will always become bitter whereas if we act from a place of Empathy, Understanding and Compassion, one will always become a better person.

Love you Rishi, miss you sweetheart...

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy

Whereever You Are my love will find you

My Dear Rishi,

It was fun talking to you for an hour this morning, wow!!! I enjoyed our conversation, you were full of spunk and fun. You sang Bob the builder song. I love you and miss you Rishi, just cant' wait to see you soon enough..

Last week I read you  from Nancy Tillman's book. You said you liked it....Today I will write what I read to you..The title of the book is, "Wherever You Are my love will find you". Love is the greatest gift we have to give our children. It's the one thing they can carry with them each and every day. It is every child's birth right to receive the love from both parents. In my simplistic way of thinking, I believe that children are here in this world not because they wanted to be here but because of their parents wanted them in the first place. We as parents owe our children the fundamental right of giving the "Gift of Unconditional Love" and not take away the right of one parent or the right of the child from receiving love from both the parents.

Wherever You Are my love will find you

By Nancy Tillman

I wanted you more than you ever will know,

so I sent love to follow wherever you go.

It's high as you wish it. It's quick as an elf.

You'll never outgrow it...it stretches itself!

So climb any mountain...climb up to the sky!

My love will find you, My love can fly!

Make a big splash! Go out on a limb!

My love will find you. My love can swim!

It never gets lost, never fade, never ends...if you're working...

or playing...or sitting with friends.

You can dance 'til you're dizzy...paint 'til you're blue...

There's no place, not one, that my love can't find you.

And if someday you're lonely, or someday you're sad,

or you strike out at baseball, or think you've been bad...

Just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair.

That's me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.

In the green of the grass... in the smell of the sea...in the clouds floating by...

at the top of a tree... in the sound crickets make at the end of the day...

"You are loved. You are loved. You are loved," they all say.

My love is so high, and so wide and so deep, it's always right there, even when you're asleep.

So hold your head high and don't be afraid to march to the front of your own parade.

If you're stil my small babe or you're all the way grown, my promise to you is you've never alone.

You are my angel, my darling, my star...and my love will find you, wherever you are.

Rishi, I love you and miss you sweetheart...looking forward to talking to you again....

With lots of love, hugs and kisses,

Daddy.







An Obstacle in Our Path

My Dear Rishi,

Finally, after two months we spoke today for 15 minutes. I was so happy to hear your voice, you said I love you Daddy. Rishi, your voice and what you said was music to my ears love.

Earlier in the week it was Halloween. Halloween is celebrated in Canada & US, on October 31. On this day children go out to play trick-or-treat. They dress up as ghosts, witches,princess, cartoon characters or other characters and visit homes in their neighborhood. They ring doorbells and, when someone answers, they call out "trick-or-treat". This means that they hope to receive a gift of candy or other snacks and that they are threatening to play a trick if they do not get anything. Usually, they receive a treat and tricks are rarely carried out.

About 100  kids from my neighbourhood showed up at my place for Trick & Treat. I had about 3 kgs of candies and I gave all the candies. The kids ranged from 3 years to 12 year old. It was so much fun just watching them and I wished you were here with me. . I really missed you Rishi, I wish you were here, we would have gone for trick & treat. You could have dressed up as a Batman.

When I was about 9 my mommy told me this story. This was one of my favourite stories as a kid. I wanted to share this with you Rishi.

An Obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a poor farmer came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the farmer laid down his basket of vegetables and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the farmer picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The farmer learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Rishi, in life as you grow up you will face many obstacles, you will always have a choice, a choice to accept obstacles and do nothing about it and give up or face the obstacles and over come them. I learnt my lesson when i was attending a scouts camp in IX grade.  We were being trained to climb a small hill. It was rather overwhelming for us . One of my teachers said, use the outcrops of rock which a appear like obstacles to get a foot hold and climb the hill. I never forgot the lesson I learned from that experience as I was able to relate to this story my mommy used to tell me.  Although, I did not find gold coins, I received a badge  for successfully climbing a steep hill. The biggest take away for me was to learn to use the obstacles on my path to pull myself  to the top and never let obstacles faze you or keep you down. This experience also taught me how to connect the dots that is the story my mommy used to tell me with words of my teacher i.e. using the obstacles to get a foot hold. This is really important skill, I learned this and developed it through out my life.

Next week I will write the story I read to you today during our call.

With Lots of Love, Hugs & Kisses,

Daddy