Wise quotes on Children and Education

Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” 
― Margaret Mead

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself... 
You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.” 
― Kahlil Gibran

“If you must hold yourself up to your children as an object lesson, hold yourself up as a warning and not as an example.”

"Knowledge is learning something new every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day." —Zen Proverb

"There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."—James Truslow Adams

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation." —Pearl S. Buck

Some quotes and a poem by Hafiz

• Now that all your worry has proved such an unlucrative
  Business, why not find a better Job. 
  
  

• Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

• I should not make any promises right now. But I know if you pray somewhere in this world - Something good will happen.

• Love sometimes wants to do us a great favor: hold us upside down and shake all the nonsense out.

• There are different wells within your heart.
  Some fill with each good rain,
  Others are far too deep for that.
  
  

“TRIPPING OVER JOY

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think
You have a thousand serious moves.” 
Even after all this time the sun never says to the Earth, "you owe me." Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky.

Second Chances

Do you think I know what I am doing?
that for one breath or half-breath, I belong to myself?
as much as a pen knows what its writing
or the ball can guess where it is going next-Rumi

What do you do when your slate has been wiped clean? You either mop over the loss or pick yourself up and decide to live life with a whole new perspective. Starting life anew can be one of the most liberating experiences if you can conquer your fear for change and failure or else one of the most painful experiences.. Every step is a new opportunity, every opportunity is a potential life path towards success and happiness. 

There are some  with heightened self-awareness who know what they want when they are young, some who are happy not figuring out - being just where they are and some like me who have spent last 30 years trying to decipher the purpose of her life. Life is a journey with death as the final destination, yet that cannot be the purpose of our existence. Anyone who has struggled to find the purpose of their existence, would agree that the uncertainty  can be excruciatingly painful  to a certain extent. 

Trying to figure out what you want in life happens twice - once in your teens , where you most likely go with the flow , especially if you have not developed your sense of self and second time - in your 40s when you realize that you are past the half-mark of life. Second time round, either the dissatisfaction of your present life jerks you up by your collar or circumstances in life punches you and  throws you in a hole, where the only way to climb out is by  saying a warm hello and embracing  your own strengths and weaknesses.  

Taking chances the second time round is easier for some and still a struggle for others. The moment fear and insecurity  raises its ugly head, and paralyzes us into inaction, we freeze and revert back to our old self. Yet I personally feel that I am more prone to taking  risks, realizing by experience that most of my anxiety and worries  in my life were often unfounded . Of course being a chronic worrier, it is easier said than done. 

Yet here I am , still a work in progress,  opening my heart and soul to any new possibilities life offers me. Believing firmly in the adage of  Scarlett O' Hara in Gone with the Wind -"Tomorrow is another Day ".

Some Quotes on Giving

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!”


“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”  

Gracious acceptance is an art - an art which most never bother to cultivate. We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving.... Accepting another person's gift is allowing him to express his feelings for you.

“Generosity is not giving me that which I need that you do, but it is giving me that which you need more that I do.” 

“Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, when I give I give myself.”
― Walt Whitman

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need

 “He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much

The 5 P's Plan

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”  Confucius

I am not sure about you all, but whenever I am trying to make a change in my lifestyle – be it trying to eat healthy, or to  learning to live in the present, I am initially bubbling with enthusiasm, will do great for a week or two – in fact will religiously be loyal to changing myself, only to find in the end that it has fizzled down to nothing. Just one slip and I am sliding back to my old habits.  In trying to figure out on how to last longer, I have come up with these five Ps plan .

1. Perseverance : This is obvious – you need it to succeed in making a permanent change.  Stumbling, but getting up again and again is not easy for the strongest of us. Gain two pounds or one negative thought and  we  are back to our defeatist attitude.
2. Partner : The best of us need support to encourage us to stay on the right track. It is always harder when the struggle is yours, but a partner is more objective and less involved. Find someone to share this journey together.
3. Patience: Making change permanent requires you to make it a part of you – a habit and instilling good habits is never easy and requires time. In the time of instant gratification, waiting for reward requires all your energy
4. Practice : You can have the best intentions to make the change, yet the only way it will be a part of you is when you consciously practice it consistently . Practice requires discipline and being alert to the pitfalls of laziness and weakening of resolve.
5. Praise : And finally, praising and appreciating your every little victory is a great motivator to achieve success. Every small step counts and you can only keep going if you feel proud of your baby steps. 

Change to Survive

Nothing makes you respect the power of time, than growing a year older. Time, the elusive time, if only we understood the real power of time. Most of us don’t change when things are going smoothly, even the river refuses to change its course, yet when there is a storm, a drastic event, pushing you towards your very basic survival, even the river is  FORCED to look for options  and change its course. Change is of two types - voluntary and involuntary. Change resulting in fulfilling our desires is welcomed, yet when life takes control of your destiny, and you have to give up something close to you , the unsolicited change can be hard to digest for most of us.

I am not a big fan of  football, but the other day watching an NFL game aired on T.V., I was amazed to see these huge 200 pound or more big guys, jumping up after getting tackled with an agility that belied their size and built. We will always be brought down by our problems, but keeping the love for ourselves and for life intact, how fast we respond and adapt decides our fate. Similar to the football players, who develop this ability through practice and more practice, we can learn to face challenges head on by stabilizing our mind through focussing on the present and our blessings.

Other times, severing off  your rotting limb,  is the only way to survive. It can be a relationship, a career, or simply a  lifestyle or attitude, anything that is stagnant will rot. Have you ever seen a flowing stream in the woods? It creates its own path , soft and pliable water, not fighting the rocks, but finding ways around it. In my mind, faced by problems seemingly insurmountable,  I always imagined that I was going  deep down in the hole - from where it would be impossible to claw my way out to light and freedom. That was till I readjusted my attitude to thinking that the darkness was caused by clouds , clouds that would one day would  bring down rain and clean my soul or would be blown away to expose the beautiful sky lit with stars and moon.  To imagine being surrounded by a sight so beautiful, to be cradled in the arms of nature , gives you the courage and patience to wait for the sky to clear and sun to smile again.

As a friend of mine put it  life is a one way journey , always moving forward towards the  final destination. Enjoy the ride offering you a change in scenery .There is no way to rewind, no way to fast forward, just breathe in all the fresh experiences  that will never be repeated again.  In fact every moment of life is  a once in a lifetime  experience and all we need is to just be present,  - choosing to chaff the feelings that bog us down and just wearing the cloak of  love and good memories.

So, here I am, knowing and accepting that although the clouds might seem to have been blown away for now, they will be back  , but next time I will not in a hole but will be  standing high on the mountain waiting patiently for the sun to shine again.

Some notable quotes on friendship

“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.” 

“By chance we met, by choice we become friend” 

“Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.” 

“There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort.” 

“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.” 

“How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it. How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live 'em. How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give 'em.”