Friday Reflections

The Way the Child Sees It

Some stories have changed the world and this is one of those. Appropriate to revisit in the current world environment.First Published in September 2018.

Points to Ponder: Every adult was once a child free of prejudice. – Mother Teresa

Story Line: Sometime ago, one late weekend evening I had retired for the day in bed when I heard the cries of a young child coming from our living room. I rushed there to find the young boy crying and saying “That’s not right, That’s not right, They love each other.” His parents were trying to comfort him.

Noticing that there was a frozen screen on the TV and inquiring further I learned that the parents were watching a movie after the little guy had fallen asleep on sofa. But the little guy had woken up and the parents engrossed in the movie were not aware that he was watching the movie too. The scene where the little guy started crying was when the police stormed into the home of a married interracial couple at night and dragged them out of their beds and arrested them. In the state where they lived, interracial marriages were illegal at that time.

It was obvious that the little guy had no understanding of the race, color, religion or the existing laws at the time. He was looking at them as two people who were in love and living together.

The movie was “Loving” based on the true story. “In 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a black woman, drove north from their home in Virginia to Washington, D.C., to get married. Upon returning to Virginia, they were dragged out of bed and arrested by the police. The Lovings’ marriage was not legally valid due to the state’s law barring interracial marriage. The ensuing legal battle upended the lives of the Lovings and their three children for almost a decade.*”

Some love stories can change the world and Loving is one of those. In its unanimous ruling in 1967, the Supreme Court determined that marriage is, “Fundamental to our very existence and survival.” Under the 14th Amendment, “The freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations,” Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the opinion. “Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.”

Reflection: Loving is the story of what happened in America. However, the underlying message is universal. In every country and culture there are prejudices against color, race, religion, social class and for many other reasons. It is easier to criticize others for their views and beliefs. Its when we reflect inwards, that we realize we have a long way to go as individuals.

Reflecting on my own journey, my childhood that was filled with friends from different religions and social classes. Somewhere along the way the environment shifted thinking based on news, opinions of other people, schools and other influences. That resulted in beliefs about others based on ignorance, and not facts.

Over the years, many of my views about race, religion, social class and unjust laws have changed by intense dialogues with my children, my wider exposure to the world and meeting wonderful people. 

"It may seem like a long road ahead, but as I see generation after generation growing up and the consciousness of the parents raising them in an environment free of prejudice against insignificant things, such as the color of someone's skin. I am hopeful this is the change I will see in my lifetime" 

*Source: Huffington Post

Readers comments from previous publication are worth a look. (in comments section)

 

 

 

To Those Who Knock.

   Photo credit: Vincent Van Der Pas (www.archetypefotografie.nl)

POINT TO PONDER

"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs." 

                                - Victor Hugo

 

STORY LINE by Paulo Coelho 

Success does not come from having one’s work recognized by others. It is the fruit of the seed that you lovingly planted.

When harvest time arrives, you can say to yourself: ‘I succeeded.’

You succeeded in gaining respect for your work because you did not work only to survive, but to demonstrate your love for others.

You managed to finish what you began, even though you did not foresee all the traps along the way. 
And when your enthusiasm waned because of the difficulties you encountered, you reached for discipline. 
And when discipline seemed about to disappear because you were tired, you used your moments of repose to think about what steps you needed to take in the future.

You were not paralyzed by the defeats that are inevitable in the lives of those who take risks.
You didn’t sit agonising over what you lost when you had an idea that didn’t work.
You didn’t stop when you experienced moments of glory, because you had not yet reached your goal.

And when you have to ask for help, you did not feel humiliated. And when you learned that someone needed help, you showed them all that you had learned, without fearing that you might be revealing secrets or being used by others.

To him who knocks, the door will open.
He who asks will receive.
He who consoles knows that he will be consoled.

(Taken from “Manuscript found in Accra”)

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast —

 

Above Video-courtesy of Ken Chee of Penang, Malaysia

Points to Ponder: “Charles Darwin described himself as a slow thinker. Einstein famously sat in his office … gazing into the middle distance for hours on end … in the intellectual world and the arts, people have always understood the power of looking slowly at the big picture.” — Carl Honoré

Story Line: Learning to see slow, gradual processes requires slowing down our frenetic pace and paying attention to the subtle as well as the dramatic. If you sit and look into a tidepool, initially you won’t see much of anything going on. However, if you watch the long enough, after about ten minutes the tidepool will suddenly come to life. The world of beautiful creatures is always there, but moving slowly to be seen at first. The problem is our minds are so locked in one frequency, it’s as if we can only see at 78 rpm; we can’t see anything at 33 1/3. We will not avoid the fate of the frog until we learn to slow down and see the gradual process that often pose the greatest threats. – Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline. The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization

Reflection: The readers found Friday Reflections two weeks ago (There has never been, nor there ever be, another like you. Like You) not only entertaining but also thought provoking. Seemingly simple picture of eight dogs with a quiz “Which one is different?”, had a very profound message once the readers exercised their observations and compared the answers.

In many messages received privately and some in the blog, readers came up with the range of answers: some found one dog being different, many found two to four having some difference, a few found five and six, one with seven and four readers found all four dogs having something different. I believe the hint was in the title of the picture “I checked for 15 minutes and can’t figure out which one is different.” 15 minutes was the clue to slow down and observe closely and not to go for race against time.

One reader wrote “Very smart indeed... Our mind is conditioned to act fast based on past experiences. When such a pic is shown and asked to find one that is different, logic escapes the mind. This is a universal phenomenon.”

That is why we need to slow down and observe carefully. By rushing to judgement too fast, we may be missing out on many opportunities to discover new things and solve problems correctly. The deeper we listen and observe, we will find uniqueness that is in every living being. Appreciating differences, in this case both in physical characteristics of dogs and the various answers of readers, and combining them for the optimal solution is a source of strength. This is the reason for the above storyline, as we all need to take a deep breath and pause to observe the world around us. By doing this we will learn to appreciate everything that life offers us.

So however insignificant this fun picture may look, there is a lot to learn for solving significant problems for people in all walks of life: Leaders, Parents, Teachers, Politicians, Scientists and every one of us.

Title is from the quote of Eddie Cantor: “Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast — you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”- 

Age is inevitable. Aging isn't. * (Part 2)

Points to Ponder: Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. - Samuel Ullman

I intend to grow old naturally, (Childhood and Youth)

and I intend to enjoy it every step of the way. (Falling in love, Family, Career, caring for Aging Parents)

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.** (Four Phases of Life)

Reflection: The past thirty days have been very special with respect to connecting with people I have known throught out my life; 35 of the people I have known since kindergarten, one of the first couples who welcomed me in Silicon Valley in 1975, 21 members of the great team from my last place of work (1997-2015), the person who was kind enough to help me integrate well into Intel 25 years ago, and many other friends and members of the family. I was fortuante to meet some in person and others through wonders of technology: Zoom.

For school friends, 51 years have passed but the enthusiasm we had in the old days had not passed from any one. A small team created a good singing and dancing program for our highschool reunion with the same degree of enthusiasm (despite some aches and pains) as in childhood that provided a lot of entertainment for the larger Zoom audience. It was Yesterday Once More. Sample Video from the practice session: Shardamandir Eight (one minute).   Snapshots actual program Starts at 15 seconds.

During Zoom and Personal reunions with friends from my place of work we shared funny incidences from past that brought a lot of laughter and joy reminding us of The Way We Were. As always connecting with my family members around the world was a great source of happiness. Diffrent people from these large group of family and friends represent each of the four phases of life: Childhood, Youth, Family and Career and The Golden Years (all of my childhood friends and a few workplace friends). Though we are in different age groups, we enjoyed and laughed just like in the old times and sang and danced with the same enthusiasm.

But this reflection wouldn't be complete without mentioning how special this day (September 24th) is in my life. On Septmber 24, 1970, I got a letter from a girl in Philippines who became my 13th penpal, and eight years later my partner for life. We have grown together through the years like the flowers in the above photos, growing and enjoying in every phase; the most precious gift life has given to me. Happy 51years of knowing the person who has helped me learn the meaning of Living in the Present.

*Quote by Mark Levy   **Quote by Mark Twain

Note: In May 2019, the reflection with the same title (Part 1) was published with the story of the amazing person who stays young at the age of 102 with his passion for painting. The readers comments in that reflection have universal message and are shown in the comments section of this publication as well.

https://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2019/05/age-is-inevitable-aging-isnt-.html

 

There never has been, nor will there ever be, another like you.

Points to Ponder: It's a beautiful picture that represents a profound message. Uniqueness, the precious gift of Universe to each living being.

Now can you find which one or how many are different?

Credit for this puzzle: I a M F I N E @iamfine726      https://www.facebook.com/iamfine726/

Reflection:  We are all created unique and special. Universe made us all having our own uniqueness. Some people have blue eyes, brown eyes, black eyes, some people can do this, some people can do that, some people are right handed, some people are left handed. Some people like art, some science and some other commerce. Some are dreamers, some are emotional and others are called  practical. We were made for a purpose. What we need to do is to slow down, observe carefully and appreciate the richness of diversity. Then, the whole new world of opportunities opens up.

So now can you find which one or how many are different? 

 

Thanks to Rekhabhabi for sharing this beautiful picture with a deep message about life and living.

Understanding the significance of being insignificant-Pale Blue Dot

Point to Ponder: It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. — Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994

Special Thanks to Bonnie Kao for sharing this very appropriate article for reflection in any time (even more so in current times)

Story Line: Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

 The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

 Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

 The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

Reflection: It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

p.s. where did the photo come from?

The above excerpt from Carl Sagan's book Pale Blue Dot was inspired by an image taken, at Sagan's suggestion, by Voyager 1 on 14 February 1990. As the spacecraft was departing our planetary neighborhood for the fringes of the solar system, it turned it around for one last look at its home planet.

Voyager 1 was about 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) away, and approximately 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane, when it captured this portrait of our world. Caught in the center of scattered light rays (a result of taking the picture so close to the Sun), Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size.

Norway, Where Time Goes by So Slowly

In Video: Unforgettable Images from one of the happiest places on Earth.

Points to Ponder: In solitude there is healing. Speak to your soul....Listen to your heart. Sometimes in the absence of noise....we find the answers.- Dodinsky

Story Line: Norway- Where Time Goes by So Slowly. Norway is rated as one of the happiest countries on earth by the United Nations Agency’s World Happiness Report. The measure of Happiness may be subjective, but what we experienced on our visit in August 2017 felt very real. 

Reflection: While strolling around the residential areas of a the small town of Rosendal, we met a lady and her son who invited us to stay with them before going to the next place. Their open, warm, and giving nature spoke volumes about the generosity of the Norwegian people.

While enjoying the immense beauty of a sunrise in Odda (front image of the video), we missed our bus. With limited, to what seemed like, no options; an off duty Taxi Driver understood our predicament and was kind enough to drive us 40km out of his way so that we could make it for our boat ride.

Then there was a lady in the train to Oslo who requested me to keep an eye of her things while she stepped of her seat for a while. Upon return we started talking and three hours passed by in minute and the exhaustion of a long day was forgotten. The next day she sent us a detailed email suggesting places to visit and dine, and recommendation for a Bed and Breakfast in Southern Norway for our next trip.

On our way to the airport he told us about the girl who loved to sit and enjoy coffee and tea more than anything else. He liked her. So he invited her for a hike. After three days and 140km that included climbing 1800 meters, the girl said “Yes”. I guess Nature can do wonders. 

In a note to us few weeks later, he wrote “Life is strange! How do we end up where we are just now? Education and planning is two great tools to control the future. I do have some education and have the best woman to help me control life. My workplace is a wonderful place where i meet great people, sometimes they do make me feel like a mere grassstraw compared to a redwood tree. These people also make me proud of my country and gives me an urge to see out of my little buble called Norway. I just want to say thank you for giving me a very good day at work.”  

The warmth, helpfulness and the attitude of Norwegian people has forever stayed in our hearts.

 

 

 

 

Einstein and Chaplin. When the great scientist met the great artist.

Points to Ponder: Making fun is serious business.-Charlie Chaplin

Story Line: During his visit to USA in 1931, Charlie Chaplin was the only person in Hollywood Einstein wanted to meet. He got the opportunity during the premiere of the film City of Lights. A real humorous dialogue took place between the two legends:

Einstein: ‘What I most admire about your art, is your universality. You don’t say a word, yet the world understands you!’ 

Chaplin: ‘True. But your glory is even greater! The whole world admires you, even though they don’t understand a word of what you say.’" 

 

Reflection: Some Memorable lines from Chaplin

My happiest days are those in which I do good work.

Nothing is permanent in this wicked world – not even our troubles.

The world cannot be wrong if in this world there's you.

Imagination means nothing without doing.

If you're really truthful with yourself, it's a wonderful guidance.

Some Memorable lines from Einstein

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.

Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

And how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see

Points to Ponder: How many ears must one person have Before he can hear people cry?

Oh, the answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind

Story Line: This song was written in 1962 by Bob Dylan and reflected the times of Vietnam war, violence and protests for human rights. However, seeing the current situation in the world, I thought of the message of this song. I share again with you as it is especially relevant today.  

I hear Bob Dylan's voice as he pleads: And how many deaths will it take 'till he knows That too many people have died? 

Reflection: No matter what political or religious believes you have, I am sure everyone wants these senseless killings to end. A quick solution for these tragedies needs to be in place. We must do everything possible to make sure that this madness stops.

Otherwise:  "What a pity a man must die before he wakes up?"

 

Lyrics: Blowin’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand?

How many times must the cannon balls fly Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind

How many years can a mountain exist Before it's washed to the sea?

How many years must some people exist Before they're allowed to be free?

And how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see - The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind

How many times can a man look up Before he sees the sky?

How many ears must one person have Before he can hear people cry?

And how many deaths will it take 'till he knows That too many people have died?

The answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Oh, the answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin' in the wind

Songwriter: Bob Dylan was awarded The Nobel Prize in Litreature in 2016.

Blowin' in the Wind lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC 

A version of this article was published on March 29, 2018 during gun violence that resulted in deaths of many innocent children and adults.

 

 

Sometimes it helps to look at the bigger picture.

Points To Ponder: THE DELUSION OF LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE The most powerful learning comes from direct experience. Indeed, we learn eating, crawling, walking, and communicating through direct trial and error—through taking an action and seeing the consequences of that action; then taking a new and different action. But what happens when we can no longer observe the consequences of our actions? What happens if the primary consequences of our actions are in the distant future or in a distant part of the larger system within which we operate? We each have a “learning horizon,” a breadth of vision in time and space within which we assess our effectiveness. When our actions have consequences beyond our learning horizon, it becomes impossible to learn from direct experience. --Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization

Story Line: In The current state of world affairs- Pandemic, Border Disputes, Political Positioning, Equal Rights, Natural Disasters, Enviornmental Issues, Diversity....."My Way or Highway"...........

Your Reflection: Where are we heading as the human race? What is the Big Picture Thinking?

 

The Fifth Discipline is one of the few books I have learnt from and treasured from the day I was introduced to it in the year 1992 by our boss Robert Miller. The learnings from this book have been great asset in what follwed in wonderful career and life.