Point to Ponder: Quality Driving means never having to say you are sorry to your passengers.
Story Line: El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
Precision, Accuracy in Driving. Zero Defects in over 20 trips we took from town to the beach side hotel. Normal load was five people but two times there were six people, 3 suitcases and 3 hand carries totaling about 1000Lbs.
Portion of driving on slopes and beach sands required rebalancing and use of centripetal force theory ( even though the driver has not taken any Physics).
Reflection: Even though driver seemed very skilled and has been accident free, from Systems Point of View, there are many risks such as overload, extreme narrow spaces, bouncy tough road and going on some handmade bamboo bridges during high tide. Eventhough we Trust the Driver, This is where word Faith becomes clear.
Point to Ponder: Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. -Anais Nin
Story Line: The primary reason for majority of visitors to Puerto Princessa, a coastal city on Palawan islands in the western Philippines, is to take the boat trip through the massive limestone caves and underground river of the biodiverse Puerto Princessa Subterranean River National Park. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/652/ and voted as a New7Wonders of Nature in 2012.
However the primary reason for our trip to Puerto Princessa was to meet for the first time a friend I met on Facebook about two years ago. My wife and I were also accompanied by friends we had made during my expatriate assignment in Manila in early 1980s. Roger, my Facebook Friend welcomed us with an open arm and a hug at the airport.
Our first stop was a school founded by a friend my wife has known since young age. After that we went to a beautifully choreographed/decorated Filipino Restaurant for some delicious delicacies.
On the first day, What followed was the visit to Plaza Cuartel, the site of American Base in World War 2, and a very tragic event. Reminder of consequences of human Power Hunger, EGO and bad Leadership and resulting tragedies and suffering of the man in uniforms ( on both sides) and common people. (In First half of the video)
The second day was visit to Puerto Princessa Subterranean River National Park, 80 km ride through beautiful green forests and mountains leading to the sea. ( captured in the second half of the video)
Reflection: in FB terminology Roger was A Friend of my Friend. I came across his posts and found them interesting with like minded ideas. So I invited him to be my friend and he gladly accepted. Over last two years we shared many posts and realized that we have many common interests.
So we specially added Puerto Princessa in our itinerary to meet Roger. He was supposed to be in Manila this week but cancelled his trip to spend time with us. And what memorable these two days have been for us, listening to Roger’s stories and also explanations of local history, places and culture.
He spent 20 plus years in a career as a Seaman that took him to over 75 countries and enriched with lot of experiences and knowledge. Roger is highly energetic, enthusiastic, talkative and loves to tell stories, non stop. And they were so captivating that for the first time in my life I kept quiet for so long. And listened without intervention.
Reflecting on last two days I end this reflection with how I began “ Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
Point To Ponder: Synchronicity?- Few days after Publishing Friday Reflection titled: Life doesn’t happen to you it happens for you, we went to Chiang Mai Thailand with my former colleague from the last work place. First Restaurant We went for lunch there was a poster on the wall..
Story Line:Chiang Mai is a city in mountainous northern Thailand. Founded in 1296, it was capital of the independent Lanna Kingdom until 1558. Its Old City area still retains vestiges of walls and moats from its history as a cultural and religious center. It’s also home to hundreds of elaborate Buddhist temples, including 14th-century Wat Phra Singh and 15th-century Wat Chedi Luang, adorned with carved serpents.
The video highlights seven days in Chiang Mai region covering it’s rich cultural diversity. Various Temples, Exotic Foods and Cuisines, Elephant Nature Park that rescues injured, tortured animals, handicrafts, clothing, day and night markets, healthy massages and some remaining old customs.
Points to Ponder: I was concerned about going out in the world and doing something bigger than myself, until someone smarter than myself made me realize that there is nothing bigger than myself!
Story Line: Recently in a conversation between two adult friends reflecting on their high school years, one of them mentioned: It seems we all turned out well. The other one replied “We would like to think so.” “But…” (What others think of us). It was puzzling especially more so coming from a guy who, per society’s normal measures of success, has incredible accomplishments. That conversation reminded me of Jim Carey’s important tips about life and career that he conveyed to the graduating class of 2014 at Maharishi University.
Reflection: excerpts from the speech.
Because Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you. How do I know this? I don’t, but I’m making sound, and that’s the important thing. That’s what I’m here to do. Sometimes, I think that’s the only thing that is important. Just letting each other know we’re here, reminding each other that we are part of a larger self.
Now fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much. You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about the pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what’s happening here, and the decisions we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear.
So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect so we never dare to ask the universe for it. I’m saying, I’m the proof that you can ask the universe for it — please! And if it doesn’t happen for you right away, it’s only because the universe is so busy fulfilling my order. Party size!
My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant, and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job and our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love. It’s not the only thing that he taught me though: I watched the affect my father’s love and humor and how it altered the world around me, and I thought, “That’s something to do, that’s something worth my time.”
The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is. Because everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart, and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart. My choosing to free people from concern got me to the top of a mountain. Look where I am — look what I get to do! Everywhere I go – and I’m going to get emotional because when I tap into this, it really is extraordinary to me — I did something that makes people present their best selves to me wherever I go. I am at the top of the mountain and the only one I hadn’t freed was myself and that’s when my search for identity deepened.
I wondered who I’d be without my fame. Who would I be if I said things that people didn’t want to hear, or if I defied their expectations of me? That peace that we’re after, lies somewhere beyond personality, beyond the perception of others, beyond invention and disguise, even beyond effort itself. You can join the game, fight the wars, play with form all you want, but to find real peace, you have to let the armour go. Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.
I’ve often said that I wished people could realize all their dreams of wealth and fame so that they could see that it’s not where you’ll find you’re going to find your sense of completion. Like many of you, I was concerned about going out in the world and doing something bigger than myself, until someone smarter than myself made me realize that there is nothing bigger than myself!
Are you going to look at a person like me and say, “How could we ever hope to reach those kinds of heights, Jim? How can we make a painting that’s too big for our home? How do you fly so high without a special breathing apparatus?” This is the voice of THE EGO. And if you listen to it, there will always be someone who is doing better than you. No matter what you gain, ego will not let you rest. It will tell you that you cannot stop until you’ve left an indelible mark on the earth, until you’ve achieved immortality. How tricky is this ego that it would tempt us with the promise of something we already possess.
So, I just want you to relax, you know, that’s my job. Relax and dream up a good life!
As far as I can tell, it’s just about letting the universe know what you want and working toward it while letting go of how it comes to pass.
Your job is not to figure out how it’s going to happen for you, but to open the door in your head and when the door opens in real life, just walk through it. And don’t worry if you miss your cue because there’s always door opening. They keep opening. And when I say, “Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you.” I really don’t know if that’s true. I’m just making a conscious choice to perceive challenges as something beneficial so that I can deal with them in the most productive way. You’ll come up with your own style, that’s part of the fun!
You will only ever have two choices: love or fear. Choose love, and don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.
POINT TO PONDER: “If your systems are “world class”, why am I still hurting?” - One customer
STORY LINE: In early 90s, on my 5th day at a new company, my boss invited me to join a quarterly review meeting that was to take place with a major computer manufacturer based in Texas. Our sales department had gotten wind of the customer's unhappiness with the performance of our products. The sales department had alerted our headquarters in the Silicon Valley that it was not going to be a pleasant meeting.
The conference room was over loaded; our side having a full entourage; President, various Vice Presidents with their staff members, and some working level people (like me) were in attendance. Twenty minutes into the meeting it was clear that our sales person's Forecast was right. The customer was very unhappy with our performance and their internal department had recommended to give us one quarter to shape up or we would be disqualified.
After patiently listening to the customer's complaints (we had to - there was no choice), our Vice President of Engineering got up to present his response. He explained the details of how problems occurs due to the forming, trimming and singulation tools. The next foil was an organization chart. Our VP introduced, "this person is my chief technologist, holds 28 patents," and the foil following, "the person in the next box had a Ph.D. in XYZ with specialization..." As he was introducing the impressive technical qualifications of the person in the third box, one of the customer's personnel intervened , "Can they solve my problem?”
There was a stunned silence in the room. Was this an innocent question or a deliberately sarcastic one? If it was sarcastic, it was rude to do that to him in front of so many of our executives and subordinates. But thinking deeper, it sounded very basic.
REFLECTION:The lesson that I learnt that day was very profound and carried with me throughout my career. In final analysis, what the customer was looking for was, "Am I in good hands?” Do these people give me enough confidence that they can solve my current problems?
This lesson has been also very helpful to me in designing the organization structure and recruiting people with relevant qualifications for the purpose for which an organization exists. Organization composition must not be about elegance but about people with the mindset of solving “Real” problems of customer and investors.
Artist for the Picture unknown. Thanks to Evelyn Tan from Philippines for sending this.
Points to Ponder:“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.” - Marianne Williamson
Story Line: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”- from A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
For more than two decades the profound message that Marianne Williamson wrote in her 1992 book A Return to Love was falsely attributed to Nelson Mandela. For those interested in learning more about the background here is the link
Reflection: We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?.......And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
Points to Ponder: I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone? – The words in the final scene in the movie: Stand by Me.
Story Line: About nine months ago, I got a call from the childhood friend. He and some other friends were arranging the 50th anniversary celebration of our high school class of 1969 on January 9th, 2020. With the power of technology he connected classmates who are all over the world.
Except for five, I had lost contact with most of the friends from the Class of 69. I had not realized how much joy it would be to talk to them or see them on Facetime. And the sweetest surprise was that each one of them recounted so many fond memories of those good old days. One common memory was about two classmates who were most mischievous and created a lot of interesting episodes with the teachers and others. (Name withheld for privacy reasons but about one of those two guys, your guess will be as good as mine.J)
Reflection: Stand By Me Similarities.
Listening to stories told by friends brought back memories of the movie our children had introduced to me in late 80s. Stand by Me is a 1986 American film based on Stephen King's 1982 book. Stand by Me tells the fictional story of four boys in a small town in 1959 Oregon, and the experiences and leanings they go through coming-of-age.
Though some things in the movie have a cultural context, there are many similarities with my childhood days in India. The theme has a universal appeal and many incidences in the movie occur in every culture and country.
Most of the 60 students in the class of 1969 were together from Kindergarten to Grade11. Seven of us lived on either side of one railroad track and used to walk on the tracks just like the kids in the movie. We would also put stones or coins on the railroad tracks to flatten them when the train passed over them.
In school, when one of us got in trouble with a teacher (yes there were a few mean ones), others would console him just like what Gordie does to Chris in the movie. We also stood up for one another if older kids tried to bully our classmates. Yes and we did our share of silly mischiefs, joyful playing and innocent mistakes just like the four kids from Castle Rock, Oregon in Stand by Me.
In the summer of 1969, just after graduation, five of us barely 16 years of age, went on the major expedition to Himalayas, the northern most part of India. While in the town of Pahelgam, we got tempted to track to Amarnath Cave (13000 feet elevation) surrounded by snowy mountains. In those days the tracks were not as good as now and only a few thousand people would visit in the season which was late June to August. It was May and the state government had not officially approved the roads “Open for Travel”. We trusted the local guides who provided horses and accompanied us. There were two couples and three other men in their twenties who also were on that mission with us.
Without proper clothing, or proper food or shoes (one of us in slippers) and without informing our parents, we took off with few bottles of brandies, some food from a local grocery store. The journey was majestic with very early morning sun light reflecting on the snow and two times our horses sinking to their chest high in the snow. But we made it safe to our destination. Just like the in kids in the movie, we didn’t care about the credit for successful expedition but we heard from the fellow traveler that our successful mission was announced on All Kashmir Radio with The Government announcing the season as ‘Officially Open’.
Looking back, with all the training I have received in the adult years (FMEA, Risk Assessment), it was a very high risk mission (may be very foolish by some opinions). Fortunately, everything turned out OK in the end. Since we made it home in one piece, it was the great joy for our parents to talk about it in the town.
This reunion has rekindled many memories. I took this opportunity to draw similarities with the wonderful movie, Stand by Me, to express my nostalgia.
For those friends who are attending the reunion:
We're on our way home We're going home
You and I have memories Longer than the road That stretches out ahead- from the song Two of Us by The Beatles
Point to Ponder: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” – guess who said this?
Ode to Reason- as the year ends
“Man!
Why do you hate,
When there is love?
Why do you hate,
Your own fellow man?
Each one of us, born to die,
In so little time, on this, our planet earth,
So why hate and why not love,
All things that live and breathe,
Including your fellow man
There is so little time.” Erza Mir
Reflection:
I cannot but hate the prospect of slavery’s expansion. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world-enables the enemies of the free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites-causes the real life friends of freedom to doubt sincerity- What Abraham Lincoln said about Slavery applies as well to Hate and Prejudice.
It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of fellow beings- Mahatma Gandhi, The story of my experiments with Truth.
No one is born hating another person because of color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.–Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
All of your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate…I choose love. - Johnny Cash
To all our wonderful readers: Wish you a Very Merry Christmas and/or Enjoyable Holidays.
Point to Ponder: “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without also helping himself.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Story Line: by Rajiv Shah
My mind keeps returning to the film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The film’s message has stayed with me as it has with so many viewers. The message I took away was this: the truth of one’s own life isn’t in the taking, in the acquisition of more and more things, but of the giving of oneself to others. And that giving will impact those around you.
The central character, George Bailey, is not acting like his usual self in the beginning of the film. The townspeople pray to God for George. God responds by sending an angel to show Bailey the positive impact his life has made on his community.
Without going into a full-blown synopsis of the movie, I want to pose a few thoughts: Firstly, Bailey had always wanted to travel the world, and to leave the town that he was so integral to. Secondly, Bailey regretted the things he didn’t do but never saw the positive influence he had in those around him. Why is it that the “what ifs” seem to occupy us more than the “what is?”
Finally, the angel showed George the purpose of his life and the good that was in his life all along.
Reflection: The secret Bailey discovered was that you get what you give. If he had never given of himself to the community, the community would have suffered and George would have never affected the lives of so many people. The material things Bailey didn’t acquire were replaced by the wishes, love, and thoughts of those he impacted in Bedford Falls. As Bailey says at the end of the film, “No man can be poor as long as he has friends.”
This reflection was originally published in December 2010 and then again in December 2014.It has been one of the favorites of the readers.
Point to Ponder: To err is human, to forgive Divine. But then someone said: To err is human, isn’t that Divine?
Reflection: George Bush Sr. was not the only President who had a Vice President who used to goof.......
Vice President Dan Quayle (1988-1992) in his various speeches:
One word probably sums up the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is ‘to be prepared’.
I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy but that could change.
El Salvador is a democracy so it’s not surprising that there are many voices to be heard hear. Yet in my conversations with Salvadorans…I have heard a single voice.
We expect them (Salvadorian Officials) to work toward the elimination of human rights.
If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure.
Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here. –in his visit to Hawaii in September 1989
What a terrible thing to have lost one’s mind, or not to have one at all.
Ronald Reagan had one too.
Source: San Jose Mercury News or Parade Magazine in 1980s. I have Saved it in my collectibles since then.
Story Line: Last week’s Friday Reflection titled No Man is a Failure who has Friends had an error in the spelling of the word Failure in the title. It was spelled Faillure. Thanks to Sharon for letting me know and My apology for the mistake. Trying to make the change in the title would have changed the link to the article that was sent out worldwide. So a footnote was placed in the article explaining the situation. My 92 years old mom witnessing my face tried to soothe my pain by reminding me of some stories I had told her a few decades ago. Thinking of those made me laugh and I am sharing some of those with the readers.
