Friday Reflections

The Best Kind of Bosses.

 

Happy Boss’s Day.

POINT TO PONDER: “The best kind of people (Bosses, Mentors, and Friends) are those who come into your life, and make you see the sun where you once saw clouds. People who believe in you so much that you start to believe in you too. They are once in a lifetime type of people."

Story Line: A few years ago a former work colleague from China visited our place with her teenage son who had just completed the summer program at Stanford. As we were shooting the breeze in the backyard, Harry- the young man asked if I could share some lessons learnt from my time in Industry.

I have been incredibly fortunate to have met many kind, caring and helpful people in my career (Work Colleagues, Bosses and their Bosses, Supplier and Customer Representatives). Every encounter resulted in either a new friendship and/or some good learning experience.  I have shared many of these experiences in Friday Reflections over last 15 years. Today, on The Boss’s day, I would like to share the ones I told Harry (which were appropriate for his age and his immediate future) that I learnt from my Bosses and Mentors.

For every lesson below, I shared stories behind them with Harry. The Young Man seemed happy and, as the reward, recommended an Indian movie Dangal (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5074352/) that was popular in China.

Here are the key lessons from the stories I shared with Harry.

1. Ask one more question Try one more time. I was admitted for four years Bachelor in EE degree program at USC. A year and half later, I had graduated with Masters’ degree in EE and got a job in emerging industry in tough economic times. Ask One More Question
2. Being able to work with people was most important part of my success. Its’ people who make things happen not machines or algorithms.
3. Most important business relations are personal ones.
4. When you go to do one thing, come back with three. Complete the task you went for, develop new friendships and observe and learn from surroundings.
5. We get paid for solving real problems of our stakeholders (customers, investors and employees), not just reporting them or delivering  tools.
6. Learn from the mistakes/experiences of others. You will have plenty of time to make your own. Find a Mentor.
7. A desk is a dangerous place to view the world.
8. The best part of learning is doing.
9. Never have an attitude: "It’s not my job, they don’t pay me for it." Capitalize on every opportunity to earn good will, learn new things and develop new contacts.
10. Treat your job as your own business. Someone has put trust in you for the job. Be frugal, efficient in resource utilization, treat every individual with respect, be solution driven and don’t let go an opportunity (evaluate and if you cannot, refer someone else who can- will demonstrate your commitment to help and establish goodwill).

Reflection: On this auspicious day, I like to share the story about another great boss: Joe Zelayeta, a great human being I was fortunate to have as my Boss in the first company. 

His management philosophy was learned from sports, which he dearly loved and played through college. He not only taught me valuable lessons about work but also more valuable things about life. He came to Immigration with me for my Green Card call and when the Immigration officer asked me to leave the country (due to company’s HR error) he contacted the state department through our corporate office to find solution. He also took care of my entire trip logistics and expenses to bring me back. Later that year when I went to Philippines to get married, he and his boss (John East) made sure that my air ticket was covered, salary was on, and when I checked out of the hotel, the bill was covered. 

Years later, when I had called him and recounted my memories, and thanked him, this is what he said: "Good employees are hard to find. So I did everything possible to….. 

He is long retired but if he ever called me and asked me to work for him again you can guess what my answer is going to be: please read the full story in the link below....

https://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2017/10/good-employees.html

About My First Boss- Between You, Me and the Doorpost.

Point to Ponder: Your first boss is the biggest factor in your career success. A boss who doesn’t trust you won’t give you opportunities to grow. – William Raduchel

Story Line: The quote above starts with words Pick a Boss. I didn’t include it there because, like many people, I didn’t have a choice in picking a boss; especially at my first job out of school and in lean economic times. However, I was fortunate that the gentleman who welcomed me on October 13, 1975 at the doors of Raytheon Semiconductor in Mountain View, California was a very kind man and a very good boss. His name was Charles Fa and people affectionately called him Charlie.

The things I observed and learned from him became instrumental in career success and had a lifelong impact. He liked to tell stories and often used wartime analogies. He told me in the first week, “A good general always inspects his ground before he goes to war”, asking me to spend more time in the manufacturing area and research lab than in the office. He would visit the manufacturing area many times a day and politely ask if he can be of any assistance. He would take me to suppliers and would spend hours explaining how materials and machines were manufactured. Understanding those things helped immensely in effective process development.

Many times he assisted with setting up an experiment by adjusting tools or loading carriers with silicon wafers. He would also give another world war analogy about how conscious people were about using every little resource (even pins and papers) carefully. “Treat everything you use wisely as someone has entrusted you with their belongings”, he would say.

One time I made a stupid (very stupid) mistake that resulted in many broken wafers and caused delay in the development of process. I thought “This is the End. What will I do without a job?” Instead he and his boss comforted me and told me that I was working too many hours (14+) and needed some rest. Instead of writing up a warning or reassigning me to another job, they showed confidence in me; he brought a box of new wafers (material) and asked me to proceed with the next experimental run. That made all the difference in my confidence and excellent results that followed.

Charlie had a deep emotional sensitivity and caring side. When I was looking to buy a car, he came with me to the dealer and negotiated a good price. One time while I was in the middle of loading antimony powder (a toxic chemical) filled tube for a process, someone at the other end prematurely turned on the gas and all the powder flew on my face. He immediately came to my assistance and then insisted to take me to an emergency clinic even though I insisted I was OK. He not only drove me there but waited for hours until I was discharged late in the evening and then took me home. After that He would make sure that I attended follow up doctor’s appointments.

Reflection: Little did I know at the time that years before (in 1968) Charles Fa was cofounder of one pioneering Silicon Valley Memory Company. After he had left the company, he was approached by our General Manager who had known him from past work association and requested him to help us out. Charlie never talked about his past accomplishments. I found out about them only six months into my job from a speaker while attending an external conference.

Charlie had a childlike simplicity and a funny side that people liked. There was a lab technician named Fatima whom Charlie addressed as Veronica. While laughing she said “Charlie, How many times I told you I am Fatima.” Charlie said “Gee I am so sorry Veronica, next time I will call you Fatima.” She knew he was having light hearted humor and tapped him on his hand and said “Remember from now on.” Next time before opening the door to that lab, Charlie stopped, looked at me and smiled “Veronica right?” I knew what he was doing. He laughed and said lets go and see Fatima.

Often one would find Charlie mingling with manufacturing workers and technicians in the cafeteria about work, life and would notice their happy faces.

One more unforgettable signature item from Charlie. Whenever he would want to say something special, he would pull me in the corner and say, “Between you, me and the door post”. Many times it wasn’t confidential but Charlie would still do that while pointing at the door post. Once while he was on his signature line one maintenance guy noticed and jokingly screamed “Hey Charlie you are that  doorpost thing again?.” Charlie pulled me farther into the corner and continued.

PS: Synchronicity or what? I had planned to publish this reflection for a while. Two weeks ago, I saw a message in an email account I had not accessed for a while, there was a message from someone with the last name Fa; one of his children.

To: info@fridayreflections.com

Dear Mr. Shah:

We were doing a google search on our late father, Charles Fa, and came across your mention of him here: https://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/take_risks/page/8/

It was thrilling to hear about something he said to you that you still recall.

Although our father passed away over 4 years ago, we still miss him a great deal.

We would love to hear any other memories you have from working with him.

Thank you so much!

……………… Fa

Charlie: Between You, Me and the doorpost: the lessons I learnt from You about emotional connections, simplicity, managing resources, trusting your employees and fighting a war (doing your work) by being in the field (manufacturing and labs) were valuable. To live in the hearts you left behind was a well lived life.

As you sow, so shall you reap.

THIS POSTER IS USED WITH PERMISSION BY THE CREATORS AT SCARBORO MISSIONS.*

Points to Ponder: At work or in the personal life always remember The Golden Rule 

Story Line: 300 senior ministers (aka managers) from all over the world had gathered in a large hall for the beginning of a leadership summit called by the person who had been crowned the new boss of the organization upon retirement of the previous boss. As it normally happens in such gatherings, after glorifying introductions, the new boss takes the podium to share his vision of the future. Things seem to be going well for the first few minutes until the new boss put up a poster that contained the strategies of his predecessor marked with a huge X over it. Attendees guessed: “Down with the old, Follow the new” was the message. However it puzzled some attendees:

 

Why did the new boss have to undermine the very person who chose him for the job?

Also anyone who had attended the farewell ceremony of the retiring boss had seen that the legendary Chief Executive of the company and many of the current senior executives had shared their fond memories of the retiring boss and highlighted his immense contributions to the company. In addition the company had asked the retiring boss to stay in the advisory role.

 

The common sense would indicate not to undermine someone who was leaving with so much respect and also the one who had chosen him as his successor. Why not focus on the future instead of talking about the past?

What kind of example it sets for the employees? More so when it was in the leadership conference that had many sessions emphasizing things like High Ethics, Uncompromising Integrity, Gratitude, Professionalism with examples of the great leaders of mankind.

 

And even after few years, some members of his staff took opportunities to criticize the strategies of the previous boss; still wondering whether their intent was to please him or to misguide him.

 

Fast Forward: a few years later…

 

Only senior members of the organization were called for a meeting. A new person had been appointed to lead that organization. The old boss (his new job "to be defined") was to report to the newly appointed boss and he was asked to be in the meeting. Some of the very members of his staff who in past had helped develop and praised his strategies termed those very strategies as Failures. One of his staff members even went as far as praising the very first boss (the retired one) and talked about the mistake of abandoning some of his strategies.

 

The old boss did not return to the meeting after lunch break and left the company soon thereafter.

 

Reflection: You may ask: Why this article and Why Now? In the last thirteen years of these reflections, occasionally I have received notes from the readers stating that FR covers stories that are positive in nature, pump up spirits type etc but “are there stories that are negative sounding and we can learn something from them too?” So here is one with many lessons about work and life.

 

But the message that stands above all is: The Golden Rule

*This poster is available to purchase from Ontario Multifaith Council and Interfaith Marketplace.

Penfriends - Half a Century Later

Points to Ponder: “The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?" -Pablo Casals (Spanish Cellist, Wrote music for UN Anthem for world peace, 1963 Presidential Medal of Freedom; b.1876-1973)

Story Line: On September 24, 1970, I saw an envelope in the mail box. It had exotic stamps on it that said Philippines, a place I had not heard of. It was from Luisa Go in Manila who had gotten my address from her best friend who was my cousin’s penfriend. I already had twelve penfriends in various countries but decided to make one more friend for the reasons mentioned in the Reflection section.

During childhood, Luisa had a fascination with Indian culture and people. I found out later that on the way home from high school, she would walk down a street full of shops owned by Indians who lived in Philippines. Filipinos called them “Bombay”. When she would reach home, her mother would tease her “Did you see your Bombay today?”

In 1969 she saw an American movie Maya which was about two teenage boys and Elephant in the jungles of India. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(1966_film)). One of them was an American actor (Jay North) and the other was an Indian actor (Sajid Khan). She became a big fan of Sajid Khan. So when she learned that her best friend had a pen friend in India she asked her to find her one through her Indian penfriend. --and She became my 13th penfriend. 

That is how it all began fifty years ago. The rest of the story is in the reflection section that was shared on our 40th wedding anniversary two years ago. 

Reflection:  The Spy Who Loved Me During my years in elementary school, I developed an interest in collecting stamps. I heard that our neighbor was getting letters from Germany so every other week I would go to his window to check if he had received any letters, and ask if he had some stamps for me. After returning from one summer vacation, and expecting a ton of stamps, I went to his place only to find the windows shut. After a few more days with closed windows, I knocked on the main door of the house. The lady who was renting the room to him informed me that he had moved to Germany. Upon further investigation I found out that his “Penfriend” had come and they had gotten married and moved to Germany*. That was my first exposure to English word,"Penfriend.”

That experience added to my hobby of stamp collecting and I wanted to know more about other countries while improving my English. By the summer of 1970, I had Penfriends in twelve different countries.

So when my cousin Yogini informed me that she had given my address to a girl in Philippines who was looking for a friend in India, I was not very enthusiastic. All the other Penfriends I had selected were from countries where I could correctly pronounce the name. I had never heard about the country named “Fili Pines**”. Plus she was going to be No. 13. I also thought about having no more money to buy stamps to send letters. My cousin was persistent and informed me that the person she was recommending is the best friend of her penfriend Helen Tan in Philippines and I would be very happy. She also showed me the stamps from Fili Pines which were very attractive.

On September 24, 1970 I received the first letter from Luisa Go. The casual writing style, handwriting and the brief introduction was very appealing. And the stamps were beautiful. The only thing that seemed strange was she had used the word Penpal instead of Penfriend. But I accepted the new label considering that one purpose of having friends around the world was to learn new things.

Things started out well until in one of her subsequent letters, she mentioned that she had a Chinese heritage. Her father was born in China and had migrated to Philippines at an early age and her mother was half Chinese and half Filipino. The word “Chinese” raised a Red Flag on my side. In the early 60s India and China had a border war and after that the relationships between two countries were strained. When some people found out she was “Chinese” they gave me cautionary advice; be careful, Chinese are very smart and they might be trying to get a spy through Fili Pines. After some discussion with my parents about this I decided to take a chance and keep writing letters.

Over next five years, we exchanged many letters, stamps and sometimes coins as Bonus. She had great sense of humor and shared very interesting stories about places, movies and various things written on variety of papers in a very likeable style.

In 1974 I moved to California. After a string of coincidences, On August 2, 1978, I ended up in Philippines to meet her. Since we never thought we would ever meet in person, we had told each other enough secrets about ourselves leaving no need for confessions. So in my second visit there in September of the same year, we got engaged. During my third visit there on December 19, 1978, we exchanged vows “I Do” in front of the judge in Manila City Hall.

Reflection: The last forty years have enriched us with the great understanding of each other; for me, richness and diversity of Chinese and Filipino people; and for her, fascinating history and heritage of India and its people.

In August 1978, when I came out of the door of Manila International Airport for the first time, I saw two girls waiting outside. Instantly I recognized my Penpal. The very first thought that came to my mind was “Do I want to be with her for the rest of my life?” and my heart said “Yes”.
And Yes, through the years there have been some border conflicts (aka disagreements, dialogues), some intense, but not once over anything related to our countries, cultures or religions. Just excursions we would have had in any relationship even if the person was from our own culture. One ancient rule of warfare has been followed: Ceasefire before dark (and a goodnight hug).

In 14 years of Friday Reflections being in a public domain, I have never shared such very personal story. Thank You for allowing me to do so on the significant milestone in our journey; 40 years.

I will end with the words from a very first valentine card from my new life partner and former penpal (Year 1979.)

“You are life’s most precious gift to me, for the reasons even I can’t explain. I love you more and more every day.”

*in late 1980s we were able to track down that neighbor through common association. JayKrishna and Giesla came by our place during their visit to USA.

**We pronounced Philippines as Fili Pines in early days.

 

The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling

Photo by C T Ong of Penang, Malaysia.

Point to Ponder: Anything that gets your blood racing is worth doing - Hunter S. Thompson

Story Line: Passion lives on even during self isolation as shown below. During last six months, many friends around the world shared some of their activities during the global crisis. Following are some of those:

1. Know your passion. Dream it. Live it: C T Ong is an Engineer working in semiconducor Industry in Penang, Malaysia. During his various business travels, after work hours, he used to follow his other passion; capturing images of places and people. Following two exhibits are some of the marvelous images captured by his lens in his local area during this self isolaton period.

2. When one loves what he does, it is no longer work, it becomes a way of life: Nimish Vyas is a research biologist from Maryland. From childhood he had passion for birds and related ecosystem. He followed that throughout his life; degree, job. During his business trips he spent time in the plane rides drawing pictures of birds. He has continued that passion during the stay@home period.  

3. Follow Your Passion:Photos of unique flowers taken by Lee Min Chong of California, Gordon Ching of Hawaii and Yan Bee Lim of Malaysia.

4. Discover your passion: Wonderful images captured during travels by Nanseng Jeng of Washington, Boon Seng Tan from Oregon, Kim Ocampo from California and Dipankar Bose of Sunnyvale, California.

5. Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion: Mini Vegetable farm of Dave and Analisa Hightower of California and mini fruit orchard of Luisa and Anand Shah.

Fruits of Passion

6. Passion for Nature: Photos from gardens by: Kim Foong Chong Malaysia, Lee Min Chong California, Sharvary Trivedi London, Luisa Shah, Birds enjoying bath by Thad Gardner Oregon and Stunning roses Alankar Naik from North Carolina. 

7. Stunning colors amidst smoke: Photos of noon and evening sun by Anand, Majestic tree by Neil Simpson, Golden Sky over the house by Ray Pineda in California and very smoky Oregon by Mike Goodner.

8. Finding the right work is discovering your own soul in the universe: Childhood love has continued for: writing and acting continues for Rajiv Shah, love for singing  continues for Namrata Shodhan and Hetal Raval of Ahmedabad India and Paintings for Shweta Parikh of Ahmedabad India.

Reflection: Even during this Pandemic, People have continued with or discovered their Passion. And Passion leads one to his/her purpose. 

On this Special Day: All of your life you will be faced with a choice.

Point to Ponder: “All of your life you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate….I choose love.” – Johnny Cash

Love, love changes everything…How you live and how you die…Love will change your world around…And that world will last forever- from Aspects of Love

Story Line: The Year 2020 has brought incredible challenges and sufferings to the world and it seems that more is on horizon if not addressed quickly. Pandemic has affected the entire world, resulting in millions of sick people and loss of many lives, created major disruptions in daily lives of people and weakening economy. To add to that there has been great social unrest demanding equality and justice. And Nature keeps giving us preview of upcoming big tragedy starting with huge Hurricanes, Snow Storms and Forest Fires. Either we shape up and respect Nature or Face what will come next.

But on this day I like to reflect on another major disaster shaping up on the horizon which is Human Tragedy. If not addressed in timely manner, it would result in the major sufferings and setbacks for the mankind.

Reflection: It could happen again unless….

(Excerpt from the Post of my friend Fred Neal): “19 years ago 246 people went to sleep in preparation for the morning flights. 2606 people went to sleep in preparation for work. 343 fire fighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift. 60 police officers and 8 paramedics went to sleep before their morning shift.

None of them saw past 10:30 AM on September 11, 2001. In one single moment life never will be the same.”   Root Cause: One Man and his followers’ Hatred towards another country and life style.

The Holocaust: Between 1941 and 1945, across Europe, Nazis and its collaborators systematically murdered six million Jews. The root cause: One Man’s Hatred towards another group of people based on race, success in society despite being a minority, and religion.

The Killing fields of Cambodia: where 1.4 million people were tortured, killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime during it rule of the country from 1975 to 1979. Never seen such a horrific scenes of human cruelty in life and not been able to get those images out of mind. The root cause: Hatred of one Man towards different ethnic groups, immigrants, religions and social status.

And in above three and similar cases, these evil men were able to influence and enlist followers through their messages of Hatred of others for being different in race, religion, educational status, ethnicity, their successes in society and not having similar ideologies. With misinformation campaigns and reinforcing the message of Divisiveness these evil men temporarily succeeded in their evil cause and created enormous human tragedy.

And in so many of such cases the victims who suffered great losses have in the spirit of "If hatred answers hatred when will it ever end? demonstrated forgiveness and moved on with their lives.

What if the current leaders of Nations, Churches and various Societies would spend their precious time on encouraging people with the message of Love, Understanding and respecting differences, learning from other’s successes and diversity and cooperation- What would the world look like then?

Ending with a few lines from a song from the musical Aspects of Love

Love, love changes everything…How you live and how you die…Love will change your world around…And that world will last forever. (Love for fellow living beings and Nature)

Lyrics: https://genius.com/Andrew-lloyd-webber-love-changes-everything-lyrics

 

 

....And They Flew

POINT TO PONDER:
 
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.” - Paulo Coelho  
 
 
STORYLINE:
 
“Come to the edge,” he said. 
They said, “we are afraid.”
“Come to the edge,” he said. 
They came. He pushed them...
and they flew.” *   -Unknown 

 REFLECTION by Rajiv Shah

Two voices live within all of us - one of possibility and one of fear. One often dominates the other and it is often fear that wins. It’s safer and more predictable. It hedges the bets before they've even been made. It lives in us all, a seeming friend concerned about our well-being, whispering to us whenever we move into the unknown. When we dare to push the limits of our capabilities and the breadth of our power, it comes to our side. It wants us to play safe. It feeds on our insecurities and cultivates our failures. It uses disappointment against us, putting it on display whenever we begin to strive for something greater.

We listen to this voice when we push back our hopes and dreams. Fear works from a negative – from something being taken, from not being control, and most dangerous - not being good enough. If that is the voice we choose and that is what we put out – then that is exactly what we will get back in return.

What if we chose the opposite? Try it. It's scary as hell. Do something you've wanted that means a lot to you and that you've been putting off. Start small. It could be anything – making a phone call to someone you think is important, smiling at people even though they may not smile back, getting to the gym, or taking that first step to pursuing your dreams. The beauty is that positivity works the same way, the more you put out and the more will come back. 

See if that voice comes in. The one that tells you that it's silly, that it won't work, and that it's not for you right now. Pay attention to what it says and to why you will or will not listen anymore. I almost guarantee that it will be there every step of the way. The choice will be yours whether you give in to it. 

* in the original post of May 2010, the reader microCEO pointed out that the storyline quote was not by the person mentioned so the name removed  

Posted at 09:06 PM in 6. Take Risks | Permalink

POINT TO PONDER:
 
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream.” - Paulo Coelho  
 
 
STORYLINE:
 
“Come to the edge,” he said. 
They said, “we are afraid.”
“Come to the edge,” he said. 
They came. He pushed them...
and they flew.” *   -Unknown 

 REFLECTION by Rajiv Shah

Two voices live within all of us - one of possibility and one of fear. One often dominates the other and it is often fear that wins. It’s safer and more predictable. It hedges the bets before they've even been made. It lives in us all, a seeming friend concerned about our well-being, whispering to us whenever we move into the unknown. When we dare to push the limits of our capabilities and the breadth of our power, it comes to our side. It wants us to play safe. It feeds on our insecurities and cultivates our failures. It uses disappointment against us, putting it on display whenever we begin to strive for something greater.

We listen to this voice when we push back our hopes and dreams. Fear works from a negative – from something being taken, from not being control, and most dangerous - not being good enough. If that is the voice we choose and that is what we put out – then that is exactly what we will get back in return.

What if we chose the opposite? Try it. It's scary as hell. Do something you've wanted that means a lot to you and that you've been putting off. Start small. It could be anything – making a phone call to someone you think is important, smiling at people even though they may not smile back, getting to the gym, or taking that first step to pursuing your dreams. The beauty is that positivity works the same way, the more you put out and the more will come back. 

See if that voice comes in. The one that tells you that it's silly, that it won't work, and that it's not for you right now. Pay attention to what it says and to why you will or will not listen anymore. I almost guarantee that it will be there every step of the way. The choice will be yours whether you give in to it. 

* in the original post of May 2010, the reader microCEO pointed out that the storyline quote was not by the person mentioned so the name removed  

Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Thanks to 3boysnberry for sharing this touching thought provoking post by Susan Hennessey. 

Point to Ponder: I believe the children are our are future, Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside, Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be...

Story Line:  The excellent post by Susan Hennessey brought back memory of our FaceTime talk with two grandsons two weeks ago. As we were chatting with our 6 year old and 4 year old grandsons, the elder one said, “ You know Grandpa/Grandma, We cannot go to school now. You and Sacramento Grandpa and Grandma are only ones we see. I love you guys. But I miss playing with my friends.” Listening to this, We got very emotional. Then this week We spent time with our other two grandsons and witnessed the distance learning. Eventhough 7 years old was well engaged in remote classes, we felt sad that he couldn’t see or play with his friends during break time or other play times. These children are losing some best time of their life to interact, giggle and laugh with one another. And it is very challenging for parents as well.  Sad reality of current state of affairs. 

Reflection: Many friends and young parents in Asia, Europe and USA have expressed their feelings about the challenging and at times frustrating situation of having children at home while they are also working from home. I would request them to listen to this beautiful music A Passage of Life from Kitaro as their day is winding down. Please close your eyes and go through memories of what you were and what you did when you were at the age your youngsters are today. Places things in perspective.  ❤️❤️ To All  

 

The Heart of The Enlightened

Thanks to Lim Chiew Boey of Penang, Malaysia for the above exhibit which rekindled memories of my introduction to Anthony de Mello in 2007.

Point to Ponder: "Said the river to the seeker: 'Does one really have to fret about enlightenment? No matter which way I turn, I'm homeward bound.'" --Anthony de Mello

Story Line: From The Heart of The Enlightened.

We are like bears pacing in a cage, Anthony de Mello says. Even if the cage is removed, we keep pacing in the same timid limits. We are afraid to get out. And we think that the only way out is by endless striving and thinking. But this profound healer and spiritual master shows us another way.

*The Heart of the Enlightened contains more than two hundred of de Mello's favorite stories. Whether Buddhist tales, Hindu fables, Islamic sayings, or Christian parables, the stories de Mello has chosen are sure to seep through to the heart. They touch on relationships, human nature, service, spirituality, and enlightenment. These are stories to be read slowly and savored. They are the key to liberating us from all that would pen us in.*

A few short stories from the book:

"Excellent sermon," said the parishioner, as she pumped the hand of the preacher. "Everything you said applies to someone or the other I know."

Whatever your treasure must be held in the hollow of your hand as water is held. Clutch at it and it is gone. Appropriate it to yourself and you soil it. Set it free and is forever yours.

When they came to tell a man that his house had been carried away by the flood, he laughed and said, " Impossible! I have the key to the house right here in my pocket!"

The human mind makes foolish divisions in what Love sees as One.

Plutarch tells the story of how Alexander the Great came upon Diogenes looking attentively at a heap of human bones. "What are you looking for?" asked Alexander.

"Something I cannnot find," said the philosopher.

"And what is that?"

" The difference between your father's bones and those of his slaves."

REFLECTION from the memory lane: It was a late night in early November 2007 in Ireland. I had just arrived at the Maynooth station from Dublin. After a long wait, I finally got a taxi. During travel to my hotel, I noticed that the taxi driver had a long last name that ended in Coelho, his first name was Luis. So I asked Luis if he had any connection with the well-known author Paulo Coelho. He told me that the only connection was that he had read all of Paulo’s books. Luis was very well-read person and sparked conversations between us that lasted for a half an hour after we reached my hotel; us still talking in his taxi and him ignoring many calls for the service. On my last day in Dublin, Luis came to the hotel and gave me the book, "The Heart or the Enlightened" by Anthony De Mello.

Anthony De Mello? The first time I had heard about him was only two weeks prior when I was in Costa Rica. I was at the hotel desk, inquiring about the tour to Arenal Volcano. Lee, a retiree of the American corporate world and frequent visitor to Costa Rica, happened to overhear my question and offered some tips. That started a conversation which converged to our common interests in books and travel, and him mentioning Anthony De Mello. 

 

The chance enocunters with these two gentlemen resulted in my introduction to Anthony de Mello and his books.

 

So here is a some profound wisdom about story telling from “The Heart of The Enlightened” by Anthony De Mello.

 

"It is a great mystery that though the human heart longs for Truth in which it alone it finds liberation and delight, the first reaction of human beings to Truth is one of hostility and fear. So the Spiritual Teachers of humanity, like Buddha and Jesus, created a device to circumvent the opposition of their listeners: the story. They knew that the most entrancing words a language holds are 'Once upon a time...,' that it is common to oppose a truth but impossible to resist a story. Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, says that if you listen carefully to a story you will never be the same again. That is because the story will worm its way into your heart and break down the barriers to the divine. You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story."

 

* Description From the book review in internet

Bill and Melinda Gates - Let your life be your message

Point to Ponder: “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”

Story Line: What prompted this late reflection are two things. 1.A Facebook post by an old colleague about one article* that covers Bill Gate's contributions to humanity and criticizing the people who are spreading heinous rumors about him. 2. Some mails/messages and phone calls by people inquiring why they did not see Friday Reflection this week. Since our visit to Bill and Melinda Gates Discovery Center in Seattle (must visit) last year, I have been wanting to write about it and this opportunity came up. Eventhough images taken by camera are not of the highest quality, the readers will be able to see the immense contributions of these kind souls to humanity.

Reflection: Images from visit to Bill and Melinda Gates Discovery Center on July 23, 2019.

Talking about the responsibilty and opportunity they have and visit to Africa in Fall of 1993.

Formation of Gates Foundationin 1994: The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others

A Family Affair and Commitment

Saved hundreds of thousands of lives with many healthcare intiatives

Dropped infant mortality rates throughout entire developing world by funding vaccine programs and vaccinating 40,000,000 children for polio.*

Spent 30 years of his life and $50 billion of his own money to support humanitarian causes.*

 

Funded free educational and innovation programs*

 

 

After all these, pledged to donate 90% of remaining wealth to charity. *

Arguably doing more to better life on earth for humanity than any other human being to ever lived*

Let your life be your message - Mahatma Gandhi

 

*article refrenced is by Scott Brynan of Scientific Meme Correction Team on FB. Title: Imagine being Bill Gates right now. It highlights immense contributions of Bill Gates to humanity which are in *captions over some of the abve exhibits and then tells the people who are spreading false rumors about Bill: " You then hop on the internet only to find a million scientifc illerate ....imbeciles that are using very computer Bill Gates pretty much invented in the first place to call you a child murdering arch villian antichrist because they watched a youtube video made by some other yoke!with the comprehension of a ....potato.