Friday Reflections

Anyway

POINT TO PONDER

"We believe all lives have equal value, and that includes the many more people who will live in future generations than live today. Our society has an obligation to invest now to improve the lives of all those coming into this world, not just those already here".

                            —Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan in a letter to their newborn daughter

 

STORY LINE

Last week Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan donated 99% of their Facebook stock to philanthropic ventures with the mission to advance human potential and equality. But even a noble gesture like this had it’s critiques who cautioned that the foundation was set up to save on their taxes. (remember: 99% of any money goes to the foundation anyway and it was set up as corporation that can drive efficiency). This reminded me of famous The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent Keith, a version of it that was on Mother Teresa’s wall and is shown below:

 

ANYWAY  by Kent Keith

People are unreasonable, illogical, self-centered
...love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives
...do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies
...be successful anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow
...do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable
...be honest and frank anyway.

People love underdogs but follow only top dogs
...follow some underdog anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight
...build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you try to help
...help people anyway.

If you give the world the best you have, you may get kicked in the teeth
...but give the world the best you have
...ANYWAY.

 

Reference: http://www.kentmkeith.com/mother_teresa.html

 

Better Than the Best

 

POINT TO PONDER

"Love says to separate oneself from this world, but beauty says that wherever you go there is a new world that waits".

Original Urdu translation: Ishq kehta hai aalam say juda ho jao, Husn kehta hai jahan jao wahan naya aalam hai.

 

STORY LINE by Anand Shah

Since my retirement in May, I have travelled to many places: Lake Tahoe, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, Salt Lake City, New England, New Zealand and Fiji. During my most recent trip to Fiji, a fellow traveler asked, “Which place was the best?” It was difficult to choose as each one had a splendor all its own. From boating on the clear blue waters of Tahoe, to the majestic cliffs of Bryce Canyon, and the warmth that the Fijian people had shared with us; it was difficult to choose just one. As I stood searching for an answer, staring at a line of coconut trees swaying coolly in the warm afternoon breeze, my subconscious mind wanted to claim this stretch of beach as the most beautiful place.

My wife and I reflected on this encounter in the evening over dinner. We recalled every destination we have been to in last six months and all of them had beautiful places, cultures and people. A pattern emerged as all too often we would ask ourselves in each new place, “Can there be a place better than this?” And when the next encounter came, we wondered the same thing.

This feeling did not go away once we returned home and went to the marshlands in Palo Alto. My wife and I watched as this white egret glided past us, rising higher over the marsh, and into the distance against a spectacular view of the San Francisco bay. It was free, it was graceful, and it was beautiful. And for a quiet moment we both just watched… Once it was gone, I finally had my answer. I turned to my wife and said, “This place. This is the best. Right here and right now…”

 

REFLECTION

The whole experience reminded me of the lines from a song that I loved in my childhood and which I choose as this week’s point to ponder. Many times when we encounter something so beautiful and so majestic, in the romance of experiencing that moment we detaching ourselves from the rest of the world. We are fully in the moment. Only later do we realize, in the next encounter, that beauty is everywhere in this world all around you: in nature, in cultures, and in people. If we can get in harmony with the present.