Friday Reflections

Live the Life You've Imagined (Part 2-Do What You Love)

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “Fill your life with experiences, not things.  Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” –Anonymous

Storyline: When Gautam, at the age of 23, scrounged some money from his best friend Subha and bought a train ticket to Nepal in the summer of 2008, he had no idea it would change his life forever.  After living a sheltered childhood in India and going through the motions, spending three months hitch-hiking and backpacking in the Himalayas was eye-opening.  “From an experience like that, a switch in your brain just turns on,” he says.  “On that trip, I understood what freedom meant.”

Though he earned his degree in engineering, Gautam’s true passion is exploring the natural world.  For the past decade, he’s traveled the world with his now wife Subha, also an engineer from a similar background.  From spending their honeymoon with the Pech Indian tribe in the remote jungles of Honduras to riding motorcycles up the Pacific Coast Highway, all the way to Seattle, little seems off-limits for Gautam, who prefers to venture off the beaten path rather than stay at hotel rooms in crowded tourist destinations.  Yet he doesn’t see his unconventional lifestyle as risk-taking: “Out there in raw nature, you never push yourself to do what you think you’re capable of,” he says.  “You have to be able to enjoy what you’re doing.”

While Gautam loves exploring the natural beauty of the various and diverse landscapes the world has to offer–from glaciers and mountain ranges to deserts and rainforests–the real draw of many of the places he visits is the people he meets, many of whom have shown him immense kindness and hospitality.  “When you meet all these interesting people, you learn so much about humanity in general,” he says.  “It reinforces the fact that people are inherently good.” 

Parenthood has also been a key part of Gautam’s journey: “Kids look at you as an example of how to live, so now you have no choice but to be the best version of yourself,” he says.  “I have to learn things to make it safe and more educational for them, which is only making my life more enriched.”  During COVID, Gautam took advantage of the opportunity to truly bond with his children, taking them on coast to coast road trips to Florida, camping in places like Yosemite and many other national forests in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and planting a vegetable garden.  “I want my kids to learn that you have the freedom and ability to do what you like to do,” he says.  “A lot of people want to do many things, but they have a lot of fears in mind.  If it's an honorable passion, what I want them to learn is that you should do what you like.  Only when people do what they like can beautiful things happen.”

Gautam’s goal is not to excel at one single thing, whether that’s work or climbing.  Rather, he wants to experience the variety of what the world has to offer, regardless of skill level.  “For me, it’s about learning, to satisfy the curiosity of mind,” he says.  “I don’t have to be the best engineer or the best mountaineer.  As long as we’re giving our best and having fun at it, it’s okay.  It’s my life.”

Reflection: While talking with Gautam and writing this post, I thought about the song “Try Everything” from Disney’s Zootopia, and the saying “jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one.”  Your passion doesn’t have to be limited to one specific field or area.  If you can be passionate about life, about trying new things, then you open yourself up to all sorts of possibilities and opportunities you may not have had otherwise.  You don’t have to be the best at everything, or even one single thing.  Sometimes it’s only when you try–and fail–that you can really experience freedom.

 

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.... * 

From L-R: Camping in Himlayas, Leh-Ladakh, @16000 feet, Annapurna-Nepal, Ice climbing Frozen Waterfall-Outray-Colorado, SanJose to Seattle on Motor Bike, Burning Man, Indian Creek-Utah

 

Honeymoon in Honduras (where there are no hotels or tourists)

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” Thomas Carlyle

 Row 1-Mount Shasta, Row 2 Mount Whitney, Row 3-Mount Rainier

Row 1: Mount Hood, Grand Titon. Row 2: Yosemite, Rock Climbing in Tahoe, Thousand Island Lake

*....As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." ― Henry David Thoreau

Serenity of Home Sweet Home: Home grown, Home Cooked

 

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

Anand and Phoebe first met at a Kid-to-Work Day over two decades ago. Once a week, they meet to discuss the various stories, experiences, memories, and lessons he's collected over the years. They approach each conversation from two different stages in life, one looking forward, the other looking back.

Do What You Love, or Find Love in What You Do (Part 1)

 

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “I don’t discover anything new; I reveal what’s already there.” --photographer to Queenie Thompson, Queenie (1987 miniseries)

Storyline: CT Ong’s photography can best be described in one word: revelatory.  Each picture captures a single moment, and each moment reveals a story.

For CT (aka City), photography is a sort of meditation, a way to relax the mind by concentrating on a single subject.  Wildlife photography, for instance, is an exercise in patience, in adapting to your subject’s behavior and waiting hours to get the perfect shot. “Calming down the mind and taking a break during photography actually helps me to look at work and other life problems or issues differently,” he says.  “There are many times that a solution pops up when my mind is relaxed.”

An engineer by profession, CT discovered his passion for photography when he volunteered to take pictures at an international conference.  CT enjoyed seeing the detail in people’s expressions and natural behaviors, and afterwards he began taking pictures in his daily life, documenting everything from business trips to family celebrations.  With travel suspended during COVID, CT took to photographing his neighborhood: birds visiting flowers in his garden, vivid sunsets painting the sky in vibrant reds, and even droplets of water swirling around a leaf.  “Through the viewpoint of a camera,” he says, “I learn to discover beauty in everything I see.”

Reflection: Many of us have a profession (something we’re good at) and a passion (something we love).  Your profession and passion may not be the same, but you can find ways to incorporate the two.  Much as CT is most focused and ready to solve engineering problems when he’s behind the lens of a camera, having diverse interests outside of work can help enhance our creativity and spark new ideas.  The more ways we have of looking at an issue, the more options we have to tackle it.

They say that the brain is most creative when it has to work within limitations, and COVID provided a great opportunity for CT to hone his craft, to really capture the simple beauty of his immediate surroundings.  Plans may change and circumstances might be less than ideal, but sometimes, when we’re under pressure or constrained in our thinking, that’s when the most interesting discoveries emerge.

 

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

 

Anand and Phoebe first met at a Kid-to-Work Day over two decades ago. Once a week, they meet to discuss the various stories, experiences, memories, and lessons he's collected over the years. They approach each conversation from two different stages in life, one looking forward, the other looking back.

The Forest Said Nothing, It Just Let Her Breathe.*

Alishan National Forest, Taiwan - Photo by Luisa Go Shah

Point to Ponder:  “In solitude there is healing.  Speak to your soul.  Listen to your heart.  The answers are often found in the absence of noise.” --Dodinsky

Storyline: Special Thanks to Milan Trivedi, one of our readers, who sent in this beautiful poem by Becky Hemsley.  

Breathe

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,

She led from the front and they hated her pride,

They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,

They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,

When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,

So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,

They told her they'd listen, then covered their ears,

And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,

And she listened to all of it thinking she should,

Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,

But one day she asked what was best for herself,

Instead of trying to please everyone else,

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,

She heard the wind whisper and danced with the leaves,

She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,

And she told them what she'd been told time after time,

She told them she felt she was never enough,

She was either too little or far far too much,

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by fires,

And she stopped...and she heard what the trees said to her,

And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,

For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.

*You can support Becky’s work by following her on Facebook or visiting her shop on Etsy. 

Reflection: I think a lot of us, particularly those of us who are women, can relate to this poem -- this feeling of never being good enough, that nothing you say or do will ever please people.  It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the demands different people make of us -- teachers, employers, family, friends -- and so it’s incredibly important, especially as we approach the holiday season, to take time to sit with ourselves and just let ourselves be: without judgement, without obligation, without fear.

 

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

 

Leaders Can Come From Anywhere, at Any Age.

Happy Thanksgiving

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.” --Joe DiMaggio

Storyline: On November 4, after eleven years playing Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced his retirement.  The news shocked fans -- Posey had just helped propel the Giants to their best season in history, and at only 34 still seemed to have more ahead of him.

From the moment Posey first stepped foot in the Giants clubhouse in 2009, he made an impression.  Sports broadcaster Mike Krukow recalled that Posey had a presence unlike any other rookie he’d seen, an “it factor” that left even his veteran teammates in awe and eager to impress him.  That energy helped reinvigorate an aging team of underestimated misfits, as Posey and the team led San Francisco to win its first championship in 2010 and two more in the span of five years.  He played every game with a focused determination, a drive to push the team forward that remained untouched by ego, and became a quiet leader to those around him, a person his teammates could rely on and an opinion they could trust.  Posey is perhaps nearly as famous for his “Buster Hugs,” a hallmark of nearly every major victory in these past 12 years and a testament to the strength of his relationship with each Giants pitcher, as he is for his playing.  As basketball player Steph Curry described it, “There’s always a feeling of somebody who represented one organization for his entire career and did it with class the entire time.”

Buster Posey’s final season feels like an encore, a last hurrah before the curtain falls and the lights go down.  He opted out of the 2020 season to spend time with his family and his newly-adopted twin daughters, and came back this year stronger than ever, the longest-tenured member on the team and a leader to a group of new up-and-comers.  It was not the first time he’d returned to the game after a hiatus, and perhaps one reason fans were so caught off-guard by Posey’s decision to retire was because they were so used to seeing him get back up again, fall after fall.  But playing one of baseball’s most physically-taxing positions takes its toll, and at the end of the day, Posey decided to place not only his family first, but his own well-being.

Former Giants pitcher Barry Zito said it best in a Twitter tribute to his old teammate:  “You have what most of us MLB players never did, true perspective.  You didn’t bow down & worship the game of baseball as if it were your God.  In the eyes of @SFGiants fans, you walked on water but to you, it was just a game you loved to play and that’s why you played it so well.  Perspective.  You cared about the game but didn’t let it define you the way we all did.  Whether you were winning one of your 3 World Series titles or in the middle of a career-worst slump you were the same Buster, focused, friendly and always professional.”

Reflection: It doesn’t take a seasoned veteran to make a leader.  At 23, Buster Posey was already setting an example for his team before he’d even played his first game.  For twelve years, his dedication, humility, and commitment to his teammates never wavered.  His priorities, too, remained unchanged -- while baseball was his livelihood, at the end of the day, at the peak of his career, he chose to step away and take care of himself and his family.  That, too, takes confidence.

Happy Thanksgiving, Buster.  We’re thankful for you and all you’ve given us, and we know your family is too.

(An additional thanks to my mother, a lifelong Giants fan whose input helped make this post possible, and to our readers around the world, for your continued support and contributions to discussion through the years.  From all of us at Friday Reflections, Happy Thanksgiving.)

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

Leaving Lasting Memories

Friends never say goodbye -- they simply say “See you again.”

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” --Maya Angelou

Storyline: People leave their jobs for a myriad of reasons, whether they’ve found a better opportunity elsewhere, are dissatisfied with their current job, or are simply ready to move on to the next stage of their life.  There are many ways to say goodbye to your colleagues, whether with a goodbye, a hug, or an “I’ll miss you.”  But how can you tell someone how much they meant to you, and how important they were to your experience?

Whenever he left a job to pursue something new, Anand took a cue from his dad and wrote a personal letter to each of his colleagues, from close team members to suppliers, customers, and many others he’d developed relationships with during his time in the workplace.  In the days leading up to his final retirement, he went one step further, creating over 100 one-page PowerPoint collages with pictures, meaningful quotes, and email exchanges to capture the memories he had with each person (or the team) -- trips they’d taken, projects they’d worked on, triumphs they’d shared.  Even now, years later, he still encounters old colleagues at the farmer’s market or during an invitation to dinner and reminisces over the memories they shared.

If you’ve spent time at any organization -- a school, a club, a company -- you’ve likely made some friends and lasting memories.  Why not celebrate them?  Every ending is a chance to reflect, and like all things, reflecting and reminiscing are more fun when you share them with others.

Try also to leave on good terms with people, even if you didn’t always agree with them on certain issues.  You never know when your paths might cross again--and every disagreement was a learning experience you’ll carry with you in the next stage of your life.

(Pictured below are two collages, one made for my dad and one for the team in Malaysia.  Each collage featured three components: work-related memories, such as the graph at right; personal quotes and messages, in the bottom right and middle; and photos of memorable moments.)

Reflection: When I think of lasting memories, I think of high school, the smell of uncapped Sharpies permeating the air, ink staining fingertips as people scribble notes--hasty or heartfelt--in each other’s yearbooks.  Yearbook signatures are like miniature time capsules of your relationship with a person.  We’ve all written “HAGS” (have a great summer) in the yearbook pages of people we didn’t know well.  But the notes we look back on are the stories -- the inside jokes from English class, the impromptu late-night trips to Trader Joe’s, the hours you spent with people at track practice or rehearsals for Seussical or working on the school newspaper, long after everyone else had gone home.

My final goodbye to high school was an Instagram account I ran with my best friend where we posted memes (Internet jokes) based on classic literature.  It was a fun way to spend the last few months of high school and pay tribute to our English classes (and our English teachers, who we still love dearly), and even though neither of us have the time to update it anymore, it’s fun to look back on some of the memories we captured and the reactions from our classmates.  One post I always return to is a series of memes I made about our graduation ceremony, an event that was as chaotic and unintentionally hilarious as it was emotional.  For all the difficulties many of my classmates and I experienced during those formative years, we could always get through it with humor and heart -- and I know that for all the grievances I’ve had with my university, when the time comes to say goodbye, I’ll look back on my time here fondly.

Final thoughts:

Entering your third year of college after spending a third of your undergraduate career on Zoom is a strange experience.  Many of my peers and I still feel like second years, barely acquainted with this brave new world of experimentation and possibility yet already being asked to contemplate our next steps.

We tend to think of college as a final destination, the culmination of thirteen long years of hard work, but it’s really a transitional space.  I think that’s true of a lot of stages in our lives: the end of one journey is the beginning of another, and there’s always a weird in-between to negotiate.  There’s a time for looking back, reflecting on where you’ve been and what you’ve learned, but eventually you must move forward, to go new places and learn new things.  Whether you’re a high school freshman or a senior in college, a newcomer to the workforce or a soon-to-be retiree, I think this advice will help all of us navigate two of the most significant times in your life -- the bookends of adulthood.

 

(Thank you all for your kind words on my previous post -- I’m glad I was able to make a good first impression.)

Originally from the SF Bay Area, Phoebe Pineda currently studies Writing and Literature at the University of California Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies.  In addition to storytelling, she enjoys sunset-watching, road trips, and making art.

Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you and me.*

Points to Ponder: Share our similarities, celebrate our differences. - M. Scott Peck

Story Line: This week, there were celebrations of two different festivals in many parts of the world; Halloween and Diwali.

That brought back memories of the rare occurrence that happened in the year 2005. I was on an assignment in Penang, Malaysia. During the span of five days, Malaysians celebrated Halloween, Diwali (Hindu Festival of Lights) and Hari Raya (Muslim day of celebration at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting). It was fun to see celebrations, the integration of cultures, and harmony between people.

This type of alignment between Western, Islamic and Vedic calendars that brought these three events in a week has happened only once in this century and rarely if ever before. It was a 3:1 feast in experiencing richness of Diversity for me.

Reflection: Throughout my work assignments and travels over the last fifty years I have been fortunate to have met and made close friends from many countries, cultures and religious backgrounds. Many dialogues and interactions between our families plus staying in different countries have enriched me with understanding and appreciation of different customs and practices. There are so many similarities between people once we get to know them. We also learn from the differences in beliefs and practices that have developed because of historical and cultural events.

Just to share one example: annual fasting during certain religious festivals and asking for forgiveness from other people on the last day of festival are common practices in Jainism and Judaism. Most cultures have the message of “The Golden Rule” in their scriptures. This message of kindness and compassion is a common belief that connects many cultures across the globe.

For today I will end this reflection with a beautiful wall hanging I saw in Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad, during our visit in 2004. Even though it only mentions two faiths, The message in there is deep and universal.

 

 

*Quote from Carlos Fuentes

 

A Place Where Everybody Knows your Name

Points to Ponder: The words that we attach to our experience become our experience. – Tony Robbins

Cheers, Where Everybody Knows your Name. T-Shirt from Cheers Bar in Boston

Story Line: This year I had a sad experience of parting with the T-Shirt that I have worn for a long time. It was a T-Shirt from Cheers Bar in Boston that my wife and daughter had bought for me over a decade ago. It had inscription on the back: Cheers, Where Everybody Knows your Name. The years had taken its toll. Even after it had developed holes in underarm sleeves a few years ago; instead of throwing it away, I had cut the sleeves and still wore it.

This had greatly puzzled my friend who was witnessing a gentle dialogue between my wife and me about retiring that treasure. So in order to calm/satisfy his curiosity I explained the background.

Years ago when my wife handed me that T-Shirt, the thought (analogy) that came to my mind was “Wouldn’t it be valuable to have the similar theme applied in work and life atmosphere: “Cheers, Where Everybody Knows your and your organization’s Name”? But your stakeholders (customers, partners, investors and employees) can remember your name in two ways; positive experiences or negative experiences.

Years ago I got a job in an organization that managed supply of materials used in making semiconductor chips. The job involved dealing with suppliers in many different countries, huge portfolio of materials, dealing with many different manufacturing facilities and demanding customers. There were huge challenges to continue uninterrupted supply of materials amidst growing business, faster introduction of newer products and technologies, and not very patient customers. Dealing with stakeholders in many different geographies required significant time commitment and flexibility. The pressure and stress level was viewed very intense by some who left the group.

To succeed in such an environment, there was great need for an organization culture that was focused on providing memorable valuable experiences for the stakeholders. Well my good fortune that the team I worked with created such a culture. The organization got recognized numerous times by the real stakeholders for delivering outstanding results. Even years after I retired from the industry, people I run into mentions so many names from that team in a very positive light. Awards, Trophies, Public recognitions are like stamp collections**but the learnings from those experiences are lifelong. That experience had demonstrated to me the true meaning of the tag line “Where Everybody Knows your Name.”

The friend who was previously puzzled with my attachment to that T-Shirt seemed to be happy with the explanation.

Reflection: The experience enriched me with knowledge of many different industries and incredible technologies, understanding of numerous company cultures and learning to work with many country cultures. I also learned about diverse group of materials and how to stay calm under intense pressures while solving complex problems. Not to forget the travel to 13 different countries.  But most importantly learning how to keep customers and team members motivated while dealing with all the challenges. To be honest, I often told myself “How many people in the world get an opportunity to have such a broad scope job and learn so much in same amount of time?”

That piece of cloth and words on it I had held on to so dearly was not just the T-Shirt. It is the memory of the great learning experience. It is also the reminder of the value I must continue to provide to people who put their time, resources and trust in me. Every day, I am enriching myself with new experiences from that learning.

Every encounter in life has some learnings. The key thing is how one views that experience and resulting actions.

**“Stamp Collection” is where one pulls things from the shelf (past), dust them off, flip pages, feel good about it and then put them back. Once former Boss used the words “Stamp Collection” to describe behaviors when people get in the mode of Self Admiration (team members complemnting each other for great job for stakeholders without any input from the real stakeholders) or produce tons of data that is not useful.

The word Place in the title could be a company, a country, an organization, a team, a group or an individual.

 

Extras:

… Making your way in the world today Takes everything you've got……..

.....Be glad there's one place in the world Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came…..….You want to go (Be) where everybody knows your name

=======================================================================================================================================

Besides that dear T-Shirt and one brown like the above photo, there are a few others that have been my companion for a very long time; again for the similar reason as the one above. Each one has enriched me with more knowledge, better service and clarity about life.

Yellow Stone (retired after 10 years of service): For immense diversity and harmony in one place.

SF Giants World Series (still in service):  What a group of committed, focused, rookies and also not star players can achieve when they work together as a team on the singular purpose. They had no superstars or big names when they got their first two championships. And third time they had so many players- Where Everybody Knew their Names. 😊 😊 😃

Global Supply Management (still keeps on ticking eventhough with a lot of beating/torn): It was a great privilege to be of service to this great organization that delivered immense value to the corporation and provided great opportunity to learn about many different industries, incredible technologies, 100s of company country cultures, many country cultures and huge portfolio of materials and solve complex problems.

 

 

 

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.”-