Friday Reflections

At 99-We remember all the times we shared together.

Points to Ponder: In many ways, old age can be a great blessing because the whole experience of life is behind you. - Candi Brim-Bagley

 

Story Line: There has not been a dull moment in our first 51 days in India. Majestic monuments, historic sites, deserts, forests and vast ocean; beautiful churches, mosques, temples; vibrant cities; watching lions, tigers, leopards within 10 feet of us and other wild animals in their natural environments /forests and noticing incredible energy and enthusiasm of people have been the source of great joy. But the greatest thing has been meeting friends and family members from my childhood days, four of family members ages 91 to 99. 

 

But today’s story is focused mostly on one person; 99 years old Smt. Siddhida A. Trivedi. At the age of 27 she joined Shree Manav Sevak Sangh, a Non-Profit Organization in the field of welfare activities for the Orphan Children and less Privileged Women & Senior Citizen. It’s Mission is to shape and impact the lives of orphaned, abandoned, destitute, Helpless Children and Women. And they have positively impacted thousands of lives. 

 

Many decades ago she was appointed as President and Trustee, the honor she holds until today. She was actively involved in the organization but few years ago Alzheimer took it’s toll. 

 

The reason for this reflection is what happened in the meeting with her last week. 

During our 90 minutes interaction, she asked same questions several times and when I answered, she will recollect other people or events associated with it. But few seconds/minute later, she forgot and asked same question again. But something very surprising happened twice: 

 

When I told her about an organization that is involved in education and empowerment of poor children in Assam, she patiently listened, was very curious and asked many follow up questions about the activities there. The conversation took place for several minutes with continuity of thought process; no memory lapses. At the end I saw happiness on her face. 

 

And when we were leaving, I told her how many orphaned children and women have better life because of her efforts for 70 years, I noticed tears in her eyes. 

For a person who couldn’t remember most of things we discussed seconds ago, had not forgotten things related to noble cause she had dedicated her life. 

I left the place heavy hearted. 

 

Reflection: During my childhood years my family used to visit Bombay during summer vacation. She was always very kind and arrange many sightseeing trips and family events for us. But events that have impacted me most and shaped approach in life is following. 

 

Her husband was a senior executive in India’s largest corporation. Many times while we were at their place, they would get invited to exclusive clubs or homes of their friends ( personal invitations not company events). 

 

We, coming from different upbringing, wore clothes that were not to the standards people wore in those type of places. Plus I wore only rubber slippers; no shoes. 

What I remember is that she would inform her friends that she was bringing us ( her summer guests) at those events, never embarrassed to introduce us to Who’s Who of society and engaged us in conversations with them. 

 

Those experiences shaped my life in two ways: treat every person with dignity irrespective of background or external gadgets and they also gave me a lot of confidence to talk to anyone in any position/place by being Who I am. 

 

How fortunate I am to have been able to meet my aunt, Smt. Siddhidaben after decades and express my gratitude to her. 

 

More about her organization. 
https://www.shreemanavsevasangh.org/

The Power of Belief

Preah Ko-Cambodia 3/28/2016

 

Point to Ponder: “You’ve got to dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening and live like it’s heaven on earth.” William Purkey

 

Story Line: Certain events, people and images we encounter stay with us for a lifetime. I would like to share this unforgettable scene during a visit to Cambodia in 2016. 

My wife and I were visiting ancient temple in the outskirts of Siem Reap. We noticed this little kid fully engrossed in dancing in tune with what seemed to be one of Michael Jackson’s songs. 

Only after a few minutes of enjoying his dance, my wife pointed out that he didn’t have any music playing device. He had an ear plug with long wire not connected. 

 

Reflection: That little kid was living up to the real message in point to ponder: Be in the present, love what you do and be free of anyone’s expectations or judgements. 

 

Wish You the Year full of Dancing, Singing, loving and Working on things you enjoy and creating your own beautiful story. 

The Fourth Quarter of Life-John Helin

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Points to Ponder: I feel like my whole life was training ground for today and I am figuring out that in the fourth quarter of my life I want to finish strong. I really want to finish strong and this is what I want to do--John Helin

Credits for the video: John Helin, Kingston Media, ourmissionourveterans.org

Story Line: 2022 was a year of major changes in our lives. During this year of transition, I met many fine individuals. Through these interactions with people in various professions, cultures and countries- I heard some remarkable life stories. This end of the year reflection is dedicated to a remarkable person, John Helin. His life story is an inspiring one of transformation and selfless service. John dedicates his personal time and business resources to aid homeless veterans in locating and moving donated furniture into their new homes. I was fortunate to see first hand the effect John's work has on the homeless veterans he serves- from veterans recovering from drug addiction to a little five year old girl squealing with delight when seeing her new home for the first time and exclaiming in awe, "I love this house," John's selfless work has positively impaced hundreds of lives.

I can personally attest that John has made a big impact on our lives as well. I felt compelled to share coveage of his story from CNBC about John Helin

The following description about John is from the original central peninsula video. 

"The 4th Quarter of Life is an amazing story of transformation. At the age of 12, John Helin became addicted to drugs and alcohol. For 25 years John continued to fight these demons until one day he attended a service at Central Peninsula Church and made a commitment to straighten his life out. During this journey, John connected with their veterans ministry which helps homeless veterans throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. As an owner and operator of a moving company, John came up with a perfect solution to how he could make a huge difference in the lives of veterans.

Many of John's clients had high end furniture that they no longer needed and they would give the furniture to him which included complete bedroom, living room, and dining room sets. John in turn would deliver and setup the furniture for previously homeless veterans when they were able access stable housing through community based organizations.

When John gets a call that a veteran has accessed housing, he immediately puts a plan in place to fully furnish the apartment. Today, John has provided beautiful furniture and an amazing gift to hundreds of veterans. John says, "I'm in the 4th quarter of life and I want to finish strong." 

Reflection: What has impressed me more about John is that he not only spends his resources to pick up and deliver furniture for previously homeless veterans but he also spends time listening to their stories. He takes time to share his own story of struggle and transformation which have made a significant impact on the lives of many people. While he is determined to finish strong in the fourth quarter of his life, he is helping others- many of them young veterans- to improve the early quarter of their lives. We feel incredibly fortunate to have met John and to be able to share his work and story with you. What I've learned from John is that no matter what may have occured in the past, you have the power right now to make a positive change for the future. 

 

If you like to help here is more information  https://ourmissionourveterans.org/

Happy New Year to All  

 

Success leaves clues

From Left to Right: Row 1: Photos of City Ong (aka CT) and Adventures of Gautam. Row 2: Art of Shubhada and Signature Smile of Xiomara

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder: Success leaves clues. Go figure out what someone who was successful did, and model it. Improve it, but learn their steps. They have knowledge – Tony Robbins

Storyline: Recently, we’ve spotlighted some people who exhibit extraordinary passion, creativity, and kindness despite maintaining busy work lives.  Looking at these remarkable stories, we’ve identified a few commonalities:

1. Childhood experiences: How people grow up is important in building the foundation for who they become as adults.  Shubhada grew up immersed in art and science; Xiomara lived in a social neighborhood where everyone knew each other; and Gautam spent his youth watching sunsets and exploring forests in the remote outskirts of Mysore, India. For CT, the youngest child with the big age gap with siblings, he exercised his imagination while playing alone.
2. Support and encouragement: Having a supportive environment and people who are invested in your well-being is key.  In addition to having parents who made sure he didn’t overwork himself, Gautam had a friend in high school who took him under her wing and helped him navigate the tumult of adolescence. Shubhada had very supportive parents. CT and Xiomara were deeply influenced by their mothers.
3. A turning point: Several of our subjects can pinpoint the moment they discovered their passion, whether by volunteering to take photos at a conference (CT) or borrowing money from their best friend to buy a train ticket to Nepal (Gautam).
4. Curiosity/risk-taking: Our subjects like to venture beyond the beaten path, driven by a desire to see the world in new and exciting ways.  Shubhada utilizes out-of-the-box thinking (OBT) in both her engineering career and her artwork; Gautam seeks out the roads less traveled as he explores new countries; and CT finds his camera lens drawn to everything from sunsets to animals to a drop of dew on a leaf.
5. Building a relationship between passion and profession: Just because your interests are diverse doesn’t mean lessons from one can’t be applied to the other.  Shubhada approaches both engineering and art with creativity and a methodical focus, and CT finds he’s at his most focused and ready to work after he’s spent some time taking photographs.
6. COVID as an opportunity: With the pandemic slowing life down, our subjects have embraced their passions.  CT documented life in his Malaysian neighborhood, Gautam and his family hit the road to Florida and Yosemite, Shubhada drew daily charcoal portraits of inspiring people, and Xiomara encouraged those around her to remain positive despite the circumstances. 
7. Love first: Though some make money from their passion, they do it primarily because they love it, and because they want to share the joy it brings them with the world.

Reflection: In Developing Talent in Young People, psychologist Benjamin Bloom identifies three key elements that are crucial to helping children discover and foster lifelong passions: exposure, support, and coaching.

My younger brother and I have been lucky enough to have parents willing to allow us to experience and experiment with different interests rather than limiting us to a rigid set of expectations.  As a family, we love to travel–and to eat–and over the years my brother and I have been exposed to all sorts of different places (and different types of food).  For my brother, a weekend is not complete if we haven’t hit the road–whether it’s a drive along the coast, a trip out to the new mochi donut shop, or even running errands at Costco.

Our parents have supported us in all our ventures as we tried new things: while neither of us took a liking to soccer, I enjoyed my ballet classes at the local rec center, and my brother is an avid runner.  Their support, both emotionally and financially, has enabled us to receive proper coaching in order to hone our skills, from my brother’s weekly cross-country practices to my continuing education in writing and literature at a university whose faculty are committed to helping their students develop their craft and grow as artists.

But you don’t have to be a young person to find your passion, to discover what excites you.  Expose yourself to new things, open yourself to new experiences.  Find a friend (or two–maybe more) to support and encourage you–and don’t be afraid to seek out a mentor!  You’re never too old–or too young–to find what you love.

Do What You Love

Live the Life You Imagined

The Path of Life

There is Art in Science and Science in Art

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.

Where there is love there is life.*

 "Where there is love there is life." –Mahatma Gandhi

Point to Ponder: “It’s your unlimited power to care and to love that can make the biggest difference in the quality of your life.”- Tony Robbins  

Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80, Greek 5, Arabic 14 and English only one.

Story Line: The role Love plays in various relationships and The Universal Themes: With Coworkers, Friends and Family, in Business deals, with Schoolmates and being in Love with that special person. (the guiding principles for good Quality of Life)

“Love” is a not word you often hear uttered in office hallways or conference rooms. And yet, it has a strong influence on workplace outcomes. The more love co-workers feel at work, the more engaged they are. (Note: Here we’re talking about “companionate love” which is far less intense than romantic love. Companionate love is based on warmth, affection, and connection rather than passion). It may not be surprising that those who perceive greater affection and caring from their colleagues perform better, but few managers focus on building an emotional culture. That’s a mistake. -- Employees Who Feel Love Perform Better by Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O’Neill

Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2014/01/employees-who-feel-love-perform-better

Relationships are not about extracting happiness but about giving joy to the other. Short journeys can be made alone, long journeys need reliable and resilient Relationships. Sadhguru

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get–only with what you are expecting to give–which is everything."–Katharine Hepbur 

“The only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take.” The moment you start measurement in relationship it is transactional not love. –Tony Robbins

“Do what you did in the beginning of a relationship and there won’t be an end.” Tony Robbins 

If you judge people you have no time to love them.- Mother Teresa

If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.-Mother Teresa

Reflection: Love in it's broader meaning is so powerful that it can change the world for the better. In different cultures and their languages there are many words for love, depending on the type of relationship and situations.   Below is one excellent example

Specific Words in Hindi for LOVE:  Posted on November 13, 2011 by Domenic Marbaniang- Posts on Faith and Theology © 2021https://marbaniangdomenic.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/specific-words-in-hindi-for-love/

The Hindi language is rich in words. Its words are usually object-specific, and one can easily identify the nature of an object within a single word used. For instance, it has several different words for love, differing according to the object in mind.

FRIENDLY LOVE
Prem: It is the general word for “love”; but is usually used for friendly love.
Preeti: It usually carries the meaning of “love that contains delight”. This is the word used in the Hindi Bible in Peter’s answer to Jesus when He asked “Do you love Me more than these?”
Pyaar: It is a common word for love; but, nowadays is commonly used for romantic love.
Chaah: It usually means “like” or “desire”.
Anurag: Friendly love that is far deeper and means selfless love or affection.
Mitrabhav: Friendly affection

PARENTAL LOVE
Sneha: It is the love that an elder has for the younger.
Vatsalya: It is a parent’s love for the child.
Mamata: It is the mother’s love towards her child.

ROMANTIC LOVE
Popularly today, Prem, Pyaar, Chaah…
Anurukti: Intoxicated love that sinks a person in thoughts of the object.
Asakti: Deeper intoxication in love – being lost in love.
URDU WORDS: ISHQ, DEEWANA

LUSTFUL LOVE
Kama: Sensual Love, Kameccha: Sensual Feelings
Moha: Love towards worldly objects

LOVE TOWARDS GOD
Bhakti: It is superior to all other form of love. It is love in worship, love of the worshipper towards his/her God. In the Bible it is usually used for devotion, religion, and godliness.

Personal Memory: 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 every day.”

Happy Valentine's Day to All Friends Around The World.

There is Art in Science, and There is Science in Art (Do What You Love - Part 3)

“If you’re having a good time in your own company, it’s a good sign that you’re happy and you enjoy what you do.” -Shubhada 

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking about it differently.” –Albert Szent-Györgyi

Storyline: From majestic landscapes to portraits of renowned historical figures, Shubhada Sahasrabudhe’s art captures beauty in all sorts of places.

An engineer by trade, working at one of the world’s largest tech companies, Shubhada grew up in two worlds: art and science.  “I lived in an engineering town that manufactured pumps, and my dad worked in research and development,” she says.  “But art was in the house all the time.  My dad did outstanding sketches and paintings, and we spent our evenings sitting side-by-side with him and watching him work, doing random art projects-Even his engineering drawings.”  Growing up close to the process of creation, both at the pump factory and at home, instilled a strong sense of curiosity in Shubhada–“We were told to always be curious, not to stop at what but to ask why”–as well as a strong creative drive: “There was this push to be original,” she says.  “My parents told me, ‘You have to create something that belongs to you.  You're not an artist or a scientist unless you have contributed.’”

With limited supplies around the house, Shubhada often spent her childhood drawing in dirt roads with a stick which interestingly and unknowingly connected her to sand as a medium which she used years later.  “It was like an unlimited canvas,” she says.  Though she now has access to more traditional mediums, such as oil and acrylic, she still enjoys working with less conventional materials.  “I’ve always been an experimentalist, so I always try a new technique–anything that stains with a pigment is my medium,” she says.  “If I finish my coffee and I have a little left at the bottom, I will use it.” Her sand art in particular has garnered much attention, including a guest appearance on the Nickelodeon show Ryan’s Mystery Playdate.

Despite coming up in a workplace culture where hobbies and leisure time were challenging, Shubhada takes both her engineering and artistic career equally seriously.  “I don’t think I’ve ever felt like art and science are distinct things,” she says.  “To me they are so blurry and so similar. Yes, there is more system to science, but you see both elements–system and random–in different ways.  When I begin a painting, I don’t start with the details: I do the big strokes first to get the basic form and values together, and that defines my painting.  That’s exactly how I think of engineering: whenever I look at a problem statement, I look at the broad strokes and ask myself, What am I trying to do?  Once I have those pieces, I know how to fill in the minor details.  Knowing the end point helps guide your next steps.” Science and engineering also played a major role in Shubhada’s sand art, from constructing the worktable (which Shubhada designed and built herself) to finding the right type of sand: “I went to twenty different beaches to get as many sand samples as possible,” she says.

Though balancing work and life can be challenging, Shubhada says making time to do what she loves is worth every minute.  “Painting for hours is meditative,” she explains.  “It’s the most neutral feeling you can have, which is so rare in this day and age: not happy, not sad, just neutral and satisfied.”  She’s made it a priority to share that feeling with others, whether it’s teaching three and a half hours of back-to-back weekly classes through her art academy or finishing and posting a charcoal portrait every day for 140 days during quarantine. Sketch a Day  “I tried to use my art to combat the negativity and sadness,” she says.  “If you’re having a good time in your own company, it’s a good sign that you’re happy and you enjoy what you do.”

*For her contributions in the field of science, Shubhada recently received an esteem award "Women Engineer of the Year"  by American Sociery of Mechanical Engineers. Being recognized in the areas of her profession as well passion demonstrates her commitment to excellence in whatever she takes up.*

Reflection: I’ve always envied creatives who work in math and science: my physics and bio major friends who draw, write, and paint, who can navigate these two seemingly opposing fields, one world as foreign to me as the other is familiar.  Talking with Shubhada gave me insight into that fluidity: it’s about having a certain mentality, an approach that combines order and creativity and, most of all, an eagerness to learn.

At the end of the day, though the work may be different, the processes are more similar than we think, and the ultimate goal is the same: both science and art attempt to make sense of how the world works.  Science tells its own kind of story, the histories of who we are and how we got here, how the world moves around us and how we move within it.  And art is its own kind of science, an ongoing process of trial and error and building on the ideas of those that came before you, expanding our view of the world, defining and redefining truth.

For Anand, the son of two artists, interviewing Shubhada brought back a lot of memories of his own childhood, and how drawing on those creative experiences influenced his approach to problem-solving, enabling him to look at things differently and formulate solutions.

Our community of readers consists of people with a variety of different passions.  Though these may seem different on the surface, all have similarities in terms of process and approach, and all have valuable lessons that can be applied to different contexts.  But most importantly, no matter your line of work, putting your heart, enthusiasm, and soul into your endeavors will help you succeed.

 You can support Shubhada’s work by visiting her  WEBSITE or following her on Facebook.

Attachments: Versatility of the artist.

 

 

 

*late addition paragraph by Anand*

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.

“Kindness and Consideration of Somebody Besides Yourself Keeps You Feeling Young.” –Betty White

By Phoebe Pineda

Point to Ponder:  “My mother always used to say, ‘The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.’” –"Rose Nylund, The Golden Girls"

Storyline:

On New Year’s Eve, beloved television actress Betty White passed away just weeks shy of her 100th birthday.  Widely mourned by audiences everywhere, White’s popularity defied generational boundaries.  With every age and era she seemed to find a new groove, from her roles on such TV classics as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls to more recent roles in Hot in Cleveland and the movie The Proposal.  In 2010, thanks to a fan-launched Facebook campaign, White became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live at 88 years old–“the only SNL host I ever saw get a standing ovation at the after party,” former head writer Seth Meyers remarked.

As well as a talented actress and gifted comedian, White was a pioneer, one of the first women to produce and host for radio and television as well as a longtime advocate for animal welfare and an ally for marginalized people.  Her insistence on giving screentime to Black tap dancer Arthur Duncan resulted in the cancellation of The Betty White Show in 1954, and she was outspoken about her support for the LGBT+ community.

And indeed, even after over sixty years, she never seemed to lose her passion.  Every moment she was onscreen, she stole the show, whether she was ribbing her costars or poking fun at herself.  “If one has no sense of humor,” she wrote in her memoir If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t), “one is in trouble.” 

Reflection:

There never has been, nor will there ever be, another Betty White.  A sentiment I’ve seen floating around the Internet in the weeks since her passing is that she managed to live such an extraordinary life and bring so much joy to people over the years that nearly everyone agreed that 99 years old was far too soon.

Success in Hollywood is rare; to achieve the longevity Betty White had is unimaginable.  Perhaps one of the reasons she could remain such a powerhouse and hold her own in a famously aging-averse agency was because she’d spent her entire life one step ahead of the times.  Even now, we are only just starting to catch up to where Betty was in the 1950s in terms of her creative control and her acceptance of others.

But the reason she resonated with so many of us, from Gen Xers like my parents to children of the Internet like me, was her humor and her heart.  She was quick-witted, snarky, but always compassionate.  And as Anand pointed out to me while we were drafting this article on Monday, every picture of her radiates joy.  She loved life, and she lived a life full of love: for people, for animals, and for being onscreen, making us laugh.

January 17th would have been her 100th birthday.  On behalf of everyone and all the lives you’ve touched, Betty, thank you for being a friend.

 

 

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.

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.

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.