Point to Ponder: The relationships with companies are purely business and temporary; but the value you deliver, the relationships with people and learning experiences are lifelong. - Pravin R Shah
Storyline: This week I came across two interesting stories: One young man got laid off from a large corporation. In his note he talked about positive memories of the year with the company. Many notes from friends and colleagues recounted fond memories with him. Next day a former colleague sent him a photo of a nice motivational note he had written a month ago on one conference-room board. It was still there.
The other story I heard was about the person who retired after 39 years with an organization. The person left all items (SWAG: Plaques, Mugs, Clothing..) that were given to her in various company recognitions and celebrations. The person left without saying goodbye to many longtime colleagues displaying an attitude “I have nothing to do with this organization.”
This brought back memories of my days in the corporate world, and hence this reflection…
Reflection: Very early in my career I had come to the conclusion that the relationships with your company/your employer are purely business and nothing personal. No matter what claims are being made about lifetime benefits, good corporate citizenship, the best place to work on the planet Earth etc; The bottom line is- its business, and all seemingly attractive, tempting things are only in the context of what serves the business interest. (Another story for some another reflection)
Since then I’ve considered every relationship with my employer/ company as a business. With the mindset that someone is entrusting me and paying me to deliver certain results in terms of products or services, my duty is to deliver best possible solutions. This mentality served me very well in entire 40 years career.(1975-2015)
But the valuable benefits of those business dealings were a lot more than just business results or what I got paid for it.
Many talented, wonderful people around the world became lifelong friends. Dealing with so many different industries, companies and countries resulted in many learning experiences that enhanced the understanding of different technologies, cultures and history. And the significant positive impact of our work was acknowledged and appreciated in many ways by the organizations and people we served at that time and even now (many years later).
(Shhhhh…And I have treasured every memory; notes from people, coffee mugs, pictures, paper weights, jackets, recognitions for delivering outstanding results.)
Clock Wise 1. Sunset in Mal Pais, Costa Rica. 2. A Rare Double Rings Rainbow around Sun over the Lake Titicaca (13000 feet) Peru. 3. Spirit Island, Jasper, Canada. 4. San Cristobal, Galápagos, Ecuador 5. Baños, Andes Mountains, Ecuador. 6. Monterey, California, USA
Points to Ponder: “It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn.” – Anthony Bourdain
Story Line: Many readers are happy to see that Friday Reflections have resumed after a few months of sabbatical. They have asked to share new experiences from our travels in future reflections.
So here we begin with the answer to the question that has been often asked, “What is the greatest learning from our travels?”
Every place we visited had beautiful places, uniqueness of it’s culture and curious people wanting to know about us as much as we wanted to learn about them. Their surroundings (Nature, Monuments, Techniques, Tools) and customs have evolved over time. Each has historical, environmental, scientific and social context. And curiosity about the details of evolution made us realize how much little we knew about the world. Many times we felt “Can there be a more beautiful place than this?”, only to reach the next destination and find another marvel.
Going forward most Friday Reflections will be focused on people, places and experiences from our now Nomadic life. Occasionally there will be other subjects.
Reflection: Many times, for motivational or nationalistic reasons, we believe or made to believe that our country, our ways of doing things, our surroundings are the best in the world.
“There has never been a Nation (Civilization) like us and there shall never be.” But while visiting other countries, experiencing other cultures with open eyes and minds, we are humbled and enriched at the same time. Every place and culture has its own uniqueness and greatness.
There is so much that world has to share that it’s time we are aware, it’s a wonderful world of opportunities after all.
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:
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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." –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
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
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.
“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.
Point to Ponder: “The people whose first instinct is to smile when you make eye contact with them are some of Earth’s greatest treasures.” –DailyGoodQuotes
Storyline: Of the many people Anand’s met and worked with over the years, few have made as big an impression as Xiomara Cedillo. Every day, employees grabbing their morning coffee or their lunch would be greeted by name and Xiomara’s sunny smile, a gesture that, while small, radiated kindness and positive energy. People like Anand left the checkout register feeling invigorated, motivated to carry on with their workday.
“I've always believed that a smile is your signature,” Xiomara says. “You don't need to wear makeup or fancy stuff, a smile will open up any doors for you. A smile will let you see different points of view. Take everything with a smile and nothing will be as bad or hard as it seems.”
Growing up in El Salvador, Xiomara had a very social childhood: “In my neighborhood, everyone knew each other,” she says. “Nothing existed--no electronics, no social media. We had toys made out of sticks and the tops of soda bottles. It was simple, but I was very happy.” Xiomara carried that energy with her when she began working in the US, even on days when it wasn’t easy. “I tried not to let bad days bother me at work,” she says. “In customer service, you have to put out good vibes and have a good way of looking at things.” Her positive energy was so widely appreciated by those she met that when her company’s catering contract expired, the employees of the customer’s company requested Xiomara be kept on with the new staff. Though grateful for the opportunity, Xiomara found staying on difficult when faced with questions about her less fortunate coworkers, and eventually ended up leaving for a new position.
Even after switching jobs, Xiomara has left a lasting impression. “Of the people I keep in touch with, I remember about 150 names,” she says. “One person I met started visiting me at my new job and brought me cookies and an Olaf beanie she made me. Another person invited me and my grandson to spend time with her. I saw someone from my old job on his birthday, and when I talked to him, he was surprised that I still remembered his name.”
While the pandemic has disrupted these friendly interactions, Xiomara encourages people to remain optimistic. “Stay positive–I know sometimes it's hard to when you confront a problem or something bad, but just take it easy. Take it as it goes. God would not give you anything too hard for you to handle. Just work it out, take it as a good challenge, and be positive about it. Whatever comes, just face it. It's part of life. If it doesn’t happen the way you expect it, you’ll learn something from it.”
Reflection: Last week we discussed sunsets, and how they act as an opportunity to reflect on the past. Now, as the sun rises on 2022, it’s important to start the year off right. A smile can be a beacon of light in times of darkness, and if all of us follow Xiomara’s example, greeting the New Year and those around us with a smile, that light will shine brighter and stronger.
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.
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.
Point to ponder: “Two things remain irretrievable: time and a first impression.” --Cynthia Ozick
Author’s note: Anand and I met at a Kid-to-Work Day nearly two decades ago. He was my dad’s boss, and when he wasn’t letting me doodle on his whiteboard while he and my dad talked shop, we were having conversations about books I’d read, or trips he’d taken. Anand and I bonded over a shared love of stories, but where my knowledge came mostly from books, his came from years of experience -- talking to people, traveling the world, making mistakes.
My dad incorporated Friday Reflections into our nightly reading routine, which I admired then for its mixture of fun anecdotes from history and life and admire now for the lessons imbued in each chapter. Years after those initial bedtime readings, Anand enlisted me to help him bring more of these reflections to life. In our own reenactment of Tuesdays with Morrie, we meet once a week on Zoom, where he tells me a story and I shape it, much like a gardener pruning a tree. We approach each conversation from two very different stages in life, one of us looking forward, the other looking back.
In the life cycle of every experience at an organization -- be it school, the workplace, or even a club or Scouting troop -- there are two important endpoints: the time you join, and the time you leave. Today I’ll be sharing Anand’s thoughts on first impressions, and how to make them count.
Storyline: Early in his career, Anand was sent overseas to manage product engineering and quality operations in Manila. Despite being technically competent, he lacked the maturity to interact with management -- he knew all the written rules, but not the unwritten ones.
As Anand completed his assignment, a more experienced colleague named Vic provided him with some advice for making a good first impression: When you join a new group or organization, don’t start making big changes right away. Take the time to observe and get to know your environment -- you’re a newcomer, in an ecosystem with its own way of functioning. Really gain an understanding of the culture and the relationships between people: who works with who? What is most important to the organization, particularly to those in charge? Just as you need to understand the geography of the landscape in order to build a road, you need to understand how your organization works in order to get things done.
By observing his environment, Anand discovered more crucial aspects of making first impressions. First, don’t talk too much about your past job or previous company -- that’s history. Success in a new environment depends on being able to adapt to that environment. Instead of fixating on your previous experiences, spend more time getting to know the people you’ll be working with. Ask them about what they do, what their priorities are, what excites them -- they’ll know that you’re present and interested in them.
Once you’ve gotten a sense of how the group works, you can start to bring in suggestions from what you’ve learned from previous experiences if you observe any areas that could use improvement, without bringing up the name of your previous organization -- but don’t try to force them.
These lessons became very important to Anand throughout his career.
Reflection: All of us have entered a new environment -- college, the workforce, a club or organization. Adjusting can be difficult, especially when you’re the sole newcomer in a sea of experienced people who all know each other and have certain habits and routines. But if you observe and pay attention, like a scientist studying an animal habitat, you can learn something new.
If you transfer to a new university for creative writing, but all you do is compare it to the writing program at your old school, people will wonder why you left in the first place. Instead, get to know the faculty and your classmates--what drew them to the program, what genres and topics they write, what they’ve learned and what they still want to know. You don’t have to abandon your old ways entirely, but learning the new ways will make your experience much easier.
Next week, we’ll discuss the importance of leaving lasting memories.
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.
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.
Points to Ponder:On Halloween you get to become anything that you want to be. - Ava Dellaria
Story Line: Wishing You and Family a very Happy Halloween. It is a wonderful time to unleash unlimited creativity in costumes, carving, decorations and ofcourse: Trick of Treat with little moderation.
Reflection: A Quote from Elvis Duran “Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it's about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves.”
