When thoughts become things..

  Have you ever noticed "moss" ?Yes,  the green stuff that grows all over . Have you ever paid attention to the moss growing on a rock or a wall . Where I grew up, there is a lot of moss when it rains. It always makes the wall look colorful with different shades of green. Does the moss know it doesn’t get any attention from us ? Does it care ? Perhaps not. It continues to provide a great habitat and is a source of food for many insects. Did you know that the moss helps the ecosystem perform effectively ? It plays quite an interesting role in retaining water, stabilizing the ground and removing CO2. In World War II, Sphagnum  moss  was used as a bandage to stop bleeding wounds and it had some antibiotic effects. So some mosses have healing properties too.   Now does the moss know that it is such a critical part of the ecosystem and still does not get the attention it deserves. ? But does it stop thriving or does it selflessly continue doing its jo...

We were doing a team fun question . If you had a time machine where would you go .? At first it sounded like a very light question . My instant answer was I would like to be in the NOW. I was surprised that it was something came from me . I almost sounded like I was an Eckhart   Tolle reader. And I haven't even read that book.   And then I had to explain why NOW. As we went into the discussion - everyone else in the group had very interesting responses. And it was a fascinating discussion at that. Someone said back in the past to stay with people who they had lost . Someone said that to 1970's to probably make good investments. Someone else said in the era of history .   We all had own versions of that time machine. For me what stood out was,   I wasn’t thinking of going back or into the future. Over a period of time, I realized that I have adapted to the idea of the moment. I have also slowly adapted to the idea of not looking back  ...

I have never been as good at cooking and it has been a learning process for me. I tried to make a   dosa and  I could finally make one .Now most of you would say it is so simple. Trust me I have been trying to make a dosa for 4 months and it has never come right . But today it did. Did I try every day ? Maybe not . Did it frustrate me ? A lot - Made me feel I how could I not learn such a simple thing. And who told me it was simple? Everyone around me.   Well I made them yesterday but they just wouldn’t come .   That’s how days are . Like a good dosa day and bad dosa day . And sometimes a perfect dosa day. Now if I had to focus on practicing the dosa everyday would I be able to cook other things. I don’t think so. I had the dosa in mind and kept coming back to it after many breaks.   Could I have blamed the batter? Or the consistency without realizing that the technique was incorrect?   Is 4 months a long time. ? In my opinion - Y...

So you are 45+ and you suddenly begin to feel you are ageing or maybe you don’t but others around a keep reminding you. Sometimes these kind of remarks or comments may really make you dwell on the thought that you are actually ageing. But what difference does it make? How often have we heard age is just a number!   We have been conditioned to think of age as a milestone to accomplish things in our lifetime. Kindergarten/ school /college/ work life/ retirement /marriage/ love/ relationships…..et al. Everything in the spectrum of our lives is supposed to time bound. If you are not married by 28ish your biological clock with tick and you cannot have babies. So what? And it there are countless people who do have kids when they are above 40! If you are 50 you won't find love. Well with time you do realize that we also impose the same things on children. You cannot do this because you are too young. But don’t we have examples of children stepping out there to change...

Today's post comes from a video I came across a couple of days ago about online teaching. Online teaching via zoom or other platforms is new to everybody . More than anyone else , it is new for teachers . There is a big difference between classroom teaching and suddenly switching to remote teaching. For one it is not easy and secondly no one was prepared for it . As parents we are quick to judge the ability of a teacher. We are also very quick to criticize methods and practices. We must be sensitive to the teaching fraternity. This is a new normal for them . Not everyone is as tech savvy and not everyone has had exposure to tools and resources . The energy in a classroom with a live audience is very different from an online class . Also the presence of a parent in the room makes it fairly awkward and nerve wrecking for the teacher as he or she is being constantly observed . Before we jump to conclusions let's practice empathy . Have you ever wondered - if a parent l...

  I have often wondered if happiness was subjective.   It did seem like. We attach happiness to a variety of aspects of our life our family, partners, friends , job etc. Most of these are external factors.  While there are highs and lows, but self - what do we dwell on ? Over a period of time you realize that it is perfectly simple and you create your own inner joy . You create your own happiness and you alone have the capacity to make up your mind to be happy.   We often associate our sadness to a particular incident that may have happened 10 or 20 years ago . Each of us go through a series of life experiences, ranging from good to bad to horrifying . But then we need to stop and think for ourselves if we can let those incidents derail our own sense of feeling joyful. Our brain has been wired to a particular way of thinking and we are some times very unaware of our thought patterns . For eg. We have a thought saying, "I am not good at this . Now wher...