Letting Go of 2011 and Welcoming Much Anticipated 2012.

What was anticipated of 2011 globally, locally or personally will just wind down by setting some new expectations for 2012.Not sure how much of 2011 i could cover with the limited bandwidth of attention span of the reader. I am just going to make few swatches of the news and happenings that i got to read and notice. There may be quite a few that have gone unnoticed, its just me.

2011 Personally:

2011, has been quite challenging for me. During the tail end of 2010 we decided to move to India for good.It was a major, major move especially after living in the US for 16+ yrs. I was asked to make this decision at the blink of an eye, just had to let go all the things that i cherished. To keep the family intact and to make this move easy on my lovely kids, it was fair enough to let go few things, for the two treasures of my life. I am an optimist and i am happy to ride the wave of this adventure with my family. Only time will tell.

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2011 Globally

As we were planning on our big journey to India, we were supposed to do a stop over at Japan and see its awesomeness, for its natural beauty, Studio Ghibli Anime center, Pokemon Center or travelling in the worlds fastest bullet trains. We were pretty excited and were looking forward to it. But our travelling plans had to be changed due to the major earth quake in Japan. Japan being so resilient to earth quakes had not experienced something as major as the one in March 2011. Come to think of it, my move to India was not as earth shattering as this one. It was heart breaking to watch this wonderful country go into ruins, cause they are on the fault, i mean on the earth's fault. This is one country who has defied disaster, be it natural or being on a war zone. They have always springed back into action and rebuilt their country to such an extent that the world is at awe seeing their determination. Ironically, Japan has some ties with my life. Every year Japan mourns the bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki we celebrate our wedding anniversary.

March 2011 : Earthquake in Japan

A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan on causing many injuries, fires and a ten-metre (33-ft)tsunami along parts of the country's coastline.10-meter tsunami swept away everything in its path, including houses,ships, cars and farm buildings. There were several strong aftershocks which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.Light planes and vehicles sit among the debris after they were swept by a tsunami that struck Sendai airport in Japan.

USA lowered its flag in Iraq; Marking end of war in Iraq.

Just before Xmas 2011 President Obama has finally ended the most un-wanted war that Mr.Bush Jr started. The conflict, launched by the Bush administration in March 2003, soon became hugely unpopular, as the claims that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction and supporting al-Qaeda militants turned out to be untrue. The war has costed US some $1trillion dollars ,4,500 US soldiers lives and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the war. Some 1.5 million Americans have served in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.In addition to those who died, nearly 30,000 have been wounded. The Iraqis feel that they are left in a total mess. They feel betrayed because they were promised of security and stability. Now they are fearful as they cannot manage their own security, because they lack strong political structure and they are quite weak to defend their borders. This war has left ruins in Iraq, innocent lives lost for the wrong cause both in Iraq army and the US army. Bin-laden and Saddam Hussein were captured dead, but terrorism still prevails. This war has been one of the contributors for the current financial crisis, that has affected the world economy. The majority of the sane people around the world, thought this war was insane.

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2011 Locally

Locomotive for Bangalore: Namma (our) Metro

Bangalore's much awaited Metro experience started at the tail end of the year, during Diwali 2011. Ride on the train, gave a nice feel, especially during the night, since the dirt and trash around the city is hidden under the carpet called NIGHT. This will supposedly bring down the heavy traffic congestion, if and when all the routes are up and running. Its a waiting game. All i have to say is, Bangalore has sacrificed its beauty and charm for this locomotion, lets wait and watch if its worth the sacrifice.

Cricket : Much loved sport in India,

India, proved to the cricket world that it is back with full throttle and they did grab the 2011 world cup under Dhoni's leardership. It was a wonderful experience to watch Cricket in India, while it was on its winning streak. Matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka was just thrilling and great. Whole of India would agree that India had the best team in the tournament, whatever challenges was thrown their way, be it Australians, the Pakistanis or the Sri Lankans, the remarkable MS Dhoni and his team were equal to it and performed with full spirits. 2011 cricket season was like never ending Diwali season. Fire crackers bursting in every nook and corner of the city. India definitely deserved

this victory.

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2011 Losses :

Like any other year, 2011 also had to bid goodbye to a lot of much-loved personalities and luminaries, those who've inspired us, entertained us and given us food for thought over the years. They've left behind rich legacies that will continue to inspire generations to come.

Sathya Sai Baba

( Nov 23^rd 1926 –Apr 24^th 2011)

Sathya Sai Baba, the Godman from Puttparthi died on April 24^h earlier this year, he left behind an empire estimated at Rs 40,000 crore, and no will. Sai Baba had millions of followers all over the world. His devotees included some of the popular celebrities and powerful politicians. The biggest contribution of the seer was his philanthropic activities. He has provided many villages with clean drinking water through his organization. He set up the Sri Sathya Sai University, which delivers high-quality education with three colleges under its belt. His setting up of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s Super Speciality Hospital has been very well received, where thousands of patients have been treated free of cost.

MF Hussain

( 17^th Sept 1915 -9^th June 2011)

MF Hussain was hailed as India’s Picasso, he played a significant role in putting Indian art on the world map. Known for his use of vibrant colour and depictions of dynamic movement, frequently featuring women and horses, Husain was the first living Indian artist to command a price of $1million for his work.

In the month of October 2011 we lost 2 great people, one from the Tech world and another from the Music World. Both of them made a difference in their own special way. Both had a troubled past but came out big and spectacular.

Steve Jobs: (February 24^th 1955 – October 5^th 2011)

The man who took a bite of the Newton's Apple. Newton discovered Gravity by the fall of an Apple. Steve took a bite of it and viola you have a master piece Logo and many many wonderful products. Apart from the Apple computing...he is most famously known and will be known for his "i" series....ipod, itouch, ipad. He was a true visionary and a perfectionist. He believed in this quote by Wayne Gretzky 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been. And we've always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will"

Jagjit Singh : ( 8^th Feb 1941 – 10^th Oct 2011)

He was revered as King of Ghazals by the eastern music lovers all over the world.He was truly a voice of emotions. He was awarded India's third highest civilian honour, the "Padma Bhushan" , in 2003 for his contribution to the fields of music and culture. There are pearls of songs sung by him, that can leave you mesmerized.

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11.11.11 was much talked about, but passed by as any other day:

Anything significant that you remember happened on this day ? As far as i know, it just went by as any other normal day. Some said that it is a magic number and many meditated for the universal peace, i was one of them :-). Collective positive thoughts does make changes for the better good. This is something stumbled upon and I picked this up at " http://paradigmsearch.hubpages.com"

11*11*11: There are three possible scenarios:

Most predictions and opinions concerning 11/11/11 are based on or rooted in its mathematical uniqueness as a number.

1. Something good happens— There is absolutely no scientific basis for this belief. There are no known logical premises for this belief.

The belief that something good will happen is based solely on faith and/or innate optimism. This belief is not necessarily false; we don’t know everything; the probability is not zero.

2. Nothing happens— This is the most likely scenario. Just because an unusual date number sequence occurs doesn’t mean that something extraordinary will happen. Usually it’s a non-event.

3. Something bad happens— There is absolutely no scientific basis for this belief. There are no known logical premises for this belief. The belief that something bad will happen is based solely on faith and/or pessimism of reality. This belief is not necessarily false; after all, things are generally/usually a mess. The probability is not zero

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What is Expected of 2012 and Beyond ??

Its is the Birth of New Time. We have been on the teeter totter / seesaw...in terms of world finance, world power, World peace and freedom for a many generations now.One country has too much of everything, while the other lacks and lags behind. A balance in nature has to come, even mother Earth is unable to sustain this imbalance. Changes for the good is happening lots of people are coming together to fight against the corrupted Govt, the Wall Street, the so called Powerful nation etc etc. Asian countries who were called under developed are becoming the economic powers of the world. There is a shift happening which will restore the long awaited balance on the physical realm, the Nature, global economy and Human Values. This will lead to Spiritual surge and greater connection to the Source.

Apart from all this, here are some of predictions or expectations for all and sundry...

The list is very long, but i will limit myself to few things, as i have some resolution list that i would like to maintain and keep up with :-)

2012 Presidential Polls: Obama Expected to Win Re-election

Apple will release its much awaited i-Phone 5, iPad Mini, iPad3 in 2012

Some Movies that would be released during 2012......

There is definitely a long list of movies that are going to be released...

Here are a few that i would be interested in

•" Dark Knight Rises" • ( I'll watch it for my Son)

•"The Bourne Legacy" • " ( Watch it for myself)

•" The Secret World of Arrietty" • ( For My Daughter)

•" The Lorax" seems to be clean as Clorax :-) ( For the Whole Family)

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Wishing you all a New Beginning and a Prosperous 2012.

We the actors of this 2012 can make its Entrance and Exit..... Grand and Beautiful !!!

Cheers to Contentment ; Happiness ; and Peace.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

Thank you for stopping by.

--- Janhavee

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Merry Xmas and Happy NewYear 2012

Dear Friends and Family....

We Wish you a Wonderful Xmas and Happy New Year !!

Hope 2012 brings all the Joy and Prosperity that you ever dreamed and wished for.

Live Long and Prosper !!!

With Warm Best Wishes

-From our Family to Yours.

Build Child's Attitude or Grades

Nov 15th 2011

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a discussion panel consisting of Parents, Students and Teachers at White Filed Global School in Bangalore. The headline was War of Words and the topic was " Are Marks the only Criteria to Judge the Child's or Person's ability ??"It was quite an experience to watch the kids ( Std 6th to 10th grade) participate and have a strong hold on either side of the debate or discussion.

One student quoted from the 3 idiots movie "Life is a race..if you don't run fast ..you will be overtaken." The stamina to run in life is good grades. He wants to be 1st in class and make his parents proud. In his previous schools he wasn't doing great because their main focus was not academics.He also thinks that schools in USA and Australia are great and India needs lots of improvement in terms of education system.

There was another kid who felt if Schools followed Gurukul system then it would be a better place for education system. (In a gurukul, shishyas/ students reside together as equals, irrespective of their social standing, learn from the guru and help the guru in his day-to-day life, including the carrying out of mundane chores such as washing clothes, cooking, etc.) Not sure how many kids will be ready for this kind of education system, when the world is technology driven. We could definitely take the true essence of Gurukul system and use it in the current education system, but going back to Gurukul method of teaching is something left to choice.

There were students who wanted grade system to be eliminated since it can take the pressure out of them. They want to learn things on their own and not be told by teachers how it should be done and their request is, " No! spoon feeding please!"Guess these kids know that there are many venues for one destination, and they want to choose their path.

On these same lines one kid quoted an interesting quote by Clifford Stoll that ;

‎"Data is not Information;

Information is not Knowledge ;

Knowledge is not Understanding ;

Understanding is not Wisdom."


Teachers were asked if they would appreciate a " 1st rank Student or a student who was a Good Painter but mediocre in studies ". The teacher's opinion was that she will appreciate the 1st rank student and make sure the mediocre gets a better grade as well. One teacher was asked how she would feel all her kids in her class got B/C grades while the next class kids scored A grade. She said she would accept her mistake and discipline herself and teach the same discipline and improve their grades. In my humble opinion teachers should not give so much importance to grades and feel sorry that their kids were only B grade students. Instead they should portray or high lighten the strength of each and every kid.


As parents we were quite divided in our views. There were parents who thought that, if you don't have good grades then you don't have a head start. Grades determine who you are going to be, which esteem colleges you are going to be in and which corporate offices you are going to lead.They also agreed that there are few exceptions to the rule, like Steve jobs, Bill Gates, Sachin Tendulkar and few more who defy grade system.

Myself and another parent's views resonated quite well. We think, attitude, self respect, integrity, discipline and being a good Samaritan / Citizen are the most important things, in today's child, along with education which transforms to knowledge could help the child to see the world in different perspective. Questions raised by judges " Would you like your child to be a 1st Rank holder or 20th rank holder" My take was, every child is special in his or her own way and we have to nurture that specialty in them and mold them accordingly. A 1st rank student might be a book worm, master of only one, but the the 20th rank kid might be " Jack of all trades and master of none"...but he is street smart, agile and has the capability to adapt to any situation.

Just as Oscar Wilde puts it " Education is an admirable thing, but it is good to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught"

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were high school or college dropouts, but they turned out to be billionaires and true visionaries. They are the enterprenuers, who had the god given gift which cannot be taught or graded. If you are a free thinker, then the last thing you want to do is to spend time learning and memorizing facts at school. They are unique,thought out of the box and are quite successful.

Admist all this discussion something interesting was shared on a lighter note.

There was a survey of a particular batch of students, who passed out of a college. The top rank students started teaching in a school stated by above average students. These schools were funded by corporate heads who were only average students in college. These huge corporation were funded by below average students, since they had political background and ended up running the nation. There were quite a few who failed miserably, didn't know the meaning of education and so ended up as the underworld Dons, who just had the perfect capability to govern the politicians, corporate and so on and so forth.

I totally agree with this fictional story which is a day to day affair in modern India's education system. The passion for teaching has been slowly eroding from teachers, there are very few who take up teaching profession out of passion. These days education and education system has become business like. Some kids in school said that. my parents have invested money in me, now i must give them back their investment in the form of a 1st rank.. So this will enable the parents to put a higher price tag on their kids during their wedding ? This opens a whole new can of worms or Pandora box.

Definitely, education is quite an investment. I can't fail to comment on the amount of media attention the schools these days want. Every school is racing to showcase on the newspaper, some event or the other that happened in their turf. Bigger picture looks Hunky-Dory, but what about the core values. When we are racing for media attention, are we forgetting to give healthy attention to the kids at school? When schools are taking pride in achievements 24 /7 they are setting anti intellectual environment

There are quite a few authors who resonate with this idea that grades are not the prime most important thing to a child's development. Here are couple of them that i find it interesting...in a child's independent thought process.

From Andrew Clements Book : Frindle

(http://www.andrewclements.com/)

"He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.

From Andrew Clements Book : Report Card

True or False?

Fifth grader Nora Rose Rowley is really a genius.

True.

But don't tell anyone.

Nora always gets average grades so she can forgo the pressure-cooker gifted program or Brainiac Academy.

But when Nora gets one hundred percent fed up over testing and the fuss everyone makes about grades, she brings home a terrible report card just to prove a point.

Pretty soon her teachers, parents, and the principal are launching a massive effort to find out what's wrong. But can Nora convince them that tests alone are a stupid way to measure intelligence?

Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of twelve books and scores of articles, he lectures at education conferences and universities as well as to parent groups and corporations.

Kohn's criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores."

All said and done, grades will gauge the kids at school, but Corporates seek a multi-faceted talented individual, who has an A+ in attitude, integrity, discipline along with the desired technical skills. Attitude in life is most important. If grades can boost a positive attitude in a child all the time...then i am all for it. But it is going to put my child in the rat race, without knowing where his or her potential is. Then it would be an absolute waste of time going through the entire educational system and coming out not learning what the kid aspires to learn. Every kid should be given the opportunity to pursue excellence in the choices they have made, success will follow them eventually. Well, what is success anyway? We need another panel of discussion for that.

- Janhavee

Maa Durga --- Happy Navrathri

JAI MA JAI MA JAI JAI MA || JAI MA JAI MA JAI JAI MA || JAI MA JAI MA JAI JAI MA

Rituals are Means to an end. The Means should not eclipse the End.India celebrates Dusherra in various styles in different parts of the country. I am fascinated and at awe seeing the Divine Mother. From my childhood days I have always questioned the blindly followed rituals, but we don't get the exact answer that would widen our horizon, do we ? I came across this book called " Our Heritage" published by Chinmaya mission in the late 60s. It has cleared few of my questions and here I share a synopsis of what Durga PuJa is all about.

During Dusherra the three forms of Goddess, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshiped. Dusherra is celebrated for 10 special days, which ends with Vijaya Dasami, followed by Visarjana, culmination of Puja.

Durga means the Un-Attainable. She is worshiped as Mahishasuramardhini, the conqueror of the buffalo demon, Mahisha.There is a buffalo in each and every one of us, the slow beast symbolizing ignorance ( Tams), a demon that is hampering our spiritual growth. Buffalo is the vehicle of the God of death, in other words death rides on ignorance. Worship of Durga helps us to conquer ignorance and throws light on the fogged mind and soul. Tremendous of spiritual exercise is needed to attain this Magnificent goddess, DURGA . Many life births and numerous experiences leads us to her. Once we have seen a tiny peek of this Glorious DURGA there is no going back. Sri Ramakrishna Pramahamsa was one of the great souls who conquered Ma Kali or Durga. Once Durga is achieved, Pure Knowledge (Goddess Saraswati) and Abundance of Wealth( Goddess Lakshmi) will surrender to you. But on the contrary when one has seen the Magnificent Light of Durga, “the feeling of the materialistic want” undergoes a sea of change. Prosperity does not depend on the bank balance but our contended attitude towards life is the measure of our prosperity.

The Ritual to attain the unattainable Durga is called the Pu-Ja. Pu ( means purification of the soul and redemption of all sins) and Ja (means putting an end to the endless cycles of birth and death). Puja and all the rituals that go along with it, if performed with right attitude, faith and devotion, will purify our mind and lead us to the final destiny.

Once we begin to aspire for this glorious condition, we would naturally be exuberant. This is the victory of the higher self over the lower self. In each ones life, the day we throw light on our ignorance and see beyond illusions to what is REAL, that day will be the true "Vijaya Dasami" Vijaya Dasami signifies ones victory over the 10 senses, Five senses of perception (Jnanendriyas) and Five organs of action (Karmendriyas).

During the Visarjana (Immersion) ceremony, which is the culmination of all the Pujas, huge idols of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are immersed in the river Ganga (literally means, flow of knowledge). God is Infinite and we are only finitely equipped to understand part of the Truth / God. How can we measure the infinite with the limited resources we have? So, we try to bring down the Infinite Formless God within our limited compass by giving a form and a name. We go from known to the Unknown, from forms to Formless and ultimately knowing thyself which is no different from Thee. This enlightenment leads one to see the we whole world as one homogeneous family and rise up with unconditional love.

Our ancestors knew the right path to the inner self. They introduced this to the society, so that the future generations would evolve mentally, intellectually and spiritually. Did we assimilate their experience? We have only picked up the superficial content and thought that was the complete truth, due to our limitations. All we can do is, ask the Divine Merciful Mother for forgiveness of our ignorance, for we know not what we do and nor what we ought to do.

- Janhavee

Asato Ma Sat Gamaya

Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya

Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Translation:

Lead Us From the Unreal To Real,
Lead Us From Darkness To Light,
Lead Us From Death To Immortality,
Aum Let There Be Peace Peace Peace. -

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.

Word of Wisdom from Winne the Pooh.

We have watched "Winne The Pooh" so many times with our children. There is always something enchanting about the 100 acre woods, Pooh's modesty, Piglet's innocence, Eyeore's ignorance, Rabbit's arrogance,Tigger's loose control attitude, and most of all Christopher Robin's childhood days. Here is something about PURE SIMPLICITY and WISDOM :-)

A Child's Plea to Parents

This was given to every child's parents when my daughter started her 1st preschool...8 years ago.( Shepherd of the Hills Preschool)
I have been looking for this for a long time, i knew i have stashed it away, since it is precious. In the midst of the move, found it and boy! i am glad or what :-).

From: Ann Landers Column

Ann Says " This is an excellent guide for rearing gentile, independent, loving children. I hope many readers will clip it and read it from time to time "

Give me more than food to nourish me. Give me the warmth and security of your love.

Let me enjoy all the five senses. Give me plenty of things to look at, to feel to smell, to listen, to taste and even things to break.

Teach me to take my turn. Watch me play so you can see how i am trying to work out my problems and what i am up against.

When you tell me to do something, please tell me why I should do it. Let me feel that I am a contributing member of the family.

And be sure to include me in making the family plans when you can.

Please don't keep me your baby when I want to feel grown up. Don't transfer your fears to me. I have enough of my own to cope with and i don't need any more.

Help me not to act when I am angry. But don't make me so afraid of showing anger that I lose my capacity to feel strongly about anything.

Let me learn bit by bit to bear pain, to what things but to be strong enough to postpone gratification of certain feelings i'm not yet ready to experience.

Let me try out my new powers as my body develops--to creep, to stand, to walk, climb, jump and run when i am ready.

Don't limit the natural needs of my body because you have some unresolved hangups.

Give me a little corner in the house that is all mine and nobody else's. I need moments of peace and quiet that cannot be invaded by anyone.

Give me my share of consideration and attention. I must know everyday,

even if for just few moments that i am the only one you are thinking about and loving.

Let me ask any question that pops into my head. Don't make me ashamed for having asked it, even if it seems stupid. And give me as honest an answer as you can.

If you don't have an answer, please say so. Its good training to hear someone say, " I don't know, but I will try to find out for you"

Be patient with me when i don't do things very well at first. Remember I have so many things to learn and almost everything takes some practice.

Let me bear the consequences for whatever I do. I need to be punished as well as rewarded. And when you punish me, make sure the punishment fits the "crime"

Above all, grant me , without reservation, your debt to me --Unconditional love. For if i know it is there, i will be able to give the same to my children

and they will be able to give it to their children.

The Little Boy and the Old Man

Shel Silverstein 's book " A light in the Attic" has some great collection of poems for every soul in various flavors.
I took the liberty of presenting it in a photoshop format. Here is one of them.

What is a Diamond Ring and a Mother Worth ???

Wedding means " DIAMOND RING " thats the custom on the Western Globe.

My kids wonder why I don't wear a Diamond Ring. They wonder why my husband never gave me a Diamond Ring on our wedding day...kind of Wedding is incomplete with out a Diamond Ring. I have tried to explain how the wedding traditions differ in other parts of the world.

I was teaching my 7 yr old son Math, about addition / subraction using Abacus ( Calculating Tool).

Out of the blue he remembered and said, Amma I have some $200 in my piggy bank and i will buy you a Diamond ring. I had no words to say...so i tried to focus on the math. I said, well, you need lot more money than that to buy a diamond ring. I asked him, if the diamond ring cost $1500.00 then how much more he should save. He used the Abacus and came up with the right amount.

Just out of curiosity, I asked him....What if some kid, comes to you and say... Your mother is very sweet,I want her as my mother, I will give you a Million Dollars...what will you say ? He said " Nope she is worth, Infinity $$$$". He confirms with me asking, "Amma., nobody will have Infinity $$$$, right ? " I said, maybe someone might offer you Infinity $$$$ money, what will you do. Nope, I will say " Google Infinity $$$$ " Just then...when I said...what if......... His response was quick " I will say, She is out of Reach and Off Limits"

Amma is MINE !!!

That one was a wonderful Gesture or Gift which I will Cherish. I am Blessed.

Honest Abe's Letter to his Son's teacher.

This Note came home on my Kids 1st day of school (2010). It is so wonderful not to share.

It only shows that how much a teacher can change a child's life for the good.

I believe that teacher can be in any form....
from a child to a wise old being in any natural form.

It all depends on us how we see it.
Where there is maturity, there is a teacher

Read on this letter, its is a keeper and should be revisited many times.











Lincoln’s Letter to his Son’s Teacher

He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just, all men are not true.
But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician, there is a dedicated leader…

Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,
Steer him away from envy,
if you can, teach him the secret of quiet laughter.
Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick…

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books…
But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun, and the flowers on a green hillside.
In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail than to cheat…

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him they are wrong…
Teach him to be gentle with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon…

Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good
that comes through.

Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad…
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness…
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage
to be impatient… let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order, but see what you can do… He is such a fine little fellow,
My Son!

~ Abraham Lincoln

Oops! Did I Do that .....Feel like a Kitten

I Feel like a Kitten

So many things in my mind….feel like a little kitten caught up in a plenty of mixed yarns…trying to unravel all of them all at once ? How foolish !!!

Need to figure out one lose end at a time. Stress time can be playtime ..depending on the Spirit.

God Work through me and solve this puzzle.

Patience and Faith are the Best Antidote and Attitude.