Some Thoughts!

When chatting with some people I met today, I realized I had the experience of a 'Satsangh'...good people, good talk, positive thoughts all resulting in positive energy is what a 'Satsangh' is about. Isn't it? Thanks to the person who talked to me on all those subjects.

I present one of the topics discussed...

What is Character?

Here is a small story - Buddha on one occasion was travelling from town to town. He found a disciple in the first town, and gave him a handful of seeds. He told the disciple to keep them very very carefully, so that he can get them back on his way.

So, the first disciple kept those seeds locked away in a treasure vault along with his jewels, money and everything else that was so precious.

Buddha reached the second town and found another disciple. When it was again time to leave that town, Buddha gave the disciple another handful of seeds to keep safely.So the second disciple kept those seeds at his place of prayer along with all the deities and things of worship. He worshipped the seeds too as a part of his daily prayer ritual.

Buddha reached the third town and found his third disciple who was a simple farmer. The farmer was hesitant to meet a great person like Buddha - but his longing to hear Buddha speak and his urge to gain something from the great soul drove him to conquer his bashfulness.

On the last day, Buddha gave him a handful of seeds too and asked him to keep them safe.

Once Buddha had completed his mission of travelling to places he had planned to, he decided to re-visit his disciples.

In the first town, when asked by Buddha about the seeds the disciple proudly showed the silk cloth he had wrapped the seeds in! But, opening the same yielded a powder as they had dis-integrated over time. Buddha was sad at the result.

In the second town, the same story repeated. The disciple had failed to get his master's message.

In the third town when asked for the seeds, the farmer hung his head in shame. He said "Forgive me master, I have no seeds to give you back. I have however, sown the seeds, which in turn will give us some fresh seeds. I could not see the seeds being wasted"

Buddha was thrilled! He had finally found a disciple who understood his message.

That was the story!

But the moral from the above story is that it is not enough to know about traditions, about the right from the wrong etc. etc. if we do not put them to use. We need to sow those seeds into our everyday life and practise them.

Character is not what we think about or how great our thoughts are. It is practise that becomes a habit, and it is habit that becomes character!

The debate of good character Vs Bad character is a whole new discussion in itself...another place..another time...

Till then, take care of your self - the real inner self.

Round And Round

Another article from a good friend's blog:

Round and Round

I was in a meeting the other day with a few executives deciding on a strategy to implement a new tool. My role was to advise on what were the potential pit-falls of choosing one over the other.

Anyway, the meeting was scheduled for one hour and I observed that after the first 15 minutes, we were going round and round in circles repeating the same thing again and again, however using different words which basically meant the same. I am sure all of us have seen this happen - more so when there are peers at a leadership level without one trying to pull-rank over the other. I told the folks in the meeting that I needed to step out and could be called once they got their act together.

Here is something to think about - why do we go round in circles trying to decide? Is it because we are not strong enough to decide? Or is it because we want everyone to win and not have a heart-burn? Or is it because there is lack of leadership in a meeting? I would want to say that lack of leadership which translates to decision making capability is usually the reason that no one makes the "executive decision" and move on.

So, the next time you find that your team / peers are going round in circles, will you step up to the plate and make the decision or you will let someone else make the decision for you? Think about it!

Grateful Forever!

On this day I wish to thank you for making
me your mom
On this day I wish to forget the loneliness
I felt when I did not have you
On this day I wish to forget the day I was
watching children play
and people questioned "how is it not being a mom?"
On this day I wish to forget the fear
of never having any of my own

On this day forwards, I wish to remember the joy
I felt when I first held you in my arms
On this day I wish to remember your
first smile
Your cuddles, warm hugs and wet kisses
Your first steps, your first song

On this day I wish to thank you for making me a better person...
On this day I wish to thank you for warming my heart forever...

An Article on Shift

A good article I recently read - the author is a friend of mine...putting it for you to read...

"Every era is marked by a fundamental shift - In power, In Economy, In technology. This new era is exactly what you say about it being a global, borderless community. We need to take a step back and analyze that why there has been a shift in the "power-bases" as have rightly pointed. It is the burning desire (if I may) about the "have-nots" to succeed. This is not just relevant in the global IT ecosystem. It is across countries, cultures, industries and economies.

Now, is this a good thing or a bad thing? I believe that it is good (a challenge is always good) because when we feel that we are not in the driver's seat anymore we tend to re-focus on our core competencies. We tend to look at what can we do better (see the theme of the burning desire to succeed) and therefore we innovate. Yes, the transition is difficult to deliver results almost immediately however during the transition we need to ignore the noise (outsource / job-loss etc.) and focus on what we can do the best - become the center of global IT. That should be the goal. There can we a number of various strategies to achieve this goal however I feel the primary strategy should be coopetition."

Another Good Song...

I like it...and here I share with you...very up-beat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVF4TfAYPZk

A dialogue free version of the same song is available below - I like this version better :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OOlu7gUTYA&NR=1

Enjoy!

Dial M for Murder

We've all grown up seeing Hitchcock movies, and one of his best ones I think is "Dial M for Murder".

Dial M for Murder (1954) is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, and Robert Cummings, and released by Warner Brothers. The movie was based on the almost identical stage play of the same title by English playwright Frederick Knott (1916-2002).

The Plot:

Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) is a former tennis player who married Margot (Grace Kelly) partly for her money. To please his wife, he has given up tennis and now sells sports equipment. Margot once had a relationship with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), a crime writer for American TV, but broke it off when Mark went to the U.S. for a year. In time, they stopped writing to each other.

Tony and Margot have made their wills, naming each other as beneficiary. For a year, Tony meticulously plans Margot's murder. She has no idea that Tony knows of her love for Mark. He has gone to great lengths to steal a handbag containing one of Mark's letters, and even assumed the role of an anonymous Brixton-based blackmailer to find out whether she would pay to have it back.(She did, but he asked for only £50.) He even watched them having a little farewell party (eating spaghetti with mushrooms) in Mark's studio flat in Chelsea.

Tony slyly withdraws small amounts of money for a year, collecting £1,000 in (used) one-pound notes, with which he plans to pay a contract killer. He singles out the perfect man to do the job: C. A. Swann (Anthony Dawson), who now calls himself "Captain Lesgate", an old schoolmate who had embarked on a life of petty crime when they were students together. Tony knows that now he will be able to blackmail Swann into murdering his wife....

For the rest of the story....watch the movie - don't miss it!

Popcorn, a blanket and the movie - just be sure not to have your wife by the side :-)

Empty

One of those days and times when everything feels empty. Fill it up with things you like to do - fill it up with some activity to do...enough advise. why run away and try to make oneself busy?

I'm so tempted to leave this page empty...just to give you a feel of what it feels like...






















what say?