Showing posts with label Collective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Collective. Show all posts
Monday, 22 July 2019
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
World of dualities
We know that we live in a world of
dualities. So, some good , some not so good. Then, we learn that we should not
look at the not so good as not so good. Everything is to be accepted . Change
what you can and let go of what can't be.
And then starts our work. On ourselves,
folks. Not on others.
Likes waves hitting the shore and thrashing
anything that is within it, we get carried by wave upon wave through the ocean
of life. Not being uplifted, now hurled, now thrashed. But moving with the wave
nonetheless. And moving sometimes alone and sometimes being thrown together
with some souls whose journey is with us at that moment. But definitely
"alone" as the persistent state.
Wisdom : learning to enjoy and making the
most of the uplifted state. And trying to keep a balance when hurled and
thrashed. To know that we will be uplifted again. And again and again if we
lighten our burdens simultaneously....until, one day, we will learn how to ride
the crest of the wave.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog:
www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Sunday, 22 April 2018
Perceive love
Paramahansa Yogananda says: "Love
cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of
another".
Such wisdom! We tend to expect that love
should automatically come to us from certain people, like parents, siblings,
spouses etc. Not only expect it but we would like to determine the quality,
extent and intensity, too. It is all about personal needs whereas love is a
fountain from the heart. If that fountain is minimized or shut down at will, or
through traumatic circumstances, it will not be forthcoming.
I know of a case where this person felt so
unloved that she neglected an obvious ailment just so that she would get
attention. And later, when she regretted the neglect, it was too late and she
passed on, a sheer case of expecting love from a source that had none to give.
Yes, our hearts need to be open to love and
to receive it as well. And love cannot be demanded. It has to be a gift given
willingly and out of love.
I have been told, "I am very loving
but I don't know why I never get it". These are perspectives. Love is
given in different ways by different people and not exactly the way we want it.
Some love silently and are not demonstrative. Some love less but show more
though there IS love here too. Some show their caring by making life easier for
their near and dear ones but never say, "I love you".
We have to have eyes in our hearts as it
were, to see, to perceive love in its multiple forms and formats.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Healing
When you get pushed into circumstances
unknowingly and they turn out to be adverse, even ugly, you quickly tell
yourself it was karma, because you had no valid explanation. But when,
knowingly, you step into such circumstances, there is anger. Even rage, at
yourself, either for having trusted the wrong people or having listened against
your inner voice to someone you "respected" Or for a cloudy judgment.
In any case, it IS karma to be in a place and among people you were chosen to
be with. But it is very difficult to look at it this way when your life is
crumbling to pieces and your desires are a distant dream.
Changing your place and your space gives
you breathing space.
As you grow older, perhaps, you only seek
consolidation of people around you who have stood the test of time AND been
with you, People who have been kind and loving, healing in their presence. And
I understand why the importance is not "family" per se but souls who
may or may not be family but who have a salutary effect on you. Oh yes, and
loyal, too.
Old postulates and belief systems are just
that: old. And often don't work. What works is being among those who see your
chinks but treat them and you lovingly and accept without criticism and without
judgment.
For, who really knows when your last day
might be?
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Friday, 6 April 2018
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
Tuesday, 6 March 2018
Intelligence
The biggest challenge we humans face is to
keep our thoughts clean. Something or the other always comes in the way of pure
action because thoughts are not so pure.
The way it works is, your thoughts transfer
to your emotions and emotions to decision making followed finally by action.
Naturally then, positive thoughts should be preferred for the entire cycle of
thoughts to action to be positive, too.
I hear many people say they are very
positive among their own groups. It's also like kids who are well behaved
outside but not at home. The cycle of energy breaks this way. You can't have a
half positive and half negative approach. If you are good, you are good, in any
situation.
I see a lot of conditional responses from
people. And that does not make them wholesome personalities. On the contrary, these
are more reactive personalities. If you notice, the day you wake up with a
smile, all goes well and you end up in bed with a smile. It is one happy day.
But on another day, one small unpleasantness can ruin your whole day. Not at
all worth it but it is hard to philosophize and move on at the time.
You can train yourself to give the correct
responses with a fair amount of common sense and intelligence.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Sunday, 25 February 2018
Tuesday, 6 February 2018
Monday, 5 February 2018
Monday, 29 January 2018
Sunday, 28 January 2018
Caring
A little enquiry at the right time goes a
long way. Whether family, friends or good acquaintances, which little bit of
concern in adverse times goes a long way in spreading warmth. I don't think it
is imperative to come forward only in a crisis. Of course, that is a must. But
what people really want is a small doze of constant warmth and caring.
The issues get more aggravated than
necessary very often because there are flimsy grounds for getting hurt today.
Anything small can become a big and even lifelong issue unless two people want
to sort things out. Principles and commitment being things of the past, we can
seek a good time anywhere and everywhere. Under these conditions, the warmth
may also be meted out to the people you need in your life. And sadly, they need
not be the people you have grown up with or spent time with.
Such is life and we still need
to find our own peace amidst the chaos and disturbances in life.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Sunday, 21 January 2018
Common sense
"Common
sense is uncommon" is a popular saying. I think good sense is equally
uncommon. I mean, just look at us! We search for love but want it on our terms.
When we have an issue with someone, we want the other person to come forward in
reconciliation. We can prolong a simple misunderstanding indefinitely, being
miserable and making another person equally miserable. But each one would
rather convert themselves into a bunch of knots rather than forgive, forget and
give a loving hug to each other. We are so funny that we will seethe in anger
for years on a small issue ( of course, we amplify it to look humongous) but
will not call it quits and move on.
Family
feuds, sibling rivalry, petty comparisons... you name it and they are rampant
and ultimately to what end? To lose valuable relationships and turn away from
your own near and dear ones? To refuse to communicate to iron out hurts and misunderstandings?
Only human beings can live with so much self promoted negativity, forgetting
all the good times shared, the loving moments shared. More often than not, everything
boils down to the "I am the one who is right" syndrome.
So,
tell me. Isn't good sense uncommon?
I remember the story of the man who sat on
the branch of a tree to cut some wood for fire and was cutting the very branch
he was sitting on without the good sense that he would fall and break a few
bones. If we look within us, we can see many such broken bones but would we
admit that? NO, sure...we still boast of having good sense, you see!
Surekha
Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Personality
I want to talk about real people today,
people who laugh and cry, love and lie, are honest sometimes and manipulative
at other times. People who hurt and who forgive. Ordinary people who can be
extraordinary. Intelligent ones who can goof up every now and then, people who
can make a mistake and laugh at themselves. People who can bear a lifelong
grudge and let go also.
How does one live in a synthetic world of
" best behavior 24•7 " it would be an exhausting exercise. Smile
politely. Talk politely. Keep your voice down just enough. Never say a
contradictory word. Always agree to the opinion of others. Just listen ... and
all will be well apart from the fact that you would in this case, be one of the
most boring people one had the "fortune" of knowing.
Give me real people any day.
The "dhishoom dhishoom” types. They have an interesting personality at
least.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Sunday, 7 January 2018
Knowledge is power
That knowledge is power is a well known
truth. But truth also has two sides. And so, the power of knowledge can have
undesirable traits piling up, too. When knowledge is combined with power of the
wrong kind, it can cause endless agony and destruction.
As Lord Acton said, "Power corrupts
and absolute power corrupts absolutely". I know it is ironic and a paradox
that both words can be incompatible. But the beauty of humans is that their
minds find it easier to get twisted in the negative direction rather than
towards straight thinking, simple thinking and positive thinking.
You can be in any profession, have any
vocation but there is always a danger of developing arrogance, an illusion of
superiority and ego on the path of knowledge, evidently in comparison with the
less knowledgeable. There are two ways of handling knowledge. One, by wanting a
monopoly over it and two, by spreading it. The tendency for a monopoly goes
hand in hand with controlling the environment and its people whereas spreading
knowledge opens the heart and enables a person to become like a tree which
grows tall and gives shade unconditionally.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
Speakingtree Blog: www.speakingtree.in/public/surekhakothari
Monday, 11 December 2017
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Sunday, 3 December 2017
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Comparison
An excerpt from Kangana Ranaut's interview
: " I think somewhere, women don't have acceptance for themselves. Women
don't support women, and this matter should be brought to light ( through
films). Though they share a bond, I still feel that we don't support each other
the way we should. Like, at the smallest of things, we see girls make fun of
girls themselves, our nature and how we look at each other as the inferior sex.
So, somewhere, this needs to be deactivated."
I was mulling over this comment and finding
some truth alright. Apart from this being a cut throat world, women have been
losing out due to personality issues. Sure, there are many women's
organizations and travel groups but.....
They call it a man's world because they
unite for a cause and their solidarity does often overtake that of women. They
also tend to move on faster than women without focusing too much on petty
issues. Traditionally, women were not insecure. In the Vedic age, women were
strong and wise and lived shoulder to shoulder with the men. But later in
history, they came to be called a weaker lot, dependent on the male. More so,
after the moghul invasion. And today, when women are coming out of their shell,
they will probably have to go through a period of transition till they start
supporting each other for a greater cause of connectivity and look for a
connection in each other rather than comparison.
Surekha Kothari
surekhakothari.wordpress.com
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