The winners code

I have not written anything in my blog for sometime now. Was just browsing through some articles when i came across this eloquently written piece. One of those i think everybody should abide by for the benefit of the greater good. This is definitely meant to be shared. Written by GEORGE CHINGARANDE

Here it goes, The Monitor :: The winners code


"The winners code


A new way of looking at life

Loren Eiseley was a renowned American sociologist who published extensively. In his book The Star Thrower he recounted an incident that happened one day at the beach. He is the old wise man in the story retold below.Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean.""I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it towards the ocean. When the starfish hit the water he said to the man, "It made a difference for that one."

Never underestimate the magnitude Of your small actions
In the grand scheme of things or the larger picture as contemporary scholars prefer to call it, the actions of the young man were in vain. As the old man correctly pointed out, there were miles and miles of sandy beach and millions upon millions of starfish. The young man could not possibly make a difference. Could it be that there is another way of looking at the situation? Yes, there is.

Let us imagine for a while what happened to the one starfish that was thrown into the ocean and survived.Suppose that it found a partner or even partners of the opposite sex and meted and produced offspring. These offspring also found their partners and meted and also produced their offspring. And as the act of procreation continued from one starfish that survived courtesy of the kindness of the young man millions of other starfish were born.

Therefore, in the grand scheme of things the young man made a big difference to the kingdom of the starfish.We must always remember that our actions go far beyond the four walls of our offices and beyond the mere lives of the people we touch directly. In every seed there is a potential tree, and in every tree there is a forest. However, it is only a discerning person who can realise that there is a forest in every seed. Similarly in every child there is a potential family and in that family there is a tribe or even a nation of people. An act of kindness, a word of encouragement or a helping hand given to the child is actually service rendered to a whole nation of people. In much the same way a brutalisation or shabby treatment of one child is also an act of injustice against a whole nation.
There are many needs and there are many needy people. Practically we cannot individually make a difference in all their lives. It is easy to get discouraged and be cynical. However, it is time to adopt a new perspective. We all need eyes that can see beyond the present, and therefore, spur us to act in a manner that makes a difference in one little life knowing that in the process we may be touching many more lives. We all have opportunities to do this with our customers, subordinates, superiors, friends and different other interlocutors.

Baby steps are the beginning of giant steps
The young man was faced by a colossal problem. In one way or another, at one time or another, all of us will find ourselves faced with mammoth challenges. The millions of starfish that needed help was a staggering challenge for the young man.
He could easily have been paralysed and demoralised if he had looked at the challenge at hand in its stark enormity. The young man saw that the big challenge was made up of numerous small challenges. He could be overwhelmed by the big challenge, but the smaller challenge of one starfish at a time was no match to him. By a mile a journey can be staggering, but by a centimetre and a cinch that same journey becomes manageable.

We all need this ability to chunk down our challenges. For most of us the problem is that we are chunking up our challenges thereby demoralising us and paralysing us into inaction. Challenges have a way of exaggerating themselves, but the young man teaches us that if treat every little chunk different and separately they are actually manageable. As long as we have opportunity, let us do something about our lives on a daily basis no matter how infinitesimally small those actions may appear to be in the eyes of our critics.

You will pass this way only once, if you have an opportunity to teach, then teach with grace. If you have an opportunity to help, then render help with humility. If you have an opportunity to do evil, then refrain from doing so because your act of self-restraint may turn out to be benevolence that saves a nation. In life there are no small actions, but there are many small-minded critics. Let them not deter you."GEORGE CHINGARAND

Out for a bit :)

Lessons from Kids

Hey once again! Been a while you and me had a small talk. I must say I have always had an admiration for kids, babies, children call them whatever but not adolescents. I have always been amazed by how they tend to live in the moment without worrying about the future or the past. Simply being. This something that is so hard to achieve for adults, from students to those working, the unemployed, everybody! I have just revisited one of my favorite pieces of writing by Anthony Fernando; it's called Dare to Dream Vol-1. Great motivational writer and speaker. Enough said! I will go on to highlight some of the differences he outlined between adults and kids which I think each and every one of us needs to acknowledge and think about. Someone once said people do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. He talks of kids being one of the greatest coaches we will ever have. Take time to observe them. There is a lot to be learnt from these tiny coaches.

About Kids	About Adults
Kids can quickly change their emotions from sad to happy at an instant. They don't spend too much time worrying about the future or the past.	On the other hand adults carry a lot of emotional baggage from past experiences and fear for the future. No wonder we can't experience and enjoy life the way it is.
During kids’ classes or anything they have to learn, they acknowledge their mistakes, laugh at them and move on. They give themselves time to learn.	Adults get frustrated at every mistake they make and beat themselves down for it. Adults don't find valuable lessons in the mistakes they make. They just see imperfection in them.
Children believe in the beauty of their dreams naturally. This has always been a secret ingredient to success in life. It is their belief that makes them who they want to be.	As adults we grow and forget about the power and the beauty of our dreams. We have grown more faithless in our dreams therefore losing the most basic ingredient to success in life.
Laughing and giggling, I call it their specialty. They will stop to laugh at funny incidents life gives them.	As we grow old we get more serious and bury down the sense of fun while at it. Anthony says it's in the name of 'maturity'. I believe him.
I love you! The easiest phrase. They say this more times and with easy and trueness to the statement. They don't think about anything else, they just express that affection. Period!	Adults.... They deeply meditate on these words before they can express them out. They think about the consequences of saying so. Both past and future.
Kids are like us too. They get angry and said but that only lasts a moment. They forgive quickly and completely. They rarely carry grudges for a long time.	"I will forgive, but I may never forget". Typical of adults. They carry lifelong grudges that in turn become emotional baggage.
Sense of wonder. Kids curious little creatures that are always wondering about the things around them. They are amazed by nature and its mysteries. They ponder, they wonder. How, why, when, who. The answers always amaze them.	Adults have lost their sense of wander and amazement. An elephant at the zoo will usually just be an elephant to the adults. No wonder of nature's mysteries such as why it has a long nose or notice it has three toes (just guessing about the number of toes.

I have to end here. I hear some kids laughing out in the park. Think I will go and play invisible. Some valuable lessons to be learnt.

Catch ya later :)

Values

Values

We live in a very fast world. Everything has to be just in time. We want up to the minute updates about anything and everything. Our friends, this weekend happenings, family, academic and professional obligations. The need for us to constantly stay connected with the rest of the world. The need to be in many places at once. That’s just a lot sometimes. As a result we get 'lost' in the world and that which is important to make the better person we truly want to be. We lose sight our goals both long term and short term. This are eroded by the need for us to satisfy our short term pleasures with disregard to the future. This later hurts our long term goals.

I was feeling a little off and down before I revisited this excerpt from " Inspiration and Motivation to go" by David Leonhardt.

"A rooster was scratching the ground in search of some good grain to eat, when he happened upon a sparkling jewel. The jewel was a joy to behold, but the rooster was unsure what to do with it.

"What a beauty you are, and surely you are of great value," the rooster said to the jewel. "But I would happily opt for a single grain of delicious barley than all the jewels in the world."

This fable, adapted from Aesop, reminds us to place our own personal value on things. A high price tag does not bring happiness. A bright shine does not bring joy. Usefulness, sentiment, personal meanings are all more important.

Do the things that bring you happiness. Spend time with people who make you complete. Surround yourself with things that bring you comfort, and you will create daily happiness for yourself. " David Leonhardt,

Home Advantage

Home Advantage

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar."
Raymond Lindquist”

Having been back home in the country for sometime now I started to observe or should I say notice the home advantage. Was with who I would like to call my uncles but are more like my friends now.. in the hood they are known as ‘marasta’ in the ‘kasi’. I have stayed in Asia for over 5 years now since I was in my early 20’s. Meaning I have developed most of my adult character outside my family. This has in turn made me a different person from the one I would be should I have grown with my family.

Home sometimes is does not refer to the physical structure itself but where the heart is. It refers to the people moistly your own blood and the surrounding you have grown around. These are all familiar territories and faces which I find enough to keep me distracted from all my worries if they are any. At that same time I noticed something has to bother me enough to act on it. However here at home my heart is all settled at home and I seem to worry less about all my responsibilities. I do think about the consequences of not meeting certain obligations while remembering that am at home and I have a place and someone to fall back on. Back to my boys..Just a thought, everybody is home which is good because I do miss the comfort myself. At that same time I came back to think about how lenient they were letting themselves be on their inner characters. I am not saying that they are not hard workers. They are my blood. Am just saying that being at home destroys the independent character inside of them that so wants to fly to new horizons. This ends up in people being less hard working and losing touch with their ambition to grow. Just as birds that have grown do not know that they can fly. They just fly out without fear. Which some would like to call the leap of faith. We are too comfortable enough to not want to think outside our realities and take the leap of faith.

Home being home this is where I have to drop the pen. It’s been a while.