The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Last Monday, while flying from Chicago to San Diego, I finally had a chance to read the book, "The last lecture". A fascinating and an inspirational book which I finished in one sitting. A simple but well written book.

The Last Lecture, co-authored by Pausch and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Zaslow. The Last Lecture explained Pausch's speech, and the events that led up to it.

The "Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch at YouTube

Randy Pausch discussing his book "The Last Lecture"

http://www.thelastlecture.com/

Manish Desai.

I Have a Dream

Yesterday was Dr. Martin Luther King's Day to celebrate his birth anniversary. It's usually the 3rd Monday of the month of January. Although his actual birthday is January 15, 1929. I was reading and trying to digest the significance of the speech in the light of today's inauguration of Barak Obama as 44th president of the United States of America. A very powerful speech.

Text and video, courtsey of MLK Online.
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I Have a Dream - Address at March on Washington August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Watch the Full 16-min video of Martin Luther King's famous I Have a Dream Speach

Positive Thoughts for 2009! - Vol 2

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your resent happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Mindfulness

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin. It was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds - and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping - continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention, was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried - but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk - turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world - playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Heaven & Hell

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said," Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand". "It is simple said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves."

Moral: Its people's attitude that makes our place of work, a hell or heaven to them!! 'Help and Seek Help' this makes all the difference to each individual's life and makes our lives hell or otherwise.

Mouse Story

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package."What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered- he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mouse trap in the house!

There is a mouse trap in the house! "The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it. "The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house! There is a mouse trap in the house! "The pig sympathized, but said,"I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers. "The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mouse trap in the house! There is a mouse trap in the house! "The cow said, "Wow, Mr.Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.

"So, the mouse returned to thehouse, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mouse trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

REMEMBER, EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years

An excellent article in today's Wall Steert Journal which is about one of the book which have inspired me and it's relevance in today's economic turbulance. I couldn't resist but paste it in it's entirety here. Courtsey Wall Street Journal.

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By STEPHEN MOORE

Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read "Atlas Shrugged" a "virgin." Being conversant in Ayn Rand's classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only "Atlas" were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I'm confident that we'd get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.

Many of us who know Rand's work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.
Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity. The left, naturally, hated her. But as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.

For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in most cases they themselves created -- by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.

In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

When Rand was writing in the 1950s, one of the pillars of American industrial might was the railroads. In her novel the railroad owner, Dagny Taggart, an enterprising industrialist, has a FedEx-like vision for expansion and first-rate service by rail. But she is continuously badgered, cajoled, taxed, ruled and regulated -- always in the public interest -- into bankruptcy. Sound far-fetched? On the day I sat down to write this ode to "Atlas," a Wall Street Journal headline blared: "Rail Shippers Ask Congress to Regulate Freight Prices."

In one chapter of the book, an entrepreneur invents a new miracle metal -- stronger but lighter than steel. The government immediately appropriates the invention in "the public good." The politicians demand that the metal inventor come to Washington and sign over ownership of his invention or lose everything.

The scene is eerily similar to an event late last year when six bank presidents were summoned by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Washington, and then shuttled into a conference room and told, in effect, that they could not leave until they collectively signed a document handing over percentages of their future profits to the government. The Treasury folks insisted that this shakedown, too, was all in "the public interest."
Ultimately, "Atlas Shrugged" is a celebration of the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the cultivator of wealth through human intellect. Critics dismissed the novel as simple-minded, and even some of Rand's political admirers complained that she lacked compassion. Yet one pertinent warning resounds throughout the book: When profits and wealth and creativity are denigrated in society, they start to disappear -- leaving everyone the poorer.

One memorable moment in "Atlas" occurs near the very end, when the economy has been rendered comatose by all the great economic minds in Washington. Finally, and out of desperation, the politicians come to the heroic businessman John Galt (who has resisted their assault on capitalism) and beg him to help them get the economy back on track. The discussion sounds much like what would happen today:

Galt: "You want me to be Economic Dictator?"
Mr. Thompson: "Yes!"
"And you'll obey any order I give?"
"Implicitly!"
"Then start by abolishing all income taxes."
"Oh no!" screamed Mr. Thompson, leaping to his feet. "We couldn't do that . . . How would we pay government employees?"
"Fire your government employees."
"Oh, no!"

Abolishing the income tax. Now that really would be a genuine economic stimulus. But Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Washington want to do the opposite: to raise the income tax "for purposes of fairness" as Barack Obama puts it.

David Kelley, the president of the Atlas Society, which is dedicated to promoting Rand's ideas, explains that "the older the book gets, the more timely its message." He tells me that there are plans to make "Atlas Shrugged" into a major motion picture -- it is the only classic novel of recent decades that was never made into a movie. "We don't need to make a movie out of the book," Mr. Kelley jokes. "We are living it right now."

Mr. Moore is senior economics writer for The Wall Street Journal editorial page.

The Game of Life by Florence Scovel Shinn

One of my friend have suggested this book as highly inspirational to her.

"Its a lovely book. You will find all the answers that you have been seeking throughout your life. This book will give you an insight as to why y0ur life has been the way it has, why certain areas of y0ur life have not worked upto your expectations till now & how now you can change them in your favour. Please do read it if you want to change your life."

I found the link to the entire text of the book for our benefit.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nth/shinn/gol/index.htm

Lesson of Life!

એક પરિવાર છે. આ પરિવારના લોકો વરચે બહુ ઓછા મતભેદ થાય છે. આ પરિવારના એક વડીલને કારણ પૂછ્યું. તેણે સરસ વાત કરી. એ વડીલે કહ્યું કે, અમારા પરિવારમાં દરેક વ્યકિતને બે વાત શીખવવામાં આવે છે. એક, નાના હોય તેને પ્રેમ કરવો. બે, મોટા હોય તેનો આદર કરવો. ઘરની દરેક વ્યકિત આ વાત સારી રીતે સમજે છે અને એ રીતે જ વર્તન કરે છે. આ બે નિયમથી બધા લોકોની અપેક્ષા સંતોષાઈ જાય છે. એ વડીલે કહ્યું કે ઘર હોય કે કામ, જો દરેક વ્યકિતનો રોલ ડિફાઇન હોય તો પછી વાંધો ન આવે.

મારે શું કરવાનું છે? મારી કેટલી જવાબદારી છે? એટલું જો માણસ સમજી જાય તો તેને વધુ મુશ્કેલી પડતી નથી. તકલીફો ત્યારે જ ઊભી થાય છે જયારે માણસ બીજાના કામમાં ચંચુપાત કરે છે.

આપણે મોટા ભાગે બીજાના કામ ઉપર નજર રાખીએ છીએ. ઐણે આ ખોટું કર્યું. આવું કરીને એણે યોગ્ય નથી કર્યું. બહુ ઓછા લોકો પોતાના કામ ઉપર નજર રાખે છે. મેં કર્યું એ બરોબર છે? હું જે કરું છું એ મને શોભે છે? આ જવાબો જો માણસ મેળવી શકે તો ઘણા બધા સવાલો હલ થઈ જાય. આપણે બીજાનો ચોકી પહેરો કરીએ છીએ અને આપણી જાતને રેઢી મૂકી દઈએ છીએ.

કોઈ કામ નાનું નથી. કોઈ કામ મોટું નથી. સમજવા જેવી વાત એક જ છે કે દરેક કામ મહાન છે. દરેક કામનું મહત્ત્વ છે અને દરેક કામ જરૂરી છે. એક બોલ્ટ નીકળી જાય તો આખું મશીન તૂટી પડે. બોલ્ટ દેખાવમાં ભલે સાવ નાનો રહ્યો પણ તેનું કામ બે વસ્તુને જોડી રાખવાનું છે. આપણે એ બોલ્ટની એટલે કે નાના વ્યકિતની કદર કરીએ છીએ?

તમારી ઓફિસમાં કે દુકાનમાં જે વ્યકિત નાનાં મોટાં કામ કરે છે એ ન હોય તો શું થાય તેનો તમે કોઈ દિવસ વિચાર કર્યોછે? ઘર હોય, નોકરી-ધંધો હોય કે સમાજ હોય, બે વાત યાદ રાખવી જોઈએ. એક તો દરેકના કામનો આદર કરો અને બીજું દરેકને પોતાનું કામ કરવા દો. સાથો સાથ તમે એ જ કરો જે તમારે કરવાનું છે.

અમદાવાદના ભરતકુમાર ભગતે પોતાના જીવનની એક વાત સરસ રીતે લખીને ઇ-મેલથી મોકલી છે. આજથી ૧૪ વર્ષ પહેલાની વાત છે. ભરતભાઈનો પુત્ર રાજિત બીમાર પડયો. ડોકટરે નિદાન કર્યું કે રાજિતને મેનેન્જાઇટિસ છે. બીમારીના કારણે રાજિતની આંખો નબળી પડી ગઈ હતી. એવો ડર હતો કે કદાચ રાજિતની આંખો કાયમ માટે ચાલી જશે. ભરતભાઈ અને તેમનાં પત્ની જાગૃતિબહેન સતત ચિંતામાં રહેતાં હતાં. રાજિતને બતાવવા ભરતભાઈ દવાખાને ગયા.

ખાનગી દવાખાનાના વેઇટિંગ લોન્જમાં બેસી ભરતભાઈ પોતાનો વારો આવવાની રાહ જોતા હતા. એવામાં એક અપંગ અને અણસમજુ દેખાતો બાળક દવાખાનામાં ઘૂસ્યો. તેના હાથમાં અગરબત્તીનાં પેકેટ્સ હતાં. તે બધાને પૂછવા લાગ્યો કે અગરબત્તી લેવી છે? બાળકને જોઈને રિસેપ્શન કાઉન્ટર ઉપર બેઠેલા માણસે રાડ પાડી. તું પાછો આવી ગયો? ચાલ બહાર નીકળ. તને ના પાડી છે તો પણ ચાલ્યો આવે છે. બહુ ખરાબ રીતે તેણે બાળકને તતડાવ્યો.

ભરતભાઈએ એ બાળકને પૂછ્યું, તને આટલી ખરાબ રીતે ખખડાવે છે તો પણ તું શા માટે અહીં આવે છે? અણસમજુ દેખાતા એ બાળકે મોટી વાત કરી દીધી. બાળકે કહ્યું કે, હું મારું કામ કરું છું અને એ તેનું કામ કરે છે. મારું કામ છે અગરબત્તી વેચવાનું, એટલે હું અગરબત્તી વેચું છું. તેનું કામ છે મને કાઢી મૂકવાનું એટલે એ મને કાઢી મૂકે છે.

બાળકે વાત આગળ વધારી. તેણે કહ્યું કે હું અપંગ છું. ગઈકાલે મારે ઘરે જવામાં મોડું થયું. ઘરે પહોંરયો ત્યારે મારી મા રડતી હતી. મેં તેને પૂછ્યું તો કહ્યું કે, તારી ચિંતા થતી હતી. તને કંઈ થઈ જાય તો? બાળકે તેની માને કહ્યું કે એ કામ તારું નથી. તું ઘરનું ઘ્યાન રાખે છે, બધા માટે જમવાનું બનાવે છે. તારા બદલે હું જમવાનું બનાવું તો તને ગમે? ના ગમે ને? મારી ચિંતા કરવાનું કામ ભગવાનનું છે. ભગવાનનું કામ ભગવાનને કરવા દે ને. ભગવાનના કામમાં દખલ કરીશ તો ભગવાનને પણ નહીં ગમે!

ભરતભાઈ કહે છે કે એ બાળક તો આટલી વાત કરીને ચાલ્યો ગયો પણ મને આખી જિંદગી કામ લાગે એવો પાઠ શીખવાડી ગયો.. હું સાવ હળવો થઈ ગયો. મને વિચાર આવ્યો કે હું દીકરાની ચિંતા ખોટી કરું છું. એ મારું કામ નથી. મારું કામ તો છે તેને બેસ્ટ ટ્રીટમેન્ટ અપવવાનું, તેનું જતન કરવાનું અને તેને પોતાના દર્દમાં રાહત થાય તેવા પ્રયત્ન કરવાનું. હું મારું કામ કરું અને બીજું કામ જેનું છે એના ઉપર છોડી દઉ.

ભગવાને તેનું કામ કર્યું. ભરતભાઈ અને જાગૃતિબહેન કહે છે કે એ બાળકની વાત અમને જીવનનાં ડગલે અને પગલે કામ લાગી છે. કર્મના સિદ્ધાંતમાં એક વાત અદૃશ્ય રીતે પણ કહેવામાં આવી છે. કર્મ કરશો એટલે ફળ તો મળવાનું જ છે. સનાતન સત્ય એ છે કે સારું કામ કરશો તો સારું ફળ મળશે અને ખરાબ કામ કરશો તો ખરાબ ફળ પણ મળવાનું જ છે. તમારા કામને ઓળખો. તમારા કામને એન્જોય કરો. બસ એટલું તપાસતા રહો કે મારે જે રોલ ભજવવાનો છે એ હું સરખી રીતે ભજવું છું કે નહીં?

છેલ્લો સીન ઇશ્વરે તમને જેવા બનાવ્યા હોય એ કરતાં સહેજ પણ ઊતરતા ન બનવું, એમાં જ તમારું ગૌરવ છે.

Positive Thoughts for 2009! Vol 1

1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Sleep for 7 hours.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
15. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
18. Smile and laugh more.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don't compare your partner with others.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.
27. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
28. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
29. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
30. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
31. The best is yet to come.
32. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
33. Do the right thing!
34. Call your family often.
35. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.
36. Each day give something good to others.
37. Don't over do. Keep your limits.

Have a wonderful 2009 ahead!!!

Don't Quit

A friend of mine suggested the following poem to me. - "As far as a single poem that has been very close to my heart from my eight grade would be "Don't Quit" by Edgar Guest. It has given me a simple yet serious motto to live my life by and I go back to it every now and then to feel refreshed and for a newer meaning every time I read it."

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Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,

It's when things seem worse,that you must not quit.

by Edgar A. Guest.