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The message on the gate

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Many years ago, a victorius king wanted to build a gate to his city. He wanted the gate to carry a message that would stand the test of time.

He gathered a bunch of wise people. They were asked to come up with a message that would be timeless yet also stand for everything the city stood for. The king said the message (like the city) should mean something to the ruler & the rules, young & the old, the wise & not so wise, the happy & the sad, the rich & the poor and the loved & the not so loved. He wanted a message that would apply to all.

The wise people searched for long and searched far. Many candidates were deliberated on and finally the wise people agreed on a message. The gate reads “This too shall pass” …

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Hotha hai… C’est la vie 

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Two months in Pune and I’ve had to dig deep with my hindi skills. One of my favorite quotes has been “hotha hai” or it happens. I find its usage very close to “C’est la vie” or “such is life”.

These phrases are amazing resets for when things are not going your way. It becomes the immediate response when sh*t hits the fan and builds a “yes, and” mindset- a mindset that doesn’t question the rationale for the situations but one that explores the available options given the situation.

Face the sun & you will never see the shadows!

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Whether it is life or a person – if you always face the sun, you will never see the shadows. While there is a bit of innocence to it – it really helps a person grow.

On people: Frankl explained with his metaphor to crabbing that if you take a person as he/she really is, the default negative “crosswinds” in our mind make him/her worse. If we overestimate people, however, we promote them to what they really can be.

On a lighter note:

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best…
And…

…always look on the bright side
of life…

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The original Hellen Keller quote : “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows”

Thank you Vishal

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My super-public habit tracker 

May: Exercise 1 Blogging 4

The Dilemma of eternity – Do we matter?

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We are but a speck in eternity. Before us were our parents, grandparents, ancestors, dinosaurs, some micro-organism & the big bang. Ahead of us are our children, their children, alien invasion & apocalypse. Life existed before us & will go on after us. We are but a speck in eternity. Does anything we do even matter?

Everything before us did their bit to make us possible – our parents, grandparents, ancestors, dinosaurs, some micro-organism & the big bang. Our life in fact started with each of them and extends back to the big bang. Each of our actions now also determine how the timeline ahead of us shapes itself. Therefore, our life also extends forward to the end of time.  Our life is actually the entire timeline – it is eternity. Every action we take today will have repercussions on that entire timeline of life. We are eternity. Everything we do matters.

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Thank you Shishir