Growing kids and Growing Plants!

Its always beautiful watching growing kids and growing plants as they leave good lessons. Few months ago, I had bought a small ‘Tulsi’ from the market, respecting the importance of it as a herb in our culture, and with the belief  that it is good to have one plant in the home.


When I had bought that from the market, It was too small and in the small earthern pot. I kept watering it for few months and also supervising that it gets proper sunlight and air. Despite this, I did not notice any  remarkable growth in it. Just before few weeks, I transferred the plant into a big pot and surprisingly, within a week, it grew few inches long and the growth again got stagnant!

Does not it give the lesson, the plants grow as much as the earth holds them…and maybe, our kids grow (emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, etc.) as much as our love and warmth holds them.
Is there any age limit where the urge to receive love, warmth or understanding stops? We often cherish the memories of our elders cuddling and loving us when we were kids. In our fast life, Have the new generation parents continued providing same kind of warmth and feelings to their kids? We have heard, “An ounce of practice is better than the pound of knowledge”, Isnt it true that “An ounce of expression is better than the pound of emotions that we carry for others”? We speak thousands of words in a day…How many of them have soothen the young hearts of our near and dear ones?

Well, Its always beautiful watching growing kids and growing plants as they leave good lessons.



We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher

Have a lovely parenting time :)
Anuradha

Some worse mistakes

"Those who do not stand for something, fall for anything". "Plan your life or live life by default". "Control yourself or let others control you".  These three lovely quotes do really make beautiful and almost similar sense. Still, there are some mistakes that we make in our lives and could not show the expected competency in the required area and we are pulled behind in our life.

Some worse mistakes that we may make in our lives are:
1.    Not making the best use of our potential within.
2.    Not recognising Right time, Opportunity and People to help us.
3.    Not jotting down the beautiful and encouraging thoughts that crop in our mind.
4.    Not taking responsibility for our actions, thoughts and words.
5.    Underestimating ourselves or others.
6.    Allowing negative thoughts and people to influence/rule our minds.
7.    Not accepting, caring, loving and enjoying ourselves.

Let us think about a story of a man who never succeeded in his academic career or his profession. Out of depression, he planned to commit suicide. While he was going to do that, on his way, he thought that my life is useless anyway. Let me take an opportunity to find out what made the successful people succeed in their lives? He started interviewing the successful people and kept making notes of all the principles and views that the successful people owned. After one year, when he wrote the book which was the summary of all the principles of these successful men, that ordinary man (Writer of the book) became an overnight millionaire. His book sold like the hot cake. That writer was Dale Carnegie.

There is a saying, “Failure is never final and Success is never ending”.  It is true. It is said that Thomas Edison had succeeded in inventing light bulb after his 10,000 efforts. He had said that I know that if I would make 10 attempts, I would succeed in only one. It is therefore, to succeed,  I would make 10 times more efforts. The failure always says that we need to learn something that we have missed to do so far. One can really make the great difference by making the difference in the way they think. By accepting their weaknesses and strengths, working on their weaknesses and upgrading their strengths, utilising it on something that they like on the consistent basis.

There are some very successful people who are extremely busy. Their lives are tightly scheduled. They get high pay for every hour they contribute doing something. The laymen feel highly honoured when such celebrities are able to spend even a moment with such people. Some people like to take the autographs of celebrities and remember throughout their lives about their beautiful short meeting. Just assume, what if all these rewards (of the time they spend) are not made available to the same people who are celebrities? What if they do not get the same attention from people or if they do not get the same reward for their hourly work? Would they still continue bestowing the same quality of work? Or would they stop providing such quality in their work? Would all of their work worthless without such attention and reward? I do not at all think so. These people are motivated to give their best not because of any external reward but because of their internal reward. They think for themselves, what suits them, and what do they deserve. They choose their habits and thinking which help them succeed. Such habits or thinking do attract the attention or financial reward towards them. They would continue doing something meaningful even if they would not receive anything. They continue doing so, because it is their habit. The choice of their habit adds satisfaction in their lives. Choosing right things should be satisfactory and not stressful.

 If I have some gold and diamonds with me and if I do not value those pieces of gold and diamonds, would their value subside because I did not value? If I throw that precious asset in the garbage bin, do you think, that it was the right place those valuable things deserved? I don’t think so. They always carry value with them. Whether one keeps with them, throw them or sells them. The value does not ever diminish. Similarly, I believe, if a man does not value the worth of his time, his potential, or if he could not attract the attention of the people, it does not mean that everything that he gets in plenty do not carry the value. If you do not know the value of gold and diamond, go and exchange it for something. If you do not know the value of your time and potential, go and exchange it for something that is worthy. Maybe, you might not get the value of the gold or diamond more than the market price, but you would surely get more value for your time and efforts, once you recognise your worth. “A journey of thousand miles start from first step”, have you stepped further?

To exist is to change, to change is to mature and to mature is to create oneself endlessly. –Henry Bergson

Create yourself endlessly and Keep Prospering
Anuradha

Fragile Relationship

This is my writing I had contributed to the community website and have been chosen as the best entry. I have copied my writing from that website to my blogspot for the record.

Fragile Relationship

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 Finest Blog Winner - First Weekly Pick of December 2011

I am thinking about two different sayings today. The first one says "Relationship is very fragile. Broken relationship can be fixed but the scar of the glue remains permanently". If I am not wrong, it means you are identified as a failure in the relationship. That you were not able to handle your issues on your own! The second saying says that "Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive". The second saying may here be referred to the relationship that damage a person emotionally. But the saying evokes hope, optimism and belief that yes, one can survive and pride with relationship even after passing through different challenges!


If we start thinking on the first saying, we may start viewing the relationship that brings negative outcome. We may become conscious and think more about our role and contribution that we have given in the relationship. We may also associate this feeling with the negative experiences we have passed through. Or maybe, we may become extra conscious and people pleaser to maintain the relationship that we value. It builds a negative perception for our relationship. However, if we focus thinking on the next one, we would feel encouraged to put on our efforts on relationship positively. To understand, value and pride for whatever the relationship brings to us. Nevertheless, It would be more wise and realistic if one assesses the possibility and areas of further damage and takes the preventional steps towards that damage.


Most of the times, we perceive ourselves positively or negatively or do identify our strengths and weaknesses that we have received through the feedback of our relatives. Just wonder how would you think about yourself if your family is withdrawing, condemning, blaming, grumping, jealous, insecured, mean, problem focused? On the other side, how would you feel for yourself when the family is very encouraging, appreciating, loving, caring, understanding, wise and solution focused. I dont mean that the families could be either A or B, as most of the times the families are the mixture of both of the qualities mentioned. The point is what qualities of your family have influenced you extensively! Excluding the exceptions, what qualities are general in the family? What qualities are affecting the lives of the people more in the family?



The best service to the God is the service to human. What is the essence of prayers if a person is not able to make the people in the family happy! The list of satisfying other people and relatives comes after the family. I would not encourage anybody to be 'people pleaser' but would surely wish people to cultivate the skills that assesses the value of a person, feelings of a person, and accepting the person with his/her strengths and weaknesses, while he/she is alive and with you!


We are human. None of us is perfect. We can learn some skills (Appropriate Communication skills and problem solving skills that benefits relationship a lot) that would be helpful. We can UNLEARN some skills that have not been helpful. We can expect FAIRNESS in the relationship. We can cultivate the win-win approach. We can allow everybody involved in the relationship to enjoy the relationship at its fullest.


Few years ago, I had read about Asian Yin and Yang philosophy that says that two incomplete halves meet to make a complete WHOLE as for example, Earth and Sky, Night and Day, Male and Female, Light and Dark, Evil and Good, two semi-circles, etc. Everytime, We do not need to have similar thinking, culture, gender, choices, status, position or other characteristics to make the relationship successful but we do need to have, everytime, an attitude that has beautiful understanding, thinking, words and behavior that is ACCEPTABLE AND FAIR.


Let the relationship grow with time and with experiences. Let the relationship not be expected to be a BLISS without any efforts put on it. A plant needs water at regular interval, it needs fertilizer, appropriate sunlight and environment to grow healthily. It becomes capable to face strong winds and rains when it is at it's maturity stage. Everytime, I wonder, Could we expect our relationship to become directly a fully grown-up tree and survive all challenges? Could we allow our relationship plant grow without the fertilizer (caring words), water at particular interval (caring actions) or in the absence of other environmental factors (allow your person do his/her favourite activities. Allow your person to socialise, grow and enjoy his/her space unless it is not harmful).




It is not advisable to over-do or under-do giving water, fertilizers or exposure to the environment. Spare some time with your relationship so that it grows in your observation and gives you strength when you really need it!Maintain healthy boundary!



With all this understanding, let us wish ourselves a prosperous relationship with our spouse, partner, kids, friends, society, colleagues, and others. Let us give time to the relationship according to it's importance. Let us manage relationship well. And last but not least, do not forget, the first relationship of ours is the relationship with SELF!



Love,
Anuradha

Lavanya's new preschool-Mt Ousley

 This is Lavanya's new preschool. You can see Lavanya playing with her new friend Gayuni who is in pink jacket.

 This is the area where the bags, food and drink bottles are placed. The room beside this is kitchen.

 This is a table and a corner where the kids can play with the small kitchen equipments.

 This corner and table is for coloring pictures.

 Here, the kids do craft.

 Forgotten! It seems that it is also for coloring and crafting purpose.

 Painting things.

 Lavanya is busy with Gayuni. Most of the kids have been picked up by their parents. It is now closing time. The violet colored doors in the end is the way to small room where different picture books and toys are stored.
Beside those violet doors, you can see the kids standing in the area that is used for office work purpose.

 The outside view from the exit of the preschool. This is the play area.

 The red door that you see is for the first aid things and the two doors beside that are toilets.

The outer wall of the preschool. Thats it. Wish Lavanya the happy playing and learning time!