Be the Change...!!

I was someone, who grew up hearing the phrase, "I hate changes". My brother was totally not liking the changes he had to endure in his adolescence, while i was still young to appreciate what my brother was experiencing. He is elder to me by 5 years and he often used to utter the phrase, "I hate changes", when he came home every week from his residential college! My brother pursued something close to his heart - Marine Engineering, but wasn't wee bit aware of how arduous his life is going to be !

My brother's statement echoed within me as, "Stay away from changes. Try to stay in your comfort zone. Changes aren't nice to experience." I grew up to be a 'girl-who-stayed-satisfied-with-anything'. I never used to dream big, i dream of things within my reach, attain it and stay content! I was never the great aspirant nor was i the dormant, sluggish girl - i called myself smart :-)

Time is not only a healer, it is also a true teacher! With time, one gets to learn and mature and so did I! It took me a while, but i did realize that, "Change is inevitable" and "Change should be embraced and not shied away".

The more you resist change, the more it persists.

Life's experience taught me that 'One who accepts change can bring in new solutions to life'. I realized that though my brother detested change, he accepted his new environment and the changes that came along, to be a successful Marine Engineer he is today!

When i graduated out of college in 2005, i had no big experience of a 'changed' environment but by then i knew to realize your dream, you need to be the change yourself, and not wait for the change to occur.

A change triggered from outside creates ripples within and leaves you disturbed, like how my brother experienced!! On the other hand, when you bring about the change from within, in your life, you can leave indelible marks in the life's of others.

I would like to thank IndiBlogger and Stayfree for providing this opportunity to share my experience!! It's a true experience of a young girl, fresh out of college, who believed she could change the state of the Indian Society - a story of my rendezvous with erasing illiteracy from its roots!

Courtesy:Google

Yes, i believed it is 'Time to Change' the pathetic state of our Indian Society! I am true patriot, who loves my country dearly. I spent countless hours after graduating, wondering how i could change the state of affairs in our country! There was a long list of social evils that i had listed out - Corruption, Poverty, Illiteracy, Poor Sanitation, Poor Civic Sense, Lack of Infrastructure, Malnutrition, Illness and many others. I spent considerable time understanding each of the problems that is plaguing our country and wanted to make some contribution in one of those areas that would lead to betterment.

I finally concluded all problems were interlinked and most problems stem out of one key issue - Illiteracy!

I decided to 'Be the change' ! I hunted down for Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) that work towards upliftment of less-privileged children, unfortunately i found many NGOs but wasn't satisfied with their level of commitment.

My intense search ended with a phone call to a founder of a NGO called 'Dream India' in Mumbai. I was happy with their intention and knew there only purpose was 'To Serve' unlike others.  Dream India was a small NGO, with hardly 20 members - a group of working professionals working tirelessly to provide education to every child. You can read about Dream India here. I joined them and opened the Chennai chapter of Dream India.

I have been associated with Dream India for 7 years now, the joy that i get out of teaching under-privileged children cannot be equated to anything on earth!

To be the change is not easy!! There were many NGOs that were providing education to orphans and homeless children. We wanted to focus on school dropouts in urban slums. It wasn't an easy task to approach children in our slum dwellings and start teaching them, but we did it. We had many obstacles on our way. In August 2005, i conducted my first class for a group of 25 children in a temple. The maid, who worked at our home helped me established the link! My experience with these children has taught me that, the only difference between our children and them is - Exposure! If only they had someone to guide them a little and some financial help, they would all be studying well!

My students :)

I am proud to tell you that one of my students is now a first year engineering student :-)

I have loads of experience to share pertaining to my association with Dream India, but through this post for the contest and Stayfree for kindling my thoughts on 'Voice to Change', i would like to say that 'Change is possible'. We can all bring about a change in things around us. It is time - to stop complaining and start acting! In fact, i hate littering and it used to bother me a lot when someone drops something. One fine day i decided to be the Change myself, i observed even i do litter a bit and completely stopped littering. I was in class 8 then and i made it a point my friends took notice of it. I was instrumental in making many of my friends follow my footsteps.

If something irritates you so much....Change it! -- It only needs a beginning!

Courtesy:Stayfree

Visit Stayfree Facebook page here! - http://facebook.com/sftimetochange

I am sure one day, i will be able to see the 'India' that i had envisioned - free of most social evils and for that, the ONE CHANGE that has to occur is 'RIGHT TO GOOD EDUCATION'

Education can remove the weeds from our society. An educated citizen will not only be able to take care of his own family but also the society by voting responsibly! All other social issues can be combated successfully with educated citizens!

Our work won't stop today or tomorrow. I, as a part of Dream India have seen so many challenges that has bogged us down at times, but every time we see a child smile, a child read, a child dream - we know, we have made a change!

The journey is long, but the experience is countless! In our journey, we have given education to so many children and changed the fortune of their family and we strongly believe that one day we will change the fortune of the country!

You can 'Be the change', you want to be - Take the first step!

Dream India's tagline says - "Together we can!! Together we should!!"  - It sums it up well :-)

Interested to be a part of Dream India's activities - Our Facebook Page
Would you like to Volunteer? - Our Facebook Group

Learning my lessons

I have not been keeping too well. I was admitted to the hospital and now back home. Diagnosis is still on and early reports say Renal Infection. Cause still not known.

I am just believing i will come out stronger out of this phase. Having to deal with this in a foreign land has made it difficult - the love and re-assurance from many has helped me stay strong!

Requesting for all your love & prayers.

Hope to see you all soon at a much better frame of mind :-)

Look at what the next door man has...

At some point in our lives, we would have felt upset/disturbed/uneasy about the progress others have made in their lives. If you haven't, then you either belong to the evolved souls or lying ;-)

Being 'Jealous' is defined as, "A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck."

Is it a virtue or vice?

Courtesy:Google

It is not a virtue to be proud of, neither it is a vice, as long as your resentment doesn't get expressed as a harmful deed or word.

Jealousy can be experienced at various degrees and it is the intensity that does harm. All characteristics in a human being affects oneself more than it affects the other. If you are short-tempered, it affects your health more than how much your words in anger evokes disturbances in others. So, if you want to change anything about you, it should be for yourself rather than for claiming the tag of 'I did it for them'.

The mild disturbance that one experiences on hearing the progress made by an acquaintance cannot be labeled as Jealousy, yet they need attention so that the complex isn't given more impetus and groomed. Most times the disturbance occurs not because others have progressed but at the fact that we haven't achieved as much as we wanted to!! The ability to understand this, would put things in better perspective.

On one hand, a little amount of comparison does keep you motivated to achieve more, but the perception really matters. A small change in the way you compare yourself could lead to complex of inferiority. Hence, if you believe comparison helps you stay motivated; use it till it motivates, the moment it brings in disturbances, you should shun it. If i had to compare myself for motivation, it would always be with myself - to better my previous performance. I believe in absolute scale of measurement over relative.

Now, to the not motivating comparisons that are made and the disturbances it creates in the mind. Well, when does one really feel disturbed?

One's belief that

• Ones own achievement has been lesser in comparison to another
• Two are equals (Same educational background, Same Industry Etc)
• One possess greater potential than the other, yet hasn't been successful due to Luck

What we fail to realize is

• No two individuals are the same & our journeys are different.

Our goals in life may be completely different, yet we would be looking at someone and wonder why we weren't in their place! It's a natural human tendency, many  would say. Is it really, is my question!

One who is able to scrutinize why they feel the disturbance or unease, will surely be able to surpass the discomfort for the current instance. One who is strong about his life's vision would never be bothered by the fruitful journey others have. A strong, unwavering purpose in life will make you belong to the group of evolved souls!

I have always believed that every soul on physical earth comes with a definite purpose masked from our own consciousness and have always wondered what would be the purpose of a soul trapped in animals. My recent trysts with animals had an eureka moment when realized each animal has a distinct quality/character that it tries to surpass. You can read my experiences on a horse trail here.

It was the first time i was ever so close to Horse - emotionally! I have seen horses as a child and may be taken a ride too but this one was different. I learnt that horses are very jealous of other horses. On hearing this and observing their nature during the trail, i got the answer to my question; maybe the soul of the animals are trying to harness one good virtue - like the horse being trapped as a jealous animal, its lesson would be to free itself from 'Jealousy'.  Similarly, a Proud peacock takes its form to evolve above the sense of being 'Proud'.

May be, if we are suffering from jealousy syndrome, our next birth would be as a horse ;-) who knows, it is better to better ourselves now when we have some conscious thinking capability!






 

Are you depressed?

How do you stay positive when everything around is sinking? Th answers i hear from people around are, 'Stay Positive', 'Tomorrow will be a better day', 'Things don't look so bad' and so on. Though all of these are true but, at that moment when you feel like screaming out loud, none of these is a consolation!

Clinical depression is a totally a different ball game. I am just talking about how lightly we use the word, "Depression" in our everyday life - 'Such a depressing day', 'i am feeling so depressed', 'life is depressing'. Slip offs here and there turns the day into a depressing one. For some, even a boring day translates into a depressing day.

It doesn't really matter what the really cause for the mood swing is,  it is inevitable! Everyone wants to get back to the best of their moods but fail. If a series of events in life doesn't go your way, then it gets even more difficult to find solace. One-off incidents are easier to adjust and major life changing events may need professional help, but what do you do with these miniscule bits of sporadic issues that creates disturbance to ripple your mind? They aren't too big to cry over and they aren't too small to ignore. Have you been in a situation like that? How do you pick yourself up?

The best things to do that can help you see the lighter side, while you are pushed to the corner.

• Eat, Eat, and Eat - Food can change moods, try eating your favorite food or fulfill the urge of your taste buds at that moment; it pays off. I remember hogging on a chocolate truffle cake and a blueberry mousse for lunch at work, when i actually didn't feel like eating, cause i was so troubled. It made my day! A friend chided, "And you didn't want to eat!"
• Music - Do i even have to mention this? But, yeah when you are down, you need someone to remind you! Play some music and get involved! Don't let the music haunt you; never play music that gets you thinking. Shake your legs, minds and hands to the music.
• Movies - Some movies can really lift your spirits up! Try tuning in to a movie that has a good uplifting message.The brilliance of movie making can also brighten your day.
• Walk - Get out of your concrete building and take a walk in the park/garden. If you are someone who admires nature - this is for you. 
• Talk to a friend - Now, this is something we all attempt but doesn't always give you the high. Choose your friend correctly; someone who can listen without an opinion. Advices at that point of time can infuriate more and those 'too good to be true' statements can bog you down further. Universal truths can be bitter too; when you are battling a down swing, you will never have ears for these. So, just be wise with your choice.
• Write - Writing/blogging can be a wonderful let out. Transfer everything from your mind to paper - it's just feels so light. Blogging can inhibit your feelings, cause no matter how much we deny it, we are humans and very conscious of others around. Blogs do help depending on the intensity of the issue.
• Others - Indulge in any activity that switches you off from the world. Photography/Cooking/Gardening/Painting - Nurture your interest, it helps during a difficult phase. A person with no hobby cultivated endures hard during a low phase of life.

Any of these will only help lighten your mood and let go of that 'bad' lurking emotion, yet it is important to indulge in any one of these before you get to handling the issue. A disturbed mind can't seek a solution and when you are down in the dumps, it's no use trying. You still have to deal with the issue.

Courtesy:Google

Once you feel better, you can look at the larger picture. Issues that can be sorted and for which you have devised a solution, never makes you feel broody; identifying a solution turns the problem into a challenge. It's those things that are out of control that annoy, aggravate and agitate. And sometimes the weird mind can feel low for no apparent reason too.

If circumstances are not in your favor and you are waiting for a response from the environment, then to just keep yourself going and not be let down; indulge in these simple pleasures of life. Brace yourself - waiting can be excruciating!