Little Things That Matter

Learn From The Past, Live The Present and Have An Open Mind to Face Tomorrow

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

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I recently re-read the Book “The Warren Buffett Way” By Robert G Hagstrom and  this is one of the books which I have read several times in whole and in part.

The following extract from this book, is one of my favorites

“It is not enough to have good intelligence,” write Descartes,” the principle thing is to apply it well.”   It is the application that separates Buffett from other investment managers.  Buffett stands above them all because of his formidable ability to implement his strategies.”

I love this quote by the man himself

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Warren Buffett

Following is an extract from an interview on CNBC with Warren Buffett

Top 5 Reasons to Hike

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I. A Good Workout– If you are a fitness maniac like me, treks and/or hikes provides one of the best forms of workout. Climbing up hills and any steep slope increases the heart rate and I believe there is sense of fulfillment  at the end of a trek up a mountain. Calories burnt and a fitter you, is the ultimate result. 

II. Serenity of Nature-Treks provide an opportunity to be up, close and personal with nature. I have always admired nature’s beauty-the greenery, the mountains standing tall in all their grandeur, the beautiful shapes of different rocks, and waterfalls gushing with full force. Every walk or trek clears my mind and some of my best ideas have emerged whilst walking amidst the greenery and waterfalls.

III. Teaches you about life–“Life is full of ups and downs. The trick is to enjoy the ups and have courage during the downs.”

Yes, a trek up a hill is exactly the same, climb up a hill seems more difficult than  running downhill.  However, to me, I enjoy climbing up a mountain, it is difficult but the fruits of that hard work is immense.  I don’t enjoy downhill as much since it is a challenge to my bad back. Recently, I fractured my left foot and just about on the recovery path. Over the weekend, I ventured to do a relatively easy walk since I was eager to get back to my normal fitness routine.  Downhill was indeed a challenge on my foot, my back and my calf.  However, downhill teaches me to be cautious and take each stride carefully.

In Life as well, we all like uphills and hate downhill. Climb uphill comes from consistent effort towards one vision. However the various challenges that life poses on each of us makes us stronger.  It teaches us to balance and appreciate life.


IV. Connect – Yes hikes are the best time to connect with a friend, with a sweetheart, with your spouse or even form a new relationship. I have met some wonderful people during my hikes organized either by common friends or some community drive event.


V. Support a charity – I have done several hikes where I have joined an event organized by a Non Profit Organization. These organizations organize a trek and the participants have to collect money from their friends and well wishers. The money that is raised is used for several good causes which includes for the aged, for cancer, for the Blind , etc.

The best example I can think of here is the Trek being organized by @paul_steele where Tweeters from around the World will climb a mountain for charity, to raise funds for charity water .

No better way to unite  in doing what one loves to do the most.

I hope this post has inspired you try a hike and discover a new you and be with nature.

I have found a Truth

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I have found a truth
Khalil Gibran quote from ‘The Prophet’

Say not, “i have found the truth,” but rather, “i have found a truth.”
Say not, “i have found the path of the soul.” say rather, “i have met the soul walking upon my path.”
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.

Give Me Some Sunshine

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I’m an Indian and educated in India and proud to be a by-product of the Indian education system.

In my years of growing up I did feel the peer pressure of excelling in my studies and topping the class. However, luckily by the grace of God and with the support of my wonderful parents, I had no problem with the healthy pressure and excelling in my academics.

What I experienced was a healthy competition and I would attribute most of that to my wonderful parents who never put pressure on me to choose a particular field. Importance of being good at academics was always stressed, during my student years, but never exaggerated. That made all the difference to me and I had a healthy student life.

In India, education system is very demanding and year after year one hears of kudos being given to those who shine and the field that takes the cake in this respect is the IIT Entrance Exam.

I’m not an Engineer nor have I taken IIT JEE -Entrance Test, but know of many people who have taken, many of them are my friends, who are qualified engineers, from the renowned IIT India.

This year as well, approximately a week back the newspaper headlines were full of news, of toppers. But somewhere tucked in a corner of some of these newspapers was some of these students committing suicide after viewing their results !! Yes………..

It is great if one can become an Engineer but first , is it not important to become a good citizen and embed the values of becoming a good citizen in our youth.

One’s value does not increase just because one becomes an Engineer. Don’t we need to reconsider the pressure that we put on these college kids. There are many students who excel in their exams but may not get through the IIT Jee tests. Does that mean that they are unfit and useless???? Is this the message that we need to give our youth and children?

Peer & parental pressure many a time leads many a student to choose these professions. Don’t they need to be given a chance to choose.!! Let’s not kill the youth ! Do you want to give them a chance?

I think this song from the movie ” 3 Idiots” truly says it all.

Lyrics of which are

Give Me Some Sunshine Lyrics

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Na na na….Na na na….Na na na….Na na nana na….

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

Kandhon ko kitabon
Ke bojh ne jhukaya
Rishvat dena to khud
Papa ne sikhaya
99% marks laaoge to ghadi, varna chhadi

Likh likh kar pada hatheli par
Alpha, beta, gamma ka chaala
Concentrated H2SO4 ne poora
Poora bachpan jalaa daala

Bachpan to gaya
Jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal to ab humein
Jeene do jeene do

Bachpan to gaya
Jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal to ab humein
Jeene do jeene do

Saari umar hum
Mar mar ke jee liye
Ek pal to ab humein jeene do
Jeene do

Na na na….Na na na….Na na na….Na na nana na….

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

Give me some sunshine
Give me some rain
Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again

——

I will leave you with this thought…. Give Me Some Sunshine, Give me some rain, Give me another chance
I wanna grow up once again…. WILL YOU?

Do We Have It In Us?

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Here are some of Marianne Williamson (one of my recent discoveries and since then have become an ardent fan) Quotes and some examples in daily life that Each of Us Can Make A Difference in day to day life.

I.”The secret of success is to realize that the crisis on our planet is much larger than just deciding what to do with your own life, and if the system under which we live the structure of western civilization begins to collapse because of our selfishness and greed, then it will make no difference whether you have $1 million dollars when the crash comes or just $1.00. The only work that will ultimately bring any good to any of us is the work of contributing to the healing of the world.”

II.”Maturity includes the recognition that no one is going to see anything in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Stop waiting for a producer. Produce yourself.”

I read this article on a tweet today about a Cancer Survivor who has climbed Everest with one lung. For full article Read Here. A Perfect example of not giving up and to go beyond his self.

Each of us are faced with challenges and hurdles throughout our life.  However the best treatment each of us can give ourself is how we deal with these challenges and move on. Each of us have a purpose in life and we need to make the most of it. It is all about the personal drive which comes from one’s own enthusiasm, inspiration derived from friends and families and to me personally many a time by reading real life stories or meeting people in real life who have dealt with a thing or two in life.

III.”Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.”

Best example I can think of here is each of our effort to save energy, water and nature’s resources. We can stop wasting food, water and stressing the resources of this planet.  If you want to read more about this please refer to my Article “Earth Hour”

Don’t ask yourself do you have it in you. Each of us have it in us… it is a matter of doing. “Just Do it” by Nike conveys it all. Do each of us really need to be told by somebody to value their space and make a contribution ? What do you think?

Are We Rational?

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Do we accept everything in life at face value? Do we question everything. How do we attain a balance between the two. Does a rational mind have an answer??

“Buddha’s understanding of the human mind (and brain) was unique; both rational and contemporary. He encouraged debate and discourse; raised questions more often than he provided answers; encouraging his followers to think like him, with freedom. He recognised the pitfalls of blind faith, unquestioning belief and intolerance of contradictory ideas. He laid emphasis on empirical verification and on understanding the world, as it is and as it is constituted. Indeed, through his radical empiricism, he laid the foundations of scientific spirit and enquiry 2500 years ago. His was the quintessential rational mind.”

For the Full Article Refer The Hindu

I’m A Woman but above all A Human Being

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Many a women are mothers, a bread earner, housewifes, caretaker & a multitasker. Some of the Below quotes by Toni Morrison eloquently expresses the multi-faceted role that a Woman plays.

Hoever, she is rarely appreciated in many a society. She is abused, ill-treated & murdered………

Quotes By Toni Morrison

(Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford[1] on February 18, 1931) is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved).

“I don’t think a female running a house is a problem, a broken family. It’s perceived as one because of the notion that a head is a man.”

“The writing was always marginal in terms of time when the children were small. But it was major in terms of my head. I always thought that women could do a lot of things. All the women I knew did nine or ten things at one time. I always understood that women worked, they went to church, they managed their houses, they managed somebody else’s houses, they raised their children, they raised somebody else’s children, they taught. I wouldn’t say it’s not hard, but why wouldn’t it be? All important things are hard.”

TONI MORRISON, Essence magazine,

“Women’s rights is not only an abstraction, a cause; it is also a personal affair. It is not only about us; it is also about me and you. Just the two of us.”

An Act of Crime by the Centers of Education

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Schools are called the Centers of Education but here is a case where they are discriminating against a girl because she has cerebral palsy. Do they even know and understand what cerebral palsy is..

Shocking!!! that they would show this child the door!. Children like Darshana need care not disdain. Read on…..

While all her classmates are enjoying their summer holidays,Darshana Ramgiri is worried about her future.The nine-year-old has been told by St Columba High School at Nana Chowk,where she studies,to leave.
Headmistress Annette Lobo justifies the decision on the grounds that the girl has cerebral palsy and has to be physically carried up to her classroom every day.The child cant do anything on her own.Can I keep a special teacher just to look after her she said.
However,this correspondent saw Darshana walking about in her house with a slight limp.I carried a schoolbag and tiffin to my classroom on the first floor everyday, said the girl who passed third standard with 44.5 % marks.In fact,she scored 65 % in maths.A report from Sion Hospital dated April 19,2010,says Darshanas IQ is normal.
Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the motor control centres of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy,during childbirth or after birth up to the age of three.In Darshanas case,it has affected her gait and weakened her right hand.She writes with her left hand but is slower than normal children and her writing is bad,though not illegible.
Darshanas mother says that none of her teachers ever complained about her but the headmistress insists that she should be put in a special school meant for retarded children.Darshanas mother alleges that she was forced to write a letter saying that they were withdrawing Darshana from the school due to personal reasons for fear that the kid would be failed.Lobo denies this,calling Darshanas mother a liar.
Psychiatrist Harish Shetty,who has taken up the cause of dyslexic and differently abled children,intervened on behalf of Darshana but to no avail.Schools are known not by the academic feats of their students but by their response to those who are differently abled, he said.Incidentally,St Columba High School,established in 1832,was the first school for girls in Mumbai.Today,its three buildings set in a wooded campus cater to 1,800 students.

Educationists and mental health activists say Darshanas case is a blatant violation of child rights and a negation of the principle of inclusive education enunciated in Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

Sangeeta Shrivastava,principal of SVT School and T P Bhatia Jr College in Kandivli,said it was the schools responsibility to sensitise children about disability.We cannot be hypocrites and teach one thing in value education classes but practice the opposite, she said.Because of her schools initiative,the classmates of a polio-striken student are protective about him.

Among the famous people with cerebral palsy are renowned physicist Stephen Hawking,Nepali literary figure Jhamak Ghimire,Irish poet and painter Christy Brown who wrote and painted with his left foot and Stephen Hopkins,signee of USs Declaration of Independence who said,My hand trembles but not my heart.

Source: The Times of India School shows girl with cerebral palsy the door

Mind Over Matter

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Here is an excellent example of Mind Over Matter and Positive Thoughts .

“I am 66 and I live alone. But I don’t feel lonely. I think it is all in the mind. I walk about 5 km every day. I read, watch television, browse the Internet and play computer games. I have no time to brood. I talk to relatives and friends but there are times when for days I don’t get to talk to anybody. My generation treated the elders with respect but very few today do so. We should take it in our stride. In my view, freedom begins at 60. Nobody tells you what to do. Old age is about having fun, not cribbing.”

Source : The Hindu