What am I ?

I am dumbfounded when somebody asks me this question..

Am I a singer, painter, dancer, actor.. What skills do I have in adequate measure to associate myself with a similar community of people.

Well, as of today if you ask me, I am a survivor. I am just the average Joe next door.

God has been gracious enough to give me one square meal a day....

God bless God !!!

What I want to do with Life..!!!

Hi,

I have a peculiar problem. Whenever I am off to parties and social gatherings, I am floored by the pomp and gaiety of people around. I am remembered of Gandhiji's Talisman. " Recall the face of the Poorest Man and your self will start melting away.." Somehow, this makes me feel out of place and makes my blood boil at the kind of unimaginable disparity in this world.The point is " I, for most of the time believe, that I have got more than due share of what I actually deserve in life. "

After reading the Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo and exploring my inner drive, I am arriving at a decision point.The time has come for me to serve people around me. " I have primarily identified 3 areas of focus where I will be devoting my energies.

1) Education: This is close to my heart since I guess, that is what has shaped me to what and who I am today.So, education will be the major weapon to equip oneself to face this world and I will have to see what can be done from my end towards this endeavor.
2) Healthcare : " Life is indeed precious and wonderful and it is a pity that many are afflicted with life-threatening diseases. I would like to contribute my little mite in seeing what can be done to make Healthcare more affordable especially in the developing world.".
3) Environment : " This is again one of my pet areas since I strongly believe in the concept of sustainability which in short means " Live and Let Live".
Towards this, I would like to support Eco-Friendliness in whatever I do and hence concepts of Vegetarianism, Sustaining the local ecosystem, adopting clean-green methods, bio-degradable products and Simplicity would be my guiding principles.

How does one go about achieving something meaningful in these three areas. ? Your ideas and suggestions are most welcome !!.

The task ahead is daunting and I feel God would surely Guide me to create a mark in these life-long missions.

Values, Compromises and Violations

Today, we will explore and tread the thin line that seemingly separates values and Compromises.

What are values and how important are they ? Under what circumstances does one forego his values, will that amount to a Violation or is it a mere one-Off compromise ?

Well, values according to me are certain basic principles or ethical rules that govern the way we act, react and respond to changes around us.These are shaped by the environment in which we are brought up, the education that we receive(both formally and informally) and the experiences that we face during the course of our lifetime.For example, if you are born and brought up in a vegetarian family, you grow up under the belief that its the best way to go, whereas, for a person in Iceland, eating fish and meat is a way of life. To him, that soundz pretty normal since people all around him accept and give recognition to this food habit ( Non-vegetarianism).

So, we find that there are somethings called Personal values, while there are some habits/practices which could be classified under professional and social values.
In case of food habits, it becomes more of social values and principle that governs a person's choice although there is a certain limited allowance given in terms of personal choices and likes and dislikes.But these should be within the permissible limits of the society in which a particular individual resides.
Say for example, in a Society that is primarily Vegetarian in nature, requests for Non-Veggie food are not entertained kindly. In case that society is more fundamental, it might result in a particular individual getting banished or treated as an out-cast. So, Society does has its own ways to impose and channelize our tastes and interests.

Coming to the topic of Values and Compromise, lets take up a situation wherein it so happens that an individual is faced with a situation where he foresees that his value system would get violated, how does one respond to it ??
Some questions that could be put forth, when a doubt arises with regards to violation of particular value(s) are as follows :
1) How serious is the given situation.?
2) Is it a question of survival, or is the given situation more of a luxury ?
3) What are the consequences of adhering/violating my value under the given circumstance, what do I gain/lose in this situation.

So continues our train of thoughts in this attempt to understand our thoughts, emotions and actions better in this journey of life....

Know Yourself

I have realised how important it is to realize who you are and what kind of person you are and these should govern the place you choose to LIVE.

Let me explore the connection between your personal traits and the place that you choose to live. For comparision, I am taking 2 countries where I have lived namely India and the United States.

India: Its a social country, more importance is given to sentimental, emotional experiences and feelings. On any given day, these intagible traits are given more value than materialistic pursuits. Sharing and equality is emphasized and introspective journeys are encouraged.

Who should stay in India ? :

1) IF : " You believe in the overall upliftment of people around you"
2) IF : " You believe strongly in the concept of sharing and caring ".
3) IF : " You believe in the doctrine of re-birth and Karma and feel that what you do in this birth will govern who and what you are in your next birth.
4) IF: " You believe that you need to sacrifice your today for a better tomorrow".
5) IF : " You think that the world should rememeber you less when you are there and more when you are gone."
6) In short , if you strongly believe in Robert Frost's poem " Woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have many more promises to keep, and I have got miles to Go, Miles to Go before I sleep."

United States of America : Its a personal country.Everything from clothes to food, vehicles, job, money, house is centred on an individualistic concept. There is more emphasis on your personal and individual growth.
Its a country that believes that every individual has to fend for himself and as an individual progresses, so will the society..In short, " Do what you want.. Be what you want to be. Man is the creator of his own destiny.."

Who should stay in the United States:
1) IF : " You value personal freedom and cannot let it compromised under any circumstances ".
2) IF : " You decide that life is short and we should make best use of the given opportunity."
3)IF : "You agree to the statement that, "Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, Make HAY while the sun shines today ".
4) IF " You feel that you need to make a mark and prove yourself in this world by excelling in whatever field that you choose ".

So, as a result, our personal traits should harmonize with the general traits of the place in which we choose to live.

US and Them

I've been in Uncle Sam's land for the last couple of days. Was forewarned about the endless possibilities of opportunities awaiting me there. Here is a first hand account of my perspective of the experiences that I had so far.

What is US according to me : Its a land of plenty, less people to fight for excess of everything. The Americans think BIG or do they ?? They are made to think big according to me, for if the Yankees dont think BIG, the world might come to a stop !!! Let me explain..

Come to think of it, the American society is a Consumerstic one.Gone are the days of " Made in America " brands.What do u need to consume ?? Well the obvious thing that comes to mind is money and more importantly a mindset to consume !!!

Well every mortal being born in US has this consumeristic mindset ingrained in his blood and that according to me would symbolize the American culture.So, with mindset out of the way, the only other thing we need is Money. So, enter the flourishing Credit and Financial leasing/lending companies and lo behold, we have a nation moving on Credit.

Which is more important ? Producing Goods or Consuming goods ? Well, you need lotsa brains to produce goods, but no one to consume what you produce can spell doom to your business.So, consuming although it soundz a trifle easier is equally important in Market Economics.

Since the advent of globalisation, America has been indirectly responsible for the economic betterment of people millions of miles away and all this has only been possible becoz of the mindless American mindset of consumption!!! Its now become an irrevocable engine which needs constant fuel in the form of Billions of Dollars getting poured into this country in exchange for worthless T-bills.

So, when jobs gets outsourced to better places and plants get relocated to cheaper locations, the Americans should not be crying, for their core-competence lies in Consumption.!!!

" God Bless America "