An Angel in Disguise - Striding Loss

Life has given us lots of reasons to smile and cry. And sometimes
along the sidelines of life, we meet people, who we feel privileged
to know. The respect I have for this woman has no bounds. I met
Sujatha almost a decade back at our workplace in Chennai. Loved
her chirpy voice, friendly nature and a beautiful smile which made
its way to most of us to have a great day at work. In a while, I got
married and moved to Mumbai but, we did connect on Facebook
and have been in touch then on.

On 1st December, 2016 I read a Facebook post by one of our
colleague and was a bit moved by its content. It spoke of one of
his colleague friend losing her only son on 30th November 2016.
Checking the post the second time, I read someone mention
Sujatha. It did stuck me hard and I contacted this colleague and
indeed it was my friend Sujatha. I couldn't believe it and felt
numb all along the day. I didn't have her mobile number as
mostly we were a chat on Facebook friend. But, also my mind
was going berserk thinking what will I say to her when I chat with
her again. How is she, now at this moment? I couldn't even imagine
or very truly feel the fathom of sadness she must be experiencing.

Her first Facebook post came on 4th December, 2016. We all were
just staring blankly at this picture with dense forest with smoke
green trees and no path to be found. Some visuals do make you
go speechless without a blink. I kept staring at it for a long time
and just liked it with no courage to utter any words as comments.
Just 2-3 of her friends commented on it. The post kept coming on
intervals and always were sobbing with words and visuals. I am
sure it took many of us women and then men to find the strength
in our mind to think what to say to her and then write it finally.
Gradually the comment sections in the post were longer and I too
found myself beginning to comment on them.

It is a year now and I can say with much deliberation that I do not
hold even a miniscule of "Will Power" and "Grit", Sujatha owns,
showcases and applies to what she has been given in life.

The past one year, many of us have seen her and tried feeling what
she does not just in vain but, in all practical aspects too. This
November she lost her beloved Mother to terminal stage thyroid
cancer. And I told her that I am not even a pinch to the
understanding she weaves and stand she shows in life.

I could only write this blog post now, seeing and feeling her wade
through the sea of unending sorrow and coming up to catch her
breath right through blocks of frozen ice.

In just a year she lost both her beloved Son and then Mother.
And when all including me, may think that life cannot get more
cruel than this, she finds and gives us hope in that space too.
I have fallen short of words first time in my life.

Sujatha is an Inspiration! And we all around her derive our
strength from her and not the other way around. Sujatha shares
an vibrant universal energy and that vibes us all around her.

To spread the love and affection to those in need, as SIRISH, her
son always wanted to, the parents, family and friends have started
a community programme called SOS.  Their effort is to the world
that already knew and even didn't know SIRISH to see him as an
ANGEL IN DISGUISE in the way of meaningful life and compassionate
humanity. This is not a fund raising programme but, just a memorial
helping others in need. Here is the Facebook page for this
community which you can like and follow

https://www.facebook.com/SOS-133310733964503/

Knowing that this inconsolable loss will have a pit less vacuum in
Sujatha, I still find her so fierce with some very crucial and essential
life skills we need to learn and also teach our children the same
because death is pertinent where life is present.

The need to be 'Emotionally Intelligent' is in high order here.
Followed by the practice of 'Solitude', teaching of ‘Failure’, the
strength of 'Grit & Will Power', 'Mindfulness', 'Empathy’ and
‘Compassion'.

Understanding Sujatha a bit more in a year now, it strongly points
that her source of all these core power values is gathered light right
from her growing up years when her parents and community must
have inculcated and built this vessel of esteem asset in her.

Emotional Intelligence is the tussle of bringing yourself to know
who you are and want to be. It is the work of both - your mind &
your heart. The combination of Mind's IQ and Heart's EQ is what
will make the "YOU"!  

Solitude is cutting yourself from anything tangible and sometimes
even the intangible. It’s like when sometimes you go and clear even
the recycle bin on your laptop. Stop brooding on anything and earn
yourself a generous 10-15 minute of just lazing around time in a day.

Failure is not just about any mean ends but, the process of trying
itself. If you stop trying things, do not change or do not take leaps,
you become immune to risk taking. You stop growing then. You
become dull without ambition and wither away.

Grit and Will Power comes with great resolves and strength. Keep
looking ahead to achieve goals - old and new.  We can also talk
about perseverance here. Keep trying. Keep at it..

Mindfulness is self-study. Bringing our mind to the present second.
Feeling the vibrations of even the breeze flowing through our body
hair. Meditation and Yoga are tools to understand our mindfulness
and tune it to our progress.

Empathy steps in when we pull up our strings of resilience and
retrospection. Both these strings need to be pulled with equal
velocity and we can then place together the feeling of others and
ours to think ahead in systematic or random order.  

Compassion is the last action in this chain of values. It comes just
after empathy in the form of reuniting ourselves with the universe
and aligning our existence with the work given to us in this life.

Sujatha has been in depression, but, at the same time she finds
the key to open up that vault of depression and let her sorrows
convert into remembrance bit by bit, second per second, it is
happening as we read. And me, you and the universe can just
admire her in light years to come…

Love is not blind, just you are mine.

I don't believe in the best at all. I only believe in what is best for me.

I don't believe in love is blind. I only believe in love is mine.

I don't believe people who wear layers over them and pretend to have it all. I only believe people who will be with me in their rawest appeal and still turn me on.

I don't believe in charms. I only believe in truth even if it shatters me.

Don't show me dreams.Show me realities. But, also don't tell me there is just one life. We are too wild to contain into it.

Our roads will turn, paths will split. The crossovers will prick. But, darling we have to walk together to celebrate the time given to us. Because we need to write our story together not leave it to others to imagine upon us.

Nothing can be ever so convincing. Love is not blind, just you are mine.

Movie Review: Wonder (2017) Must Watch for Parents, Children, Educators

Once in a while comes a movie... And makes you Wonder on all the goodness that needs to be:

1. There in a school... Not a dream school which boxes you in, not a school which rates you on criterias, not a school which is made of parents judging the hell out, but, a school where minds are open, hearts are beating and the soul is happy.

2. There are families ... which are fighting their battles not seen with the eyes of perfection. Life is so much fun with all the ups and downs..... we need to touch everything to be happy.. even embarrassment, disgust, rage ...it's like the mingling up is what we will finally laugh about and feel content about when it's time to rest...

3. They are children... who observe and take away from their parents.. be what you want your child to be.. no matter what you teach, they will be what you show them.

4. There is parenting... which is just the modern twist for the old school name raising children. I still prefer the old school. Surround your small nuclear unit with layers of relationships... That's what a real family is .. full of coziness, friends, well-wishers....pet... more

5. Classrooms which teach that when it's between right and kind, choose kind!

6. Homeschooling is great and it's an attitude before it's an decision. In India itself, homeschooling numbers have been steadily and should I say stealthily increasing over the last seven years with very active Facebook and whats app groups with regular city and town meet-ups.

7. Bullying is a no tolerance zone. It's the first red flag to a self-centered behavior and needs to be curbed quickly.

8. Teenage relationships will always be complex, because it is in this phase that they want to unlearn their past and experiment with anything new which makes them the center of the cosmos. The role of parents here is to keep the conversations going.

9. "Just because you are different, it doesn't mean it's always about you". As part of bringing up children with special needs, we need to raise them just the way we will with a regular kid. These kids need to understand that everyone has the same chances, it depends who took them and at times what the priorities look like.

10. The most crucial message is also that a marriage is completely different from parenting, and it needs it's time and care. A couple will always be a couple and they need to show their love for each other and also keep sharing all along. Be cool parents, by being the best friends for each other.   

So Wonder makes it to my must watch and re-watch list..
#choosekind

The Role of Educators and Parents in Building a Smart Economy

The Circle has been an answer to many a questions. What goes around, comes around. And that's the way the economy needs to get rebuilt.

The requirement is to build an ever-flowing economy together and instill that idea or seed in our schools, children and our youth.

As educators and parents, use these 3 steps to build this smart economy:

1. Create

2. Cascade

3. Circulate 

Now, start working around these 5 economic challenges keeping the above 3 steps in regard:

1. Creative thinking and designing business with the simplicity of an restorative mindset.

2. Rebuild capital circles through constant equally dispersed cash flows.

3. Healthy natural living & ownership of our ecology.

4. Socio-emotional learning comes with the super power combination of IQ and EQ in driving our relationships across our life line.

5. Regenerative and Recyclable manufacturing systems & components.  

We need to leave globalization to where it has reached and move ahead towards the next level of the economy, the circular economy - ever encompassing.

Copyrights: [The content here is copyrighted with Chirp, Chatter, Cheer, a creative platform which envisions to unlock your imagination power, build on your reflection and lead you on a path of self-discovery!!] ~ FB/Chirpchattercheer

#Designthinking #Circulareconomy #buildasmarteconomy #Emotionalintelligence
#Rebuildingcapital #redesigninglife #Restorationmodels #Regenerativetechniques #Recycle