Little pearls from cinema

It's been a long respite for the only follower of the blog. I don't intend to give them continued relief, I still like to scribble some things down here , at least to make myself happy , if not the readers!! So many thoughts crossed my mind , but nothing really impressive came out ; so I am using borrowed vocabulary from the movies ( good ones at that ) to fill the space and pass some message!

"One's body is only as healthy as the mind feels "- the protagonist in the movie Taxi driver says- implying that mind is the ultimate thing that dictates health or otherwise

" A man is not just his job . He's a lot more than that."- the Jordanian girlfriend of the CIA agent played by Di Caprio , tells him in the movie 'Body Of Lies'- this should definitely ring in the ears of

all the workaholics , who are obsessed with work , oblivious to every other thing!

Is your employer good?

Work occupies half or even a lot more of our time in a day (awake time that is!). Most people work for others (employers) putting in their best for the owners to earn a larger profit. However there could be moments when people would wonder, if the effort they are putting is worthy. Such fleeting thoughts are excusable; but if they recur on a daily basis, there’s got to be an organic problem – either in the individual or the organization’s fiber. And if a lot of people in the work place, who feel the same, it’s quite probable that there’s a problem with the management. When I was just pondering whether there are any practices of the companies that could reveal their traits

1. The companies that insist on depositing your educational certificates with them are real undemocratic ones that hope to curtail your freedom to move out, by restraint, rather than anything; good companies would retain talent by nourishing them and not threatening them!
2. Those that take decisions regarding the employer’s work nature /hours , without even having the courtesy to discuss with the concerned
3. Those who make their employers work on all days , without closing , thereby enjoying greater income, but without compensating the employees by any means
4. Those who don’t give their employees adequate leave as per the prescribed norms and show no mercy, even if they are sick
5. Those who talk to their employees without any respect / abuse them unnecessarily
6. Those who don’t realize the human resource potential of the trained staff, just believing money can get anything
7. Those who think and behave as if the customers / clients are the only assets of the institution , without looking from the staff point of you
8. Those who don’t delegate ,even to a tiny extent , trying to keep their fingers in all the activities, there by losing their own energy as well as robbing their staff’s independence
9. Those who keep a continuous tab over the staff, to the point of hindering the personal freedom as well as spoiling the positive vibes at the workplace
10. Those that expect you to shoulder extra responsibilities , at the same time not expecting any adequate compensations for that
11. Finally , the most important , those who don’t care to pay the salaries in the first couple of days to the staff, without realizing , how big a deal it is and how significant it is for a family!

The organizations doing all or most of these mistakes could be thriving at one point, making them falsely believe that whatever they do is correct. They forget that, life is a cycle, and don’t foresee that the downturn of the wheel of life will be rapid and steep, if they don’t take steps to prevent it. Government always turns a blind eye to these practices, by the private employers, never taking any proactive step. And the managements are quite shrewd in smaller organizations that they do not allow the staff to unite for their own cause. Even if they stood up, there’s the Hobson’s choice of quitting / being thrown out of the job!! I just wonder, why can’t there be any independent organization on the lines of ISO (9000 for quality assurance too the customers and 14000 for environmental management) that, these private fellows clamour to get to boost their image- why not an ISO for assessing the HR practice of the organization. I am damn sure this would be abhorred by any employer, because most don’t have it in them to subject themselves for such an examination in the present state of affairs. I shall only hope business men would be more scrupulous; but that is a far fetched expectation from them, I guess!!

DARK STRETCH

Another day off from work; another bout of hectic and haphazard planning by the three of us, only to have a slightly unexpected turn. This has been our norm since our UG days, which would have been explicit to the people who know us / those who have read the previous blogs

Three good movies. Three of us. But each of us had seen one of those movies and no one was prepared to watch any of the movies again. Hence we narrowed down the already narrow choices.

We ended up at my friends’ house which was close to our chosen destination that day. Our destination for that day was the hidden lungs of the Chennai city. That place is a totally sylvan enclosure, lying along the course of a water body (one of the most stinking, at present). If the clues have not been enough, the densely vegetated area, by the estuary houses the largest banyan tree, in Asia, I guess.

Though I have walked alone from the main common entrance till the common area, a couple of times, enjoying every moment of the serenity and beauty, I always wanted to go further (lure that the restricted places always exert). I had read that the vegetation was denser and more beautiful; and that the path would end in a beach free from the crowd. In our famous common beaches (Marina and the Elliot’s) we get to see a big human sea and their pollution, before going close to the real sea. I have always longed to see an unpolluted, uncrowded beach, as a live experience. But I had to wait for more than 3 years to get a chance to see that and I got it today.

My friends luxury sedan , shorts( yeah – truly , because those who we met inside were all in the same – more like a dress code- a formal dress would have brought on queries , I guess) and his presence of mind happened to be the pass that day into the restricted area. We had the privilege of walking about 25 minutes up and down the narrow mud/ tar paths winding through the vegetation. Though the upward journey was not frightening, as there was enough light during the early twilight. But the same cannot be said about the return journey. We had spent only ten minutes outside the gate which existed between the little forest (that’s the feeling I got when you walked in the dark) and the beach. We just went a little further close to the point where the estuary met the sea- but there was nothing dramatic, except that you don’t get to see that very often. It was a little late for us to walk into the sand as it was getting darker; I was more worried about walking through the path back in the near dark. Twilight had passed and it was quite dark even at quarter past six on that humid evening. We had to rush our paces on the way back, searching for the little light strewn paths, so that we wouldn’t get harmed by any of the nature’s weapons (reptiles of any kind was possible there!). And we were quite relieved to get back into the car; off we went to the unrestricted Elliot’s beach and walked and talked till we got bored and ran out of things to talk. Now, I really have second thoughts about whether secluded beaches are any good as the common crowded beaches. May be it’s because, we wrongly chose a humid, cloudy day to go to the place I longed to see for a long time ; probably I need to go there on a fine evening to ascertain that !!

Is your doctor good ?

Almost all people go to doctors at some point of their lives, though most of the times, is for common illnesses. And simple treatments are adequate for most of the problems. But still I am not sure of the factors that help the patients in choosing a doctor. Most cases, it is still the 'kai raasi' factor, mostly through hearsay / word of mouth and the degree of "busi'ness of the practice (pun intended)

The practice of the doctors is considered to be proportionate to their skills and knowledge; but most of the time its unfortunately untrue. It's got to do more with their PR skills most of the time and the way they flaunt their degrees, the validity of some of which are not known! But there are also some really good doctors who have huge crowds, because they are genuinely good!

There is no real objective way to assess how good a doctor is , from the patient's point of view; and there is no system like ICC / ATP rankings to rate the docs , thought people still ask if a so and so doc is the number 1, much to my amusement and embarrassment!

Being a doc myself (though belonging to the most hated fraternity among the doctors themselves), I feel there are certain clues to identify the nature of your doc

1. Those that resort to injections for all sorts of fever, as the first line of management

2. Those who charge the same fees for follow up consultation even within 3-5 days

3. Those who insist on getting investigations done at specific places only

4. Those who insist on buying specific drug brands only in spite of cheaper and equally good options

5. Those who own the pharmacies, where profit margins are mostly double (its never passed on to the patients

6. Those who talk ill about the other doctors in front of patients

7. Those who ask for concession for costly investigations, specifically mentioning a figure, without asking for maximal concession (they would still be getting their usually exorbitant commission, by inflating the charges!

8. Those who admit patients in their small nursing homes, more often than not

9. Those who send their sick in patients for investigations , without the care of a doctor / trained nurse

There are a lot more , which I will keep adding!

MY SKY ART

Search stages

I always thought that searching for a life partner was a single step procedure, in the sense that once your set of criteria matches, things would naturally fall into place. But from the first as well as second hand experiences that I have had, the search process usually could be divided into at least four parts, especially, if your horoscope is a little screwed up.

The stages could be named finicky, relaxation, rationalization and desperation; names being self explanatory! Umpteen criteria from looks to the family to the place to the education / job to a lot more trivial things are kept as an initial filter, which would, in most cases be unfulfilled. Non matching of even a single criterion is not tolerated. At least six to twelve months go in this screening, by which time; they would be ready to pass on to the next stage

Next is the stage of relaxation when a couple of non essential variables are relaxed, to widen the ‘catchment’ options; still the rigidity in the essential items is not removed. This search goes on for another six months; a lucky few get a result with this manoeuver; rest are to pass through to the next stage which is ‘rationalization’ where a few of the previously uncompromisable factors are relaxed and search is continued. That ‘s when the people concerned , realize the futility of looking for that perfect match; common sense prevails ; but by then quite a few matches that would have fit the present criteria would have gone along . But some people get the chance to go back to previously rejected matches to make amends and solemnize the relation

And the worst thing is for those who are option less even after ‘rationalization’, who never the less go into the stage of desperation, especially for the reason of warding off towards the wrong end of twenties. That’s when, everyone concerned hurtle hurriedly towards any option, that comes their way, compromising a lot of supposedly very significant variables

I am forced to wonder, how it would be, if there was rationalization at initial part of the search, itself, minimizing the heartburns and disappointments associated with the search

Professional critics

I was thinking of the easy jobs that are available , which at the same time could influence a lot of lives. Being a professional film critic, seemed one of the cool jobs , considering that you get to watch the movies , first day , first show and write whatever you "feel" without any restraint; thereby having an ability to influence the lives of lots of families associated with the production of the movie, but mostly in the negative sense.

I have experienced many instances where the films have been written of by the arm chair critics- yes arm chair - in that they have never involved themselves in the aspects of movie making , but the movies have gone on to become big hits . They are really ones , that push the costly blockbusters into the valley , without a thought to what happens to the people involved. I suppose they are as big a threat to the film world as the video piracy. Video piracy at least ensures that , people at least see the movie, thereby at least giving the director / actors professional / emotional satisfaction . And people ,would eventually venture out to see the movie on the big screen , after deciding for themselves , if the content is good. However poor reviews about the movies ensure that no one likes to watch them even on a DVD.

Any thing negative always gets more attention and gets stuck on the readers However , this being a democratic country , any wrong done within the legal confines or associated with freedom of expression, cannot be questioned!! If i were a member of the industry I would like to quell the reviews of movies being written in the first fortnight by the "professional" critics. Let the people see for themselves and let the publicity spread by word of mouth, which would be more just towards the makers. All movies have something good , that might not be appreciated by all ; hence it's proper that people themselves see and decide !!

A tall one gone with least damage!

Inglorious Baste(a)rds

Inspired by the Hollywood title of the recent Brad Pitt movie , i ventured to write my own list of inglorious baste(a)rds , whom I love to hate! People who occupy the places of pride in them are,

The evil souls who carelessly puff way on the roads/ public places with scant regard for the safety of the co pedestrians!

The hurried rushers who don't care to even respect the signal at the stroke of ten in the night , without even an iota of concern for the pedestrians

Those horrible morons who ride their vehicles holding mobiles between their neck and trunk as if they have severe torticollis or in one hand, putting their as well as others’ lives at risk

Those who spit on the window sills of trains and buses, not realizing that such an act could lead them to spend time behind the bars in a strict country

Those idiots who drive on the opposite side of the road in full throttle, not bothering about ignorant people standing on the sides thinking they are safe

Those who drive at full speed on the roads without switching the headlights on / with such bright headlights that, others facing it are blinded like bats

Those so called noble men, in the name of medical doctors, who squeeze out money out of their patients in the form of cuts / commission

There are obviously lot more honourables , to be added to this list , but these are just the ones I got in my mind immediately

Scaredevils

Don't get excited about whether this is another new IPL team on the anvil, probably headed by another Bollywood star( considering the hot , but not so successful romance between the IPL and Bollywood) . This is also not one of the new horrible horror movies that Hollywood keeps churning out with alarmingly regular frequency.This is something that we see every month on the roads on the new moon day in most parts of Tamil nadu; I am not sure of the other places in India. The plump green member of the gourd family , though not preferred on most days , in spite of its high fibre content , suddenly finds itself a hot property on the last days of lunar calendar. The plump thing with resemblance to a round head is given a face by drawing facial features using vermilion, though only to mimic a scary devil face. And these are thrashed on the road in the mornings with a view to ward of the evil eyes that have been laid upon the family or the business. Most shops , small and big are no exceptions to this ! I am not sure if these are potent enough to chase the evils , but I am sure they are quite good enough to skid the forms , next only to devils in the degree of polluted minds - the human beings! The juicy slippery injured and split gourd is as efficient in skidding a two wheeler, as would a banana skin be in tumbling a pedestrian ! And their presence at every ten feet on the road on the specified day, would turn the roads into an effective test course for obstacle challenge course for riders. Ones avoiding all those 'scare devils' and also not hurting any other co road users would definitely qualify for competitive obstacle challenge ! I have been lucky enough to have avoided both so far ! The dark new moon days , complicated by poor/ absent street lighting , transforms these supposedly devil scarers into devils themselves for the uninitiated as well as frequent users of the road . I don't know how a gourd can ward of the evil and even if people feel, they have the right to believe in whatever they wish, they should be sensible enough to understand that they cannot put others' lives and limbs at risk to get a false satisfaction of having protected themselves. Owing to the fact that our people have a very low civic sense , I presume it's time government does something to ban their breaking on the roads !!

Title stars

As if the Tamil movies themselves didn’t have enough humor content within them, it starts right from the first card even as the actors are introduced, just after the title card.

I am not sure if actors in any other “wood”s are bestowed upon with these honorable titles, which when taken literally are nothing but pure unadulterated fun. Me being neither a film historian, nor even an avid film buff, could only recollect a few names, but it was more than enough to laugh at the ironies, as most of them were misnomers

Nadigar thilagam Sivaji Ganesan

This name cannot be disputed as he is someone who has been appreciated by even Marlon Brando; moreover he was one who did almost all possible roles and could provide all expressions, though a little more than required , at times

Puratchi thalaivar MGR

It is a name that is indisputable, as he was a leader, nonetheless, but I am not aware of any revolution that he may have been responsible for. But still its not advisable to argue, considering the legend that, even this day there are people in interior Tamilnadu, who cannot tolerate hearing the fact that he is dead.

Kaathal mannan Gemini Ganesan

This sure was a name that is ergonomically correct as it reflected both his professional as well as personal life – I think nothing more needs to be told

Super star Rajinikanth

This is a name that has stuck on to a man who rose through the ranks. Though there are and were better actors than him, the man deserves praise for sticking to the top for so long and making run of the mill movies run so well. And towards the later part of his career, his public behavior has been quite spot on , except for the ill advised advices during the election times!

Ulaga nayagan Kamal haasan

This is one guy , who deserves the name he’s got – no, earned. I am damn sure ,he is the best actor to have come out this country and would have been so wherever he was born. However complicated his personal life may be, he definitely is an actor on par with any global star known

Purathchi kalaignar Vijaya kanth

I am not sure what sort of revolution he created with his acting skills; is it the back kicks he seems to perform with amazing ease considering his big paunch?

Supreme star Sarath kumar & Ultimate star Ajith kumar

“Supreme” and “ultimate” literally mean greater degree than “super” – you can really be sure that, these epithets don’t make sense!

Ilaya thalapathy Vijay ,Purathchi thalapathi Vishal and Chinna thalapthi Bharath

I don’t know which battalion they are commanding?? Do tell me if anyone of you knows!!

Navarasa naayagan Karthik

Does it mean that he the only one who could show all the expressions? I thought one could be an actor only if he could emote all feelings well!!

Yathartha nayagan Cheran

This is a an apt name , as he is the only one , who has never given into heroisms as an actor ; I guess he’s the only hero who has been hit by everyone and cried the most , even putting serial heroines to shame

Mirattal nayagan Jeevan

Except for the villain role in Kakha Kakha movie , I haven’t seen anything ferocious about his acting ( there too, it was more about using foul language unhinderedly , as in a real slum) except for the fact that he is choosing his roles carefully!

Little superstar Simbu

Though a talented fellow , of late only , he’s been realizing that imitating the big man wont take him very far. And I think that is a name that he has grabbed for himself , rather than being given!

Vaigai puyal Vadivelu

A popular actor, but the title gives an action image; which is totally far from his funny man roles, which make you happy as would a neat breeze!

I am not sure of other heroes’ titles; anyone who knows any other of these funny things can add a post!!

Is Decency a Weakness?

Being brought up with an aptitude for hard work and taught to move with people in a smooth way with fewer unnecessary words, gets us to a good position in life; but it is not without the negative connotations. These qualities though an asset initially in a career ,could really end up being a burden with time.

Once the benchmark is set for your ability , the peak of your performance rather than the median of your range is expected more than often, which is impossible , a lot of times. And the people concerned , tend to think of only extracting the maximum work from the ones who have shouldered it before. And the ones , who set a pace for themselves, probably even restricting themselves consciously , do not face much trouble , as less is expected of them. It also does not help if you have colleagues who are not as willing to help , as much as they would like others to help them. Add to that a management that is only concerned at swelling their own pockets , with no concern whatsoever for the staff, there builds a recipe for an excellent" stress soup" at the workplace.

Being decent and professional enough , not to avoid / procrastinate the work given , most often lets people presume it as a weakness. The inability to say' no' out of self inflicted moral responsibility is again a factor, that gets one into trouble sooner than later. One might have done the extra work , considering the situation , in spite of compromising on personal space , for the first few times. You are not sure to get complimented for that , but the first time you refuse to take that extra responsibility , for purely personal reasons , it gets misconstrued as that the person has become too big for the boots . The one who shirks that added responsibility from the beginning , seems a better off at the same point of time , as that is taken as his nature.

Obliging every request also becomes an expected norm , once you begin to do that frequently and people take you for granted. Its not just the workplace , it happens everywhere- relatives , friends , public departments , people you hire for work , even within the families- decency being taken for weakness .

One is more often likely to see the 'voice'y types get on with lesser stuff, than the docile types. But does that mean all those being decent and gentle should change overnight into obdurate , argumentative types ? Most probably not , as there is a big account being kept in a super computer up above, that He keeps and takes everything into account . So it would be ideal to strike the middle path , saying no when needed "firmly and politely " , that the ones across get the right signal that- decency is not a weakness !

passing the pandemonium

I have still not crossed the school age considering my disinclination to rise up in the morning with vigour to rush up to work. It’s not just my laziness but also the reluctance to be part of the pandemonium that I come across on the roads on my short travels forth and back home. Even having the scooterette - the best possible two wheeler for the laziest people who want to avoid the hassles of using their legs and feet while riding - does not help me much

On some unfortunate days the chaos start even before I pass the first 500 meters, in the form of form of buffaloes that amble across the road in such a way that no one would escape their swishing dirty tails. One needs at least one tenth of the maneuverability that Catherine Zeta Jones showed in the movie ‘Entrapment’ to pass through the security system for a heist. I have so far been good enough to avoid the tail marks and hope it stays so!

Just next on entry into the main roads would be a score of women trying to pack their kids into all sorts of vehicles (autos, maruti omnis, sumos, maxi cabs, and buses) to the school. I just can’t fathom how they chose the triangular junction that was already congested and unsafe. Who would have the courage to advise a woman, leave alone a group of them, with some of them in a real hurry. So I just mutter to myself and just move on

Traveling further you see another set of moms with young kids, who have chosen to walk their way to schools with kids on the danger side of the road!! I just can’t understand how the ever protective mothers could do such a thing. Kids, being kids could just stray into the road, putting themselves in grave risk. I suppose it’s probably to do with the fact that most of us are right handers and we feel we have a better grip with the right hand and hence hold the kid with the right hand, putting the kids towards the danger side. I am sure, in this situation, left hand would do a great job

The next inexcusable trouble mongers are those morons who talk on the phone while riding a bike or even worser, text on the move. And none of them who do so, seem like they would be losing millions if they dint pick that call or push that sms!! I see them as real losers who never see the bigger picture – they are keeping their lives on the line (they shall do so if it’s their choice to lose limb / life), apart from endangering all other people on the road. I get so enraged by these imbeciles that if I have the law enforcing power or some super power, I would slap them hard, confiscate that handset and throw it in the nearest drain.

The chaos gets escalated as one moves into the bottleneck that leads to the railway gate (thanks to the blatant encroachment about which no official has yet cared). In that bottle neck are stationed the autos who use all their rough skills to move the vehicles in the manner only to frighten and if possible hurt the fellow road users. I think they will understand what they are doing only if they are put through the pain that accidents can cause.

Then is the biggest of the violations. One of the railways gate allows the two wheelers to pass through the gaps on either side of the closed gates / under them. Though it could look like a gross violation, actually they are doing it a s it is the only possible way to unclog the road in between the short time when the gates are open. It has been going on for a long time; its only now that the Railways has started a subway construction, which could take about five years, knowing our Indian standards. The main issue is that, our people being our own selves, try to get through four two wheelers through the gap when there is just enough space for two. But as a community, when have we had the decency to wait in a queue?

If you thought you will just rush through a reasonably regulated GST road , there are at least five / six guys along the one kilometer starch , who just jump across the tall median a la Tarzan so unexpectedly that , they could be hurt or if not the one who avoided them be hurt. And seriously people got to be educated about the risks

Apart from these unpleasant ones are the pleasant distractions like bright good ads, scores of PYTs (if I can borrow from the page 3 literature on the road. Though pleasant, am sure these would cause the same damage as the other unpleasant ones!!

And all these make it impossible for me to ride the easiest bike for not more than fifteen minutes. Hope people become more sensible on the road or the authorities who regulate the traffic on the road or the ones who issue the driving licenses with alarming ease, as soon as their palms are greased!

Hot under the collar?

Spending the whole week in anger and annoyance over a small work related issue, I thought it would be going through the few nice quotes I had collected on anger .

As I also could find nothing worthwhile to write about , I thought it would not be a wrong idea to put those quotes down here for the occasional stumbler to this page

I think anyone who reads these/ remembers these while getting hot under the collar , would understand that getting angry is a futile exrecise that only works towards hurting us!! See if you feel so!

Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them.
James Fallows

For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Get mad, then get over it.
Colin Powell

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

Buddha

How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.
Marcus Aurelius

If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?
Sydney J. Harris

Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.
Mohandas Gandhi

No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.

George Jean Nathan

One should not lose one's temper unless one is certain of getting more and more angry to the end.
William Butler Yeats

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. Ambrose Bierce

"Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools. “Albert Einstein

"Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one." Benjamin Franklin

"Anger is only one letter short of danger"

"The angry people are those people who are most afraid" Dr. Robert Anthony

"Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy." Aristotle

"Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it" Seneca

"If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?" Sydney J. Harris

"Anger is short-lived madness." Horace

"A fool vents all of his anger, but a wise man brings himself under control.

"When anger rises, think of the consequences." Confucius quotes

"The best answer to anger is silence."

My corollary after going through all these is - Never hold on to anger! Just let it go! It's like taking a fistful of dirt to slam on someone; you "might" be successful in throwing it on yor target , but you are "certainly " dirtying your hands in that process.

EASY WAY OUT

Though I have been curious about the usefulness and effects of yoga for a long time , ever since awareness was created about it through the media, I never had the willingness to learn or practice it. With increasing hearsay and personal experiences about the benefits of yoga , my mom saw an ad in a local circulation newspaper and asked me to attend Isha yoga classes in my locality.

I too had my last allowed leave of the month to take , so I thought I would have a look at what it is all about.

There was a big crowd for a six pm meet on a working day- which implied the popularity of yoga as well as the prevalence of unhappiness among people ! There was a young male yoga teacher who could hold the audience attention for close to about 80 minutes, (that was a great task, considering my usually poor attention span in the sub- minute region , even while reading for the exams) .Its surprising that he was successful in talking for that much time about taming minds , which I wonder , is ever possible . Most of the mental wandering today was to do with the physical strain-to be precise , my lower limbs that have forgotten sitting cross legged since its been more than a year since I sat that way ! I suppose its going to have an effect of doing 50 sit ups all of a sudden on one fine day!!

If that was not the proverbial last straw on the camel's back, they said one needed to spend three hours a day for a week , with full twelve hours on the intervening Sunday!! I thought fine , I would have to seek some other way to tame my mind!

Just logged on to the net to know more about the Isha yoga , only to find the following piece, which I thought would be the easier alternative to follow!! I thought I might copy and paste that here too so that , anyone stumbling inadvertently on to this blog ( yeah! how else would someone see this!!), could have the benefit of going through it

Tips for Better Life from ISHA YOGA


1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Sleep for 7 hours.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with
daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is
manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her
mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
15. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead
invest your energy in the positive present moment.
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are
simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class
but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
18. Smile and laugh more.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey
is all about. Don't compare your partner with others.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
26.. What other people think of you is none of your business.
27. GOD ! heals everything.
28. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
29. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.
Stay in touch.
30. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
31. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
32. The best is yet to come.
33. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
34. Do the right thing!
35. Call your family often.
36. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.
37. Each day give something good to others.
38. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
39. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.