Month: July 2011

On Chasing Themes

I walked out into the beautiful summer day.

Wondering what it was about summer days that inspired poetry.
For I was inspired.
So, I looked around for a theme.
A fitting theme.
I was soon ambling in the picturesque surrounds of Regent’s park.
But I still hadn’t found a theme.
So I looked around for one.
I saw the old couple walking hand in hand,
the kid who couldn’t hide his delight at having dozens of birds around him,
the ducks walking around without a care in the world,
the baby laughing at the scene unfolding,
the men in suits discussing their work-lives,
yet more men in suits sharing photos of loved ones with each other,
young boys heading to the field for a game of football,
the touch rugby gang and the cricket gang,
the two lovers coochy-cooing on a bench,
the colleagues playing softball,
the solitary swan swimming about in search of it’s mate,
the lush green fields,
the kids running with their dogs,
the two girls sprawled on the grass playing cards,
and me, walking around, searching for a theme.
And then it hit me.
Much as many things in life hit me.
Why was I searching?
What an idiot I had been.. (as usual)
The theme was, of course, right in front of my eyes.
‘Chasing Themes’ , wasn’t that a theme after all?
For I couldn’t decide between the many sights and sounds,
that made for a perfect summer day.
A day when you felt ‘the rhythm of love.’
A day to play the music low.. and sway to the rhythm of love.
(And the poem continues)..

The Dots always connect

I had an ‘Aha’ moment last week.
It happened like most other ‘Aha’ moments. I think it was 2 hours past midnight on Monday and I was just about leaving the office. We had an event in 2 days and I was helping in the organization of it.
And during the course of the day, I had spent time trying to make a great video, going through logistics and multimedia plans and just trying to think through how we could add small touches so as to make the event very memorable.
During that day, I had summoned a whole collection of learnings from 3 defining experiences in the past 4 years – ExpressionHappens (videos), Sparkz (event management) and RealAcad (more about events..).
The dots do connect. Thank you Steve (Jobs).

Starting a Movement – Are you in?

It all started a few days ago when I first saw the Seth Godin TED talk on Tribes. If you haven’t seen it yet, I hope you do. Here is a link. It is worthwhile spending 20 minutes on it.
Godin suggests that, with the internet, humans are going back to tribes as a way of interaction. And these tribes are groups of people with similar interests or beliefs finding ways to get together, interact and meet – all thanks to the internet. So, he argues, if you wanted to find a group of Ukranian folk dancers today, you could.
He ends by asking us to start a movement (within 24 hours). Well, I couldn’t do it in 24 hours so I thought it might not be a bad idea to do it within 24 days atleast.
The movement I am inspired to start is the ‘Learner’ movement. The cause here is simple – I visualize a world where people will not fear making mistakes, where they will focus on ‘responding’ to mistakes creatively, constructively and correctively and where they will forge ahead making one mistake after another knowing fully well that they are better for it.
In essence, they will not be paralyzed by the fear of failure. They will be energized by it because, in either case, they will have a store to tell to their brother/sisterhood of learners.
I have no idea how to proceed with this. And I have no idea what the next steps are. But, I am inspired. And I am determined to do something about it. It all starts with the will, I guess.
So, my big question to you – Would you be inspired enough to be part of the founding of a movement of this nature? We don’t know the name yet, but we will, soon. We don’t know what we’re going to do yet, but we will soon.
It may also be a while before it starts making a dent. But, I am optimistic that it is only a matter of time. Keep me posted.
PS: The big inspiration here is ‘The Beatles did not invent teenagers. They just lead them.’ We are not going to invent ‘learners’, we are just going to find, and united them!

10 Rules for Being Human by Cherie Carter-Scoff

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, “life.’
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and
experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work”.
4. Lcssons are repeated until they arc learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. “There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here”,you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
—
This one spoke to me. Thanks KD