No Honking!

Today's post is about honking. For those who live in Mumbai, honking is a disease we must live with. We grit our teeth and bear it. Many however feel, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! So, in Mumbai, at all hours, morning, noon and night people in the driver's seat of vehicles with roaring engines honk at other people.

Even at dawn, when the rooster should be crowing, and the air should be filled with birdsong, you will hear the honking of cars, motorbikes, scooters, and all other breeds of vehicles. Just like the Internet creates the illusion of anonymity, getting into a car or on a bike creates in their minds an illusion, that they're invincible and no one can see how nasty they're being, honking at the old lady hobbling to cross the street.

It's actually an outlet for many a troubled soul. They use this to channelize their rage. So, they honk at everyone and everything, and spread more rage. That's how the disease spreads. Instead of using brakes and slowing down, they step on the accelerator, and honk out all obstacles, be it man, woman, child, cow or crow.

Speaking of crows, is there anything more relaxing than the cawing of crows on a hot afternoon? And to go with it - a cup of coffee to block out the Honking Hobos. Here's what I've been getting my teeth into lately as summer days come upon us:

For those interested in history, dip a toe into the Big History Project.

Some good food for thought at The Blog of Bill Gates An interesting analogy on how using the wrong data points can lead to incorrect decisions on How Dinosaurs Could Help Us Fight Malnutrition. 

You can also get a free download of a chapter from his favourite business book and read his full review. He hits the nail on the head:

"Brooks’s work is a great reminder that the rules for running a strong business and creating value haven’t changed. For one thing, there’s an essential human factor in every business endeavor. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect product, production plan, and marketing pitch; you’ll still need the right people to lead and implement those plans...." Bill Gates

Then, you could also listen to this reading of Blueberry Girl.

Catching up

These days, there is little time to pause and think. The days and nights seem to meld as I check off as Done-Done-Done the ceaseless endless list of tasks to be accomplished.

A day off in the midst of all this was all I needed. To pause and feel the sand under my feet. To feel tired, and sad and joyful again. To stop feeling impatient, and just allow time to dawdle along, with nowhere to go and nothing to achieve. Just to be.

Eckhart Tolle's Stillness Speaks helped me remember to breathe in and enjoy the moment.

I'm also reading The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra, in which he draws a parallel between the principles of quantum physics and the mysticism of many religions, and the concept of we are all one.

So much is happening in the world as I live in this cocoon with my books and the never ending deadlines. These are times of war and extremism. Millions of people are displaced. Millions hungry. Millions cold.

In India, change is slow to come in many ways. Watch this DW documentary on Sexual Violence.
Who is accountable? Who should be punished? Who pays?
Hats off to the people who fight for light and right.

There is an immense restlessness and the need to do more and give more. The question, framed by Parker J. Palmer is this:

"What do I want to let go of and what do I want to give myself to?”

I love this poem:

QuestionsBefore Dark
by Jeanne Lohmann

Day ends, and before sleep
when the sky dies down, consider
your altered state: has this day
changed you? Are the corners
sharper or rounded off? Did you
live with death? Make decisions
that quieted? Find one clear word
that fit? At the sun's midpoint
did you notice a pitch of absence,
bewilderment that invites
the possible? What did you learn
from things you dropped and picked up
and dropped again? Did you set a straw
parallel to the river, let the flow
carry you downstream?

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom. 

Maya Angelou

The Power of a Good Story

Stories are an age old way of connecting, of sharing, of passing on, and preserving ideas, knowledge, culture and to sow the seeds of a vision. We are all storytellers, some of us more adept than others! So what does it take to tell a good story and how do we develop our ability to spin a yarn?

Some good insights here - take a look at this brilliant example of visual storytelling!

What You See Next

Today, my first break after nearly twelve months of unceasing work, job changes, new friends, new work, deadlines, grief, joy, turbulence and moments of calm. Seems that life can bloom only in the gap between deadlines. And in this gap, my first blog post in months. There’s lots to share.

A while ago, I’d shared a couple of posts about SelectiveAttention and Perceptual Blindness. Deeper perspectives on the art and science of observation can be found in this write up by Maria Popova (an amazing treasure trove of insights!). She introduces us to the book, On Looking: What11 Experts Tell Us About Seeing Our Familiar City Block with New Eyes, byAlexandra Horowitz. 

I haven’t been able to get my hands on this book yet, but Popova is a brilliant curator, holding our hands as she walks us through its pages and illuminating the winding pathways,  and helping us understand the truths and insights revealed. Truly simple truths, and a must for anyone in the creative field, it will open up your mind!

Loved this the most and can’t wait to get to the book.

“The thing you are doing now affects the thing you see next.”

These words are echoing inside me and waves are running up and down my spine. Key word NOW. It holds the key to NEXT. These words have put me into a tizzy, and energised me and given me the secret password to changing my course. Change your now, and change your next.  

More to share.

Stumbled upon two wonderful learning resources and signed up for five MOOCs (yes five, and no one to say when - water for the thirsty!) organized by FutureLearn (thank you for making this so very accessible!).

Also discovered, through FutureLearn, bookboon.com and got my hands on some wonderful reading –yes, free books still give me a thrill! 

Malala Day: For All Silenced Voices

For those who have known darkness, for those who have known fear, and for those who have never experienced opportunity.

Watch Malala's UN address here.

Feel the Fear and Keep Going

Have you ever felt the fear? And held back because of it? Fear holds you back, and keeps you voiceless. It keeps you in a state of subjugation.

For any change, for any quantum leap to happen, for any people to be liberated, for any group fighting for justice, for any bird leaving the nest,  fear is a given. Read here about the suffragettes - the amazing, courageous, wonderful women who fought valiantly for privileges considered a birth right today, and how they also felt the fear. 

The reason we enjoy some of our rights today is that they despite the fear, they kept going.

“The dearth of women in public life today is often attributed to a lack of confidence, and the suffragettes sometimes struggled with this too. Margaret Wynne Nevinson, an avid campaigner, once wrote she felt a "dizzy sickness of terror" the first time she stood up to speak publicly, outside a gasworks in south London in 1906. There were shouts of derision as hundreds of men crowded around her, and she almost succumbed to stage fright before hearing a voice whisper: "Go it, old gal, you're doing fine, give it 'em."”

Here’s a World of Happy clip to help you make the leap. So what’re you waiting for?

Feel the Fear, but don't let it stop you. Just. Keep. Going.