I am a born optimist and think of life as full of possibilities. Every day I wake up to think there is something good likely to happen to me today. I have looked at every challenge in life as an opportunity to learn and grow. This does not mean that I have not faced any difficulties in life. It only means that if you are willing to face life as it is rather than as you want it to be, anything is possible.

I have come across people in my every day life, who will crib at everything around them. If it is a bright and sunny day, they will complain about how hot it is. If it rains, they will say their day is spoilt as the weather has dampened their spirits. If it is cold, they will still complain stating they cannot go out shopping. So any weather does not make them cheer.

On the other hand, I have met people who not only look at life as full of possibilities but also look at everyone around as their enablers in life. If it rains, they will dance in the rain. If it is warm and sunny, they will go sun bathing and if it is a chill winter morning, they will jog in the forest to admire nature in its full glory.

One has always a choice in life in everything we do. If we want to crib, we can invent reasons to do so. But, if we want to be happy, we can find reasons to be joyous always. It is up to us to adapt to every situation in life. It is our attitude to life, which makes it what it is and not the other way around.

Some people have asked me as to what benefit one gets by being optimistic in life. Further, they ask how one can be positive when you go through the toughest challenges of life. The power of positivity has to be experienced to be believed. The best way to deal with any challenge is to think positive. If we have lost a job but have full faith in our capabilities, we may like to believe that something better is in store for us.

Every challenge in life is an opportunity. It is up to us to live life the way we want to. If we want to crib, we can till our last breath. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy life and be positive, nothing prevents us from doing so. It is like while walking one day morning, I wished my neighbour – “Good morning” and he responded by asking – “ What is good about the morning ?. I smiled at him and said that for me everything about the morning is good – the clear blue sky, the chirping of the birds, the pleasant morning chill and the smile of the kids running to catch the school bus.

Let us choose the way we want to live. Think positive.

S Ramesh Shankar

28th March 2023

“Maango Useese, Baaton Khusheese, Kaho na Kiseese” is Hindi quote which says “ Ask from God, donate happily and do not tell anyone. Someone shared this quote with me on social media and it stuck a chord.

All through our life we keep demanding for things from almost everyone around us- Our parents, teachers, friends, neighbours et all. It takes time for us to realise in life that we can ask only from God and nobody else. God gives all of us and may be the carrier ,are your parents, teachers, family or friends.

Possessiveness is our second nature. We get attached to material things more than people. It starts with “my pen”, my cycle”, “my clothes” and so on ,right from our childhood. We get very upset when someone tries to use our belongings ,even if they need them more than us.

We are reluctant to share .It takes a jolt in our life to realise that the more we give, the more we get. Many a time even after a few shocks in our lives, we are reluctant givers. When elders try to tell us that we need to give more than we take from others, we question them.

But as we grow older, we realise that this is the axiom of life, irrespective of whichever religion one follows. We get everything from the Almighty, we need to learn to give generously without expecting anything in return and do all good deeds in life ,anonymously.

It may be easier said than done, especially when we are young. We throng for material things and are indeed possessive of all that we have. We do not want to share our belongings with anyone and are keen to get credit for any small things we do.

But as we experience life, we learn our lessons, living through our own life events or through the wisdom of others. During childhood or even in our growing years at home, we do not believe in the advice of our parents or elders ,in this sphere.

We live in an illusion that we earn everything in life through our own hard work and sacrifice. The day we experience that money cannot buy many things like health or happiness ,we bow before the Almighty for forgiveness. Then ,we are willing to share with others.

Even when we are giving, we tend to take credit for the smallest good deeds we do ,without realising that there are millions around us doing much more than us and their left hand does not know what their right hand is doing.

When we stand up in life as adults and sometimes face difficulties and come out of it ,with the support and generosity of others ,then we realise that life is all about sharing, giving and caring for others.

Let us learn to give more than we get. Let us realise that the Almighty give us more than we deserve and the more we share happily without letting the world know of our little acts of kindness, the more we may be blessed.

S Ramesh Shankar

13th Feb 2023

One of the most difficult things in life is to think of of the impossible and make it happen. Someone suggested to me that we need to be kind to the unkind. I was flabbergasted. How can one be kind to someone who is unkind to you ? I said it is difficult even for me even to imagine it. However, I agreed to reflect on it and review.

On thinking about it for a while, I realised that ,may be it is true and a necessity. It is like you need to give food to the hungry and not to the well fed. Similarly, we need to be kind to the people around us, who are unkind to us.

Let us imagine our first experiences in life. The teacher in our class has to be kind, to the most difficult student in the class. Sometimes as a fellow student, one may wonder why the teacher is kind to her most errant student in class. Once ,when I asked a Principal a similar question, she replied that it is teachers and parents, who have to mould that child and such children need more help than others.

If we move to our own family, we may have not noticed that parents tend to spend more time with the truant child at home. Again, parents realise that the errant child needs more help than others to get back on the right path.

The workplace may not be very different. The best leaders will always spend more time with the most underperforming employees. This is not because they love to do it but again because they need the maximum support.

Life is no different than all such experiences at school, home or at the workplace. While, it may be difficult to be kind to the unkind, it is a test of our capability to rise above selfish limits and help those who may have been unkind to us.

A mother does not distinguish between a well behaved child or an ill behaved child. The unconditional love is showered on all children without expecting anything in return. Similarly, we have to learn to be helpful to people ,who least deserve it.

Our act of unconditional kindness will give us unlimited joy and mould us into selfless human beings. We may not realise that sometimes ,our acts of kindness may get us unexpected favours from people, whom we least expect it from.

The joy of giving is limitless. The acts of kindness need to be selfless. The benefactors should be boundary-less. Our actions should speak louder than our words. Our giving should always be more than our receiving.

The people who need it ,may not be the people who deserve it. But we need to give to the needy ,not to the more fortunate around us. Let us learn to give without expecting anything in return.

Life is more gratifying when we try the impossible and make it possible. Let us try to be kind to the unkindest people around us from today and experience the magic of kindness in our hearts.

S Ramesh Shankar

28th January 2023