The Joyful Harvest

The Middle of January is the harvest festival. It is a time of holidaying and 3 days of joyous festivities. All the cities are empty as everyone goes off to celebrate in their villages. The U.S. celebrates Thanks giving in September. Harvest is mainly associated with fruit and vegetables, for which we give thanks. This is the whole point of the Harvest Festival. The cattle’s are decorated, homes are painted, implements are cleared and everything is worshipped. In India, Makara Sankranti, Thai Pongal, Uttarayana, Lohri, and Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu in January, Holi in February–March and Onam in August–September are a few famous harvest festivals. This is the time for each of us to sit back and celebrate of successes in the four of quadrants of your life: personal, family, work life and social life. The Bible speaks of a ‘time to sow and a time to reap!’ This is your time to reap the results of all your hard work and acknowledge the joys, successes and high points of the past year. This is the time for gratitude for all your blessings. This is important as most of us are trained to find fault with ourselves and others. We know what is wrong, what has been done badly. We are trained to pick the smallest flaws in every action of our family and friends and even ourselves. During this season, eschew all such discounts and embrace affirmations and sincere appreciation. It is said that you need to given 10 affirmations to safely administer a single discount. Most of our daily balance sheets have the opposite. This year enjoy, celebrate and praise God for all the good news in your life! 1. Celebrate your hobbies with an exhibition for friends of fruits, paintings, music or stamps. 2. Celebrate your family with a get together, a website or a night out with all of them. 3. Write letters to those at work who helped you. Write to those who need comfort, give out little harvest gifts – fruit, wine, food. 4. Organize a coffee meet for your neighbours and friends. Sugarcane juice and other harvest goodies could be exciting ad ons.

Cultivating Happiness

Focus on cultivating happy people and avoid toxic people. Build protective walls against toxic events that threaten your tranquillity. Too much television is tele-visham—tele-poison. Too much stimulation, a mindspace crowded by fantasy, people and events, distracts you from working on your own home and backyard to create a healthy self. Some days we seem to live a fantasy life dominated by daydreams while reality tugs at our heartstrings for attention, like a neglected child. There is no use focusing on Aishwarya Bacchan’s beauty while neglecting to do the most basic things to maintain yours. This is the only body, mind and soul you will be given. Take care of what is yours and enjoy it. Let the cells of your body be gently bathed in happiness, positive thoughts and healing energies. Run from, toxic people and build protective walls against toxic events that threaten your tranquility. The Vedas speak of the self as a beautiful lotus growing in the muddy waters of life. With its roots in the muck it rises above it, in perfect beauty and bliss.

Hobbies

Cultivate hobbies for happiness, next year. A hobby is a regular activity enjoyed during one’s leisure as recreation. It is an activity that provides fun and relaxation. It is an ancient activity of humans: Caesar Augustus was an avid coin collector. It is said the Persians, Greeks and Romans used scale models of forts and coast defence lines to plan battles. Kids played with toys like train sets. They grew up to engage in more adult hobbies like these war games. The term ‘hobby’ comes from the 16th century word ‘hobyn’ which means small horse or pony. The original object, a ‘Tourney horse’’ was made of a wooden basketwork frame with an artificial head and tail, so that a child could experience riding a real horse. George Orwell observed about the English, “the addiction to hobbies and spare time occupations... We are a nation of flower lovers, but also a nation of stamp collectors, pigeon fanciers, amateur carpenters, coupon snipers, darts players, crossword puzzle fans…” Hobbies often involve meeting an interesting community of others involved in the same activity. Events are often organized around these activities, as are magazines and websites. As a result, a hobby creates an enjoyable network of friends and associates. A hobby usually results in a feeling of achievement. The pleasure of a hobby lies in making something of value or achieving something of value. These activities involve five broad categories: collecting, making and tinkering (embroidery, can restoration), activity participation (fishing and singing), sports (gulf, running) and liberal art hobbies (languages, cuisine literature). However a number of hobbies remain solitary. The intellectual and physical stimulation a hobby provides is a clear attraction. Research proves that hobbies impact healthy aging. Hobbies provide adults with play. An absorbing hobby can greatly improve your life satisfaction levels. The unconditional and gentle relationships, you could build through hobbies can fill your life with happiness breaks. So find and pursue an absorbing hobby in the year ahead.

Creating A Life Changing Network

A healing and caring network of relationships is the most important factor in a healthy, long life. High EQ or emotional quotient can ensure that while increasing your circle of friends, you can build better bonds with those you have, while reaching out to new friends. The whole process will become more enjoyable. Emotional intelligence can make friendships more satisfying and rewarding. What are the key skills one enjoys in a friend? Empathy: the ability to feel my happiness and my pain in your heart. Empathy enables you to share and to comfort. Doubling your joys and halving your sorrows. On the contrary, those who are moody, depressed, pessimistic and uncaring are toxic enough to make people run for their lives – if they can. Caring about others means understanding and spending time on what others are interested in... Conversations should certainly include these subjects. Avoid criticising others – you are not the world’s police man. Involve everyone in the conversation: remember a bore is a fellow who wants to talk about himself, when you want to talk about yourself. Let there be humour, laughter, joy! Ask for advice. Give advice, if anyone asks for it. Share stories, sports and hobbies. Do enjoyable things together. Support others during tough times. Decide how close you want to be to someone. Don’t get too emotional with strangers, just like you cannot be aloof with friends. Watch out for those whose live seems to involve a series of making and breaking relationships. There are skills you can learn only by observing and participating in the University of Life. So here are a few tips that you can adopt. • Love and appreciate yourself • Use mobile technology responsibly • Understand others and develop empathy and trust • Give time, talent, thoughts and treasure to others. • Celebrate differences So reach out and create a life changing, supportive web of friendships in the year ahead.

Creating A Life Changing Network

A healing and caring network of relationships is the most important factor in a healthy, long life. High EQ or emotional quotient can ensure that while increasing your circle of friends, you can build better bonds with those you have, while reaching out to new friends. The whole process will become more enjoyable. Emotional intelligence can make friendships more satisfying and rewarding. What are the key skills one enjoys in a friend? Empathy: the ability to feel my happiness and my pain in your heart. Empathy enables you to share and to comfort. Doubling your joys and halving your sorrows. On the contrary, those who are moody, depressed, pessimistic and uncaring are toxic enough to make people run for their lives – if they can. Caring about others means understanding and spending time on what others are interested in... Conversations should certainly include these subjects. Avoid criticising others – you are not the world’s police man. Involve everyone in the conversation: remember a bore is a fellow who wants to talk about himself, when you want to talk about yourself. Let there be humour, laughter, joy! Ask for advice. Give advice, if anyone asks for it. Share stories, sports and hobbies. Do enjoyable things together. Support others during tough times. Decide how close you want to be to someone. Don’t get too emotional with strangers, just like you cannot be aloof with friends. Watch out for those whose live seems to involve a series of making and breaking relationships. There are skills you can learn only by observing and participating in the University of Life. So here are a few tips that you can adopt. • Love and appreciate yourself • Use mobile technology responsibly • Understand others and develop empathy and trust • Give time, talent, thoughts and treasure to others. • Celebrate differences So reach out and create a life changing, supportive web of friendships in the year ahead.

Be Silent: Listen To Yourself

In the silence, become aware of yourself. Be aware of your body as full of health and energy. Visualise peace, tranquility, prosperity and fulfillment. Be silent. Be aware of your breathing, the beating of your heart. Once you are aware of your body in silence, in peace and tranquility, then you begin to notice immediately, the destructive effects of stress. You become aware of the first, imperceptible symptoms: the tightening of the jaw, the clenching of muscles in your throat and abdomen, the speeding of the heartbeat. Once you become aware, you can consciously decelerate. Be completely aware of the shift of feelings from moment to moment. Knowing exactly how you feel can help you make better emotional decisions.

World Kindness Day

The world kindness movement began incorporating NGO’s on November 13th 1988. The actions on this day make everyone feel that kindness is cool. Young, trendy people, caring adults, celebrities participate to make kindness so viral. Corporates who participate in my year long Innovation Initiatives have a Make Things Better (MTB) Board in the front office. Anyone can post a note which says ‘You made things better by ………………, about a team member’. The person who gets the maximum MTB notes, is recognized, as also the person who posts the most MTBs. Kindness, generosity and co-operation can spread faster than violence or hatred. A study conducted by San Diego and Harvard Universities provide laboratory evidence that co-operative behavior is contagious. When the people benefit from kindness, they “pay it forward” by helping others who were not originally involved, and this creates a cascade of collaboration that influences dozens more in a social network. Research and Shakespeare have both shown that kindness benefits both giver and the receiver, filling the blood stream with neurotransmitters of relaxation and contentment. Serotonin and endorphins elevate the mood. Doctors have to do less when people are kind and content. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about the ‘most curative herbs and agents’ of gentleness and kindness is ensuring health and well being. So on World Kindness Day, start a daily, lifelong habit of kindness. Let’s start to: 1. Hug all the loved ones in your life who rarely get a hug – your parents and grandparents. 2. Write love letters to them recording how you feel, before it is too late! 3. In Singapore, they gave away 45,000 yellow flowers last year. 4. Canada had a Kindness Concert. 5. Put out grains and water for birds to feed. 6. Adopt a elder who has no visitors and cheer up that elder by visiting him once a week or fortnightly or monthly – whichever is feasible. As the Dalai Lama said, “My religion is simple. My religion is kindness.” Send this to all your friends. Let’s go viral with this.

Create a positive field

 A mental process which draws a magic circle of love around all those who are participating.  A prayer or mantra said together.  A common exercise, a company song, common goals.  A handshake, a friendly look, an encouraging word.  Thinking, believing and acting in a positive manner.  Laughter and shared jokes.

Action Plan to Enhance Positives

• Write a love letter to your parents • Buy tickets to a music concert and give away some of it. • Treat yourself to a full moon dinner with loved ones. • Take your dog to the beach. • Plant a tree and take care of it (a tree is an oxygen factory). • Give away seeds. The monsoons are awaiting to make them grow • Feed the birds. Do God’s work

Celebrate the Positives

Celebrate the positive in all interactions. Rest assured that God did not create you for the sole purpose of correcting others or making them unhappy. When we say namaste, we say ‘I bow to the Divine in you’. ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’ say, our holy book – the whole world is your family. Imagine the rich network of love you could create, where your children can be nurtured if you believed and practiced this. The most inexpensive ticket to happiness is helping others and making others happy. So spread happiness like Amul butter on bread. It will stick to your fingers. Create a happiness committee in your street, which meets every month to create a happy street. Every month as you decide to install comfort touch, celebrate Diwali or have a painting competition for kids, neighbours become friends.

Take them everyday!

1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day. 2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods. 3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break. 4. Stay away from politics and back-biting. 5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday. 6. Spend time reading and improving your mind. 7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others. 8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc. 9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family; use the power of the internet. 10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends.

World Kindness Day

The world kindness movement began incorporating NGO’s on November 13th 1988. The actions on this day make everyone feel that kindness is cool. Young, trendy people, caring adults, celebrities participate to make kindness so viral. Corporates who participate in my year long Innovation Initiatives have a Make Things Better (MTB) Board in the front office. Anyone can post a note which says ‘You made things better by ………………, about a team member’. The person who gets the maximum MTB notes, is recognized, as also the person who posts the most MTBs. Kindness, generosity and co-operation can spread faster than violence or hatred. A study conducted by San Diego and Harvard Universities provide laboratory evidence that co-operative behavior is contagious. When the people benefit from kindness, they “pay it forward” by helping others who were not originally involved, and this creates a cascade of collaboration that influences dozens more in a social network. Research and Shakespeare have both shown that kindness benefits both giver and the receiver, filling the blood stream with neurotransmitters of relaxation and contentment. Serotonin and endorphins elevate the mood. Doctors have to do less when people are kind and content. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote about the ‘most curative herbs and agents’ of gentleness and kindness is ensuring health and well being. So on World Kindness Day, start a daily, lifelong habit of kindness. Let’s start to: 1. Hug all the loved ones in your life who rarely get a hug – your parents and grandparents. 2. Write love letters to them recording how you feel, before it is too late! 3. In Singapore, they gave away 45,000 yellow flowers last year. 4. Canada had a Kindness Concert. 5. Put out grains and water for birds to feed. 6. Adopt a elder who has no visitors and cheer up that elder by visiting him once a week or fortnightly or monthly – whichever is feasible. As the Dalai Lama said, “My religion is simple. My religion is kindness.” Send this to all your friends. Let’s go viral with this.

Execute, communicate and train

Implement like an Innovation Star. This is the day to make a final presentation to all the teams in the presence of top management. Get feedback from all stakeholders and respond to concerns. It is a good idea to leave the plan to be studied by all participants. Each can peacefully reflect on it, internalize it. This is the time to get the resource budget cleared. All participants and stakeholders must now receive a clear communication on what to expect. Here it is important to note the process-- communication has to be long term, continuous and consistent. Human resources professionals and problem owners must ensure that the necessary training modules are implemented and their efficacy measured. Management systems implementation should now kick in. The management information system to ensure clear measurement of action should be available to all players. The website and other internet support systems should be properly administered by a webmaster to ensure the seamless flow of information where possible. A regularly produced e-bulletin would help. Knowledge, information and wisdom are important. ‘Know How’ is essential, but ‘do how’ is just as important. Teams by now have dived into the messy business of how to implement what they have chosen as solutions. They have created plans and strategies and worked co-operatively and negotiated the best route to take. Action now becomes the priority.

Children’s Day

Children’s day is celebrated in India on November 14th, Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday. It is a day to celebrate the child. Children are the family’s greatest wealth and asset. Without Santhana Lakshmi (the goddess who bestows happiness in children) there is no joy in the family. The laughter, the mischief and newness children bring into the world is irreplaceable. As the Japanese say, ‘Children bring the ‘Oh!’ into your life’. It is also a day to pledge support for children suffering from abuse, violence, discrimination and death –all avoidable. One child dies every 90 seconds in India - this means 1.7 million children every year. Many children are motherless because women in India have only a 50/50 chance of skilled help during childbirth. A woman dies in childbirth every 10 minutes in our country. The Taj Mahal, the greatest monument to love, was built for Mumtaz Mahal by Shahjahan in Agra. She died at child birth, giving birth to her 14th child. The ‘State of World’s Mothers’ places India 76th on a list which shows the best places to be a mother. We lose more women every week because of this cause, than they lose in Europe, in a whole year. This is the same as having 400 Jumbo Boeing 747 planes crash annually. What is shocking is that one third of child death and 1/5th of the maternal death are caused by lack of nutrition. 153 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are bonded into child labour. So what can you do to celebrate children’s day: 1. Write a beautiful letter to each of your children about how much you value them in your family 2. Send a gift to their teachers with a letter thanking them for giving them the gift of knowledge 3. Plan a special family outgoing, which they find interesting and exciting. 4. Children are great imitators. Be a person worth imitating. As Magic Johnson said, “All that kids need, is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them”. On this day give some poor child some of these gifts.