Shades of Green

Good teachers can bestow upon us the life-time aha! experiences.

I had atypical struggle during the first few weeks in USA. I was the only Indian in my department at TTU at that time. Although everyone around spoke English, yet I was not getting them fully. While all my other fellow Indian students (in different faculties) were comfortable with the accent and the language and the people, I was unsettled. The reason was that I was trying to hear more than what people were speaking. I was trying to read their body language, which was a bit difficult being new to the culture.

When I shared my problem with my adviser Dr. Chris Robitschek, she told me a story. There was a school boy who used to go down the street every day with his father. The street was filled with lush green trees and bushes around. His father would ask what color he sees, and he would say green. As the days passed, the boy started seeing more than just green color. He started differentiating between dark green and light green. With more time, he could tell even more shades of green in the same street.

With no more words from her, I could see how I was seeing just the green color. The story not only brought patience to me at the moment, but also unfolded many pieces of wisdom. In fact, it keeps coming back to me every time I come across a new situation. I have less anxiety and greater patience towards life. The story reminds me not to prejudge anyone or jump into conclusions. For I know, there could be more shades to what I am seeing now.

Life is full of wonders, mysteries and unexpected opportunities. An open mind makes living positive and fruitful. The story has relevance for both kinds of people: those who get satisfied soon, and those who quickly get impatient. It is easier to accept things, people or situation when we keep an optimistic attitude towards them. Such mind set not just keeps one motivated to work persistently towards his/her goal but also stimulates to strive for higher goals.

I like to share the story and thank my professor for enlightening me with so many shades of life.

Reason to write Aha! expereinces

In my previous post I wrote about all of us having aha moments, some or the other time. And, I have a reason to believe that why should we share and write those moments?

Think about what happens when we think of one such time? We become conscious of not just the external but also our inner world. We become aware of our thoughts and feelings of the moment. This is living in the moment, living in the present!

“Mindfulness is a source of happiness” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Mindful living is useful and therapeutic. We come closer to our true self and understand ourselves better. We are more focused, stable, and have more control on our actions. With mindful-living we can have less stress and better relationships in our lives.

Writing and sharing is a conscious effort to re-live that time. While writing about the experience, we strive to look out for the words and phrases which appropriately describe our emotions and thoughts. It is an effort to look deep into ourselves to know exactly how we went through that experience. When we share or tell someone about any of our experiences, we strengthen its effect on our lives.

Having something therapeutic is not a need for only those who are in suffering of any kind. I believe it is for all those who want to do better than their present and achieve higher. For all those who want to optimize their potential.

It is for all those who want to and,

CARE TO GROW!

The Aha! moments

My brother said that he has different views about the aha moments, and that he did not have any Aha! moments. I wonder, is it possible? We keep learning all throughout our lives. And there are people, events, accidents, situations and what not, which become the medium to our learning. But probably this happens so smooth, we do not realize. I would not say that it is all expected. If the life be predictable... It is not! And so I strongly believe that there are definitely moments in our lives when we smile to ourselves. When we discover something unexpected and understand life an inch more. Probably, then that becomes so much part of us, that we do not find it easy putting as a writing piece.

Look for the child within!!