Count Your Blessings!!!

It was a lazy Sunday morning. I had decided to relax since I had had a hectic weekend.
But that was not to happen….My maid did not turn up…..No amount of coaxing her can motivate her enough to inform me about her absence in advance. I usually empathize with the maids. I always feel that emergencies may confront them just as they could to anyone else. But my maid never informs….even if it is a pre-planned leave…it is always made out to be an emergency by spinning a convincing story. I was ANGRY!!! My plans went phut..I wanted to chill and here I was without a maid and soiled utensils waiting to be washed!
I had no choice so I stomped into the kitchen and decided to start with washing.…I was still angry so the utensils were thrown and they clanked and cluttered. As I was performing my task, I started thinking….A few thoughts that came to my mind……
Thank GOD it is a Sunday so I’m at home. What if I had to come back from work and do this?
Thank GOD I have free flowing water in my tap. What if I had to wash with water filled in buckets?
Thank GOD I don’t have to do this on every Sunday.
Thank GOD I do not have guests today.
Thank GOD I am physically fit to perform the tasks

And I could have gone on and on counting my blessings…..Suddenly the frown disappeared and I was smiling and humming away a popular song and actually enjoying the task. I completed all the remaining jobs with a positive frame of mind.
The outcome of this was ...The job was done much better than what the maid would have done.

Parents' Let's Reflect!!!

A 10 year boy studying in Std 4 who is generally very vibrant and chirpy came to my room today. Surprisingly, he looked very listless and unhappy. He was also trying to hold back his tears. It seemed that he wanted to share something with me but was hesitant. I offered him a glass of water and gave him the choice to share his thoughts when he was comfortable.

After some deliberations, he shared that he was disappointed since he was not chosen to participate in the story telling session. His teacher had rejected him over the other three children in the selection round. He strongly felt that his story had a moral as per the requirements and that he also narrated the story with ‘good’ expressions. The boy was visibly upset and indignant at having been rejected in the elimination rounds. In his anxiety he spoke very fast and it took me some effort to understand what he wanted to convey.

In order to ease the situation, I asked him to narrate the story that was rejected. He willingly obliged and I appreciated his story, diction and expressions. I then asked his opinion about his ‘opponents’X, Y &Z. How had they fared? By now, he had regained a little bit of his original spirit. His eyes lit up and he said ‘Very good’

'So how many marks (out of 10) would YOU give them?'

He said he would give X and Y full marks (10/10) and Z would get 9/10.

'How many marks would you give yourself?'

He thought for a while and said 8/10. There was silence. I thought he was retrospecting.

Then he fumbled

‘I know they should have been selected, their stories were good and they said it well’ I’m OK with that but………….but what? I asked.

But my mother will be very angry…. He again thought for a while and said…she will be sad…she will feel v bad.

Why? I was taken aback. ….

Because she will say that I practiced so much but still I was not chosen. Why did I not say it well? She helped me to learn and my father selected the story. He will be VERY ANGRY.

All emotions had come back as he probably visualised the scene at home after he broke the 'sad' news. So what will you do? I asked? ‘I will not tell her that I am not chosen’ he replied promptly…in a tone indicating that that was the only obvious thing to do……. ‘I can’t tell her’ he reiterated shaking his head with lines of worry on his forehead.

But is that the right thing to do? I prodded. Instantly he said ‘No’ and shrugged his shoulders as if to say I know its not the best thing to do but do I have a choice?

It so happened that ultimately he did participate in the story telling session since they required one more student but I was left with a few thoughts.

1) Children can be very logical…when explained in a logical manner, they understand and accept even if the verdict is against them.
2) Children learn to speak lies in order to avoid unpleasent situations and continue to speak lies if they are successful in their venture.
3) Children do not want to disappoint their parents…..or do not want to face their criticisms or snide remarks for not meeting THEIR expectations or fulfilling THEIR desires.

All of us well meaning parents….We need to WAKE UP

Media Menace!!!

Two little girls around 10 years of age came to me this afternoon. In fact one of them had brought the other girl who looked very frightened and worried. Her eyes were red and swollen indicating that she had been crying for long. She was full of emotions and could hardly speak. Her friend informed me that she had been crying all morning because she was convinced that the world would be coming to an end tonight at 10 PM. She had watched the news report on a popular TV channel last night! A few other children joined us and animatedly started describing what was going to happen tonight. One boy with all his wisdom declared that the earth would have big black holes which would suck all of us. Another imaginative child announced that the universe would be destroyed because the sun would land on the earth. There were lots of comments and counter comments passing back and forth. The influence of visuals, the media and the dramatic performance of the anchor of the TV program was so strong that it took me quite a while to convince her that there was no truth in what she saw or heard on the TV. When I probed a little she expressed that she was worried because her father returned from office at 10 in the night and what would happen if the hole in the earth sucked him? The poor girl was so worried that she hadn’t been able to concentrate in class. I suggested that she could reach home and call her father and ask him to reach home before 10 tonight . She had probably not thought about this possibility and her face broke into a smile showing her cute dimples. There was relief on her face and she went to class. After an hour or so she came back smiling and said ‘Thank you miss I am feeling so nice and I am not feeling scared any more’

I genuinely believed that the media –especially the Television has created a revolution in India. It has reached most of the villages and even illiterate people in the cities were aware of the happenings in the different parts of the country and the world. My maid would discuss the day’s important happenings with me as soon as she arrived at my house. She would emphatically give her opinion on every issue, would sympathize with the flood victims and whole heartedly criticize the authorities for handling the situation inefficiently. All this was the result of TV watching.Since I am not an avid T.V watcher, very often I would be ignorant about what she was talking about and hence had to just nod my head in agreement with a few stray general remarks. But I did get the latest news update from her. As such, I was very impressed with the power of the television and thought that it was playing an important role in influencing and empowering the masses. I was sure that it would play a very important role in India’s progress until I came across this girl today……
I had also watched the story of the ‘World’s biggest experiment’ the BIG BANG on India TV, CNN yesterday…so I was aware of the hype but had definitely not believed the anchor who I must say was highly dramatic both in words and actions and was trying his level best to convince his viewers. ..I can’t say if he himself was really convinced or he was a good actor. However he had succeeded in influencing the little impressionable minds.
I would have remained convinced about the positive impact of the television had I not encountered this little girl today. I wonder how many negative thoughts must have crossed her little head!!! I hope her father acceded to her request. It would surely have reduced her agony.