Hello, friend. I begin the eleventh volume (the second in
the newsletter’s new home) by thanking our Guest Editor Mohan Ramamoorthy for
putting together the tenth volume with such finesse. He is our first Guest
Editor, but he won’t be the last. Over the next few months, I will request more
and more talented/awesome/inspiring people to take over and deliver. If you
want to be one of them, all you need to do is ask. This is your initiative.
Feel free to claim the driver’s seat… whenever.
News from the public domain
Fears are stories
that teach us
For long, I’ve advocated the idea that our fears can be our
greatest teachers. And the bigger our fears, the larger our learning.
In this lovely
TED talk, writer Karen Thompson Walker endorses this view. For those too
busy to watch the video, here are the highlights:
- Human beings are hardwired to be optimistic.
- There seems to be a strong link between fear and creativity. Those unable to let go of vividly imagined childhood fears grow up to create masterpieces in their respective fields. Apparently that’s what Darwin and Bronte did with their fears.
- Fears are stories that we create and embellish with characters, plot etc. Having made our fears exciting, we now want to know what will happen next. And the suspense makes our fears as intriguing as Life itself.
- Then comes the question: which stories do we respond to and which do we let go of? In other words, which fears are teachers and which are incidental? That’s for each of us to discover in our own ways.
I myself was quite moved by the real life anecdote of
shipwrecked sailors. Can one extrapolate and state that their worst fears came
true even though they choose an alternative that was supposed to eliminate that
very fear? Well, we may never crack that code, but it sure is fodder for
thought.
Which brings us to our next story.
Fodder banks are
alleviating Himalayan poverty
The gorgeous beauty of the Himalayas can sometimes mask the
fact that people here face uphill struggles (pun intended). For instance,
during the scarce winter months, women have to trudge wearisome distances to
find fodder for their livestock. Quite often, they fall during their climbs.
Sometimes, their injuries prove to be fatal.
Dr Shalini Dhyani decided to address the need for yearlong
availability of fodder by making use of community wasteland. These “fodder
banks” are doing well, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the scientific
and local communities, as described in this brief
report. Furthermore, due to apt choice of fodder species, the livestock are
delivering higher lactation yields.
Today, the local Mahila Mangal Dals (Women’s Welfare groups)
have become caretakers of the fodder banks. They are building sustainability
into this model, just as their counterparts elsewhere did with microfinance.
And, of course, women no longer have to spend half their day
in accumulating fodder whilst risking life and limb.
Young doctors enhance Wikipedia
Do you know that Wikipedia is the Numero Uno source of health
information on the web? That being the case, shouldn’t the info out there be
totally accurate? Well, there’s good news. The health info on Wikipedia is
getting more accurate because fourth year med students have
been asked to edit the most read health-related articles. This initiative
is being spearheaded by Dr Amin Azzam, a professor in University of California,
San Francisco.
Riot-hit Muslims find
solace in Hindu village
In September last year, when people elsewhere in
Muzzafarnagar were losing their heads and embracing communal hatred, the
villagers of Palda had other ideas. At the height of that frenzy, 450 riot-hit Muslim families found a safe
haven in this predominantly Hindu village. Palda villagers, in fact, fought off
invading hordes of bloodthirsty mobsters. Is it any wonder, then, that these
Muslim families now want to settle down in Palda and begin life anew? Do read this
Telegraph report for the whole story.
In a geography mired in divisive politics, a small oasis of
hope – which is what Palda is – might trigger an avalanche effect. Agree?
A page from my Diary
Balance and nirvana
This week, I’d like to share a personal anecdote. My
daughter learnt to bicycle last week. And I stood proudly beside her when she did
so. Notice my choice of words. I’m not saying that I taught her bicycling.
The secret in bicycling is balance. And balance can never be
taught. It can only be learnt. So the parent running alongside the bicycle,
holding on to the seat, shouting words of encouragement is merely someone
facilitating an ageless phenomenon. The phenomenon by which each succeeding
generation replicates the skills of the previous – as a precursor to expanding the
skill set. This is but a small glimpse at how civilized human beings practice
evolution, as eventually advocated by Nature.
To me, the whole “let’s teach bicycling to the kid” exercise
is an apt metaphor for parenthood itself. Don’t we often take our role as
parents too seriously and then fret endlessly about the future of our children?
But the bicycling metaphor perhaps teaches us that we are
merely caretakers of life. For a few brief, glorious years, we are asked to
ensure the welfare of amazing human beings whom we call children. For a
slightly longer duration, we are asked to take care of ourselves. In other
words, we spend some time being the maintenance crew of walking-talking
chemical reactors. That’s all.
I think building this perception allows us to take ourselves
less seriously. We can relax, chill out and even aspire to experience a brief
glimpse of nirvana. If that is at all possible.
Like balance, nirvana too cannot be taught. The good news is that it seems to be up for grabs. And what we so ardently desire comes to us at the end of a rather challenging but highly fulfilling journey.
In conclusion
As always, do write in with story ideas and personal
contributions. You can reach us at positivityweekly@gmail.com
Till next week, may the Nirvana be with you. :).
For the previous volume of Positivity Weekly, please click
here.
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