THREE QUOTES IMBIBED IN ME

 

Three quotes that touched me - imbibed in me - became the guiding principles in my life. 

I tried to put that into the lives of my wife and sons. No idea how far I have succeeded. 

About my wife. She had been brought up by her parents well.

Only thing was, she was never allowed to evolve herself. The parents always maintained, she was incapable without their interception and involvement.. When we became one, I could understand that because my upbringing was similar. Not blaming anyone as it was the practice across most of the families, those days

I made an effort to release her from that bondage. The transformation was electric. She discovered herself

Back to the quotes

One

Be the best wherever you are

Abraham Lincoln 

Once, my sweeper said he was sad he was only a sweeper. I told him it was because he had let go the opportunities that came his way. Showed him the quote. Told him to be the best sweeper first. And see the rest. He did as suggested. 

Later I heard, he became a clerk. - of course I had done my best in equipping him with the right tools

Two

The Ford Motors, when they started off at Maramalainagar, had inscribed six words at the most visible place in the facility.

CAN DO

WILL DO

MUST DO

I started thinking

CAN DO

Can do meant, you can, but  you will not do it

WILL DO

Will do meant, you will, but you may or may not do it and even if you do it, you will do it at your own sweet little time and that will be equivalent to nothing better than a negative outcome

MUST DO

Must do is the phase where you  finally decide you have to do it.

You have no way out.

You accomplish

In fact you force yourself to go after the seemingly impossible and perform to the fullest, at times stretching the elasticity to almost close to breaking point.

You win.

But the winners never gloat over the stupendous achievement.

They go after the next challenge waiting in the line.

That's MUST DO for you

Three

 I found it in a book Ammachi was reading. She was a voracious reader. Lila's mother. A phenomenal dental surgeon.

The book was from the Mills and Boon stable.

Those days people used to comment derisively of the Mills and Boon books and its lakhs and lakhs of women admirers.

But a casual glance was the revelation of my life

"TWO LOOK THROUGH THE SAME BARS,

ONE SEES MUD,

ONE STARS."

It startled me. 

I introspected.

I could see that I was the one who saw MUD always.

I understood people around me had similar views. Look for the MUD was the common criteria those days.

When you are born these are not in you. Later as you grow up, the family, the people around you and the environment itself make you subscribe and conform to the negativity. It's impossible to counter that. If ever you attempt it you are ridiculed and labelled REBEL. 

Rebels are not allowed to reach anywhere in the society.

Safest is to remain subservient

But I started to attempt to correct myself. Everything has to begin at home. I can't assert I have succeeded wholly, but I can affirm there has been a partial amendment to my life, in my life. 

I often wonder where I would have been if what has happened to me had occurred at the very beginning.

But I have discovered that to become what I am I had to be put through the paces I have been through.

You can't run away from whatever that had been preordained.

But I now try to go by the six simple words.

SEE THE STARS, NOT THE MUD

I can't say I am an outright success. But it doesn't prevent me from trying to be that