death

this one was great to read. its by kahlil gibran. 

On Death

From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

living life to the fullest

I read this article and felt it might be good to publish it here. Read on to steps on living life to the fullest.

1. Seize each day. Live each day as if it's your last. Leave the past behind and do not anticipate the future. Be present to enjoy the moment.
2. Be adventurous. Explore, live on the edge a little and embrace new challenges. Visit new places with your loved ones. Take the road less traveled.
3. Keep a journal. Record your accomplishments as well as your delights. Take time to reflect on what has been previously written. Be an inspiration to yourself and others.
4. Love yourself. Focus on your inner and outer beauty to see the same in others. Acceptance comes from within.
5. Love others. Love the ones who treat you right. Forget about the ones who dont. Life is too precious to be wasted on waiting for love.
6. Accept everyone. Be kind and courteous. Enjoy the company of others. Acknowledge their goodness rather than the differences in their beliefs.
7. Find purpose in life. Be selfless in service to others. Begin with your neighbor. Do charitable service outside of your immediate community as well.
8. Be realistic. Set attainable goals according to your abilities and talents. Consider each effort to be an attainment. Achieve one step before the other towards stability and security.
9. Seek balance. Understand the night and day, back and forth, good and bad in all things. Focus on good thoughts and good things will happen.
10. Maintain control. Be responsible for your actions and inactions. Be true to yourself. Maintain a personal code in the situation at hand. Find common ground.
11. Listen to your heart and soul. Listen for advice, but be confident in making your own decision. Use your instinct.
12. Clear your mind. Rituals of yoga, meditation and tai chi will replenish and rejuvenate your soul to focus more clearly on serenity and happiness.
13. Be carefree. Desires, obsessions and possessions possess you. Free yourself of inhibitions. Make an active decision to have simple daily needs.
14. Laugh. Laughter is the best medicine. It releases endorphins and promotes longevity. Inner joy is beautiful!
15. Be flexible. Accept change as a positive thing in life. At times, go with the flow that is before you.
16. List a few daily goals. Meet a new friend, swim at the lake or walk in the park. Enhance your day and initiate fun!
17. Appreciate the little things. Take a walk around your community to experience the wonder in a way that you have never experienced it before.
18. Accept death. Pondering death brings appreciation to life. Take time to appreciate the expanse and beauty of your life and our earth. Let go peacefully.

i want

the elections are over. the drama, high fever, the razzmatazz and the hollow promises have gone by. the actors have done their part and some of them have been awarded with a chance to change the way we take our country ahead. the spending for success to win a seat in parliament has collectively touched above extraordinary limits. have we wondered where this kind of money is generated from and why are we not raising our voices against this kind of monstrous wastage of money.

the cost of elections to the public for elections in 1999 was 888 crore and above 1000 crore in 2004. we are still to receive the audited reports of the cost of election 2009. consider this amount from the amount spent in 1967 which was just 1.80 crores. and surely we can all scratch our heads as to where this is all leading to.

an interesting aspect of the election 2009 was that most of the candidates were not talking about the global recession or the spiralling interest rates, the race to survive by our country men...none of these were spoken about at the high pitched speeches across india. what was spoken was a dialect in hate politics. candidates washing each others dirty linen in public. the power wrestle was pathetic and some of us must have also laughed at the way these people went about the campaign. The same jokers who stalled the parliament on the issue of the Nuclear deal seemed to have completely forgotten about it at the election.

The power situation, global warming, water shortage, the market trends...none of these took importance. What took importance was the CPM candidate bad mouthing the Janata Dal...the congress teasing the inparty fight of the CPM. and the CPM taking pot shots at each other.

In the end however the public shouted back at all these jokers. I for one believe that most of us used our brains before voting. may the best man win. and now i pray that some sanity will prevail and good governance can be a hope. maybe i am speaking too soon. 

Jai Hind

My grandmother - Amma

Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete.  ~Marcy DeMaree

I read these lines in a quote and realised how true it is when I remember Amma. Its now two years since she's gone leaving a huge space in our lives. she died in my arms in a very peaceful way. 

when i think of amma, i remember how much care she took "not to be a trouble for anyone". she had left behind a sum of money to even take care of the expenses of her death ceremonies. a fiercely independent person, she was the third wife to my grandfather. he died when her children were just a few years old. 

she took matters in to her own hands, ensured that all her three daughters were sent to boardings and given the finest education while she saved every penny she had to  give them a wonderful life with the maximum security.

i remember going to visit her at erumely in the village where she was living alone. she would be waiting at the verandah above the gate and i am sure that she must have been there waiting for us for hours. holidays at erumely were special, with lots of fun and amazing food and all the love that amma would shower on us. the goodbyes were always sad. she would hand us some pocket money, a lot of advise on saving and spending wisely and a promise to come back whenever we could.

its not easy to live life by her standards. even at the age of 60 i remember her washing her own clothes, sweeping her front yard free of all leaves, maintaining her garden, managing the accounts of the plantations and yet relaxed, peaceful and smiling.

i miss you amma. i remember your words and the promises i made. i pass on the stories you told me to my daughter zahibaa and son zohrab and keep telling them to know what a fine lady you were and the strength you had to live life on your terms even when you died.

i will always love you and cherish the memories you gave us. you are in my heart always.

a new kind of health insurance

Imagine this...

An insurance card that lets you avail all medical services for FREE!.

Hmmmm.

I am imaginging it like this.

I select ICICI Lombard health insurance for myself and my family for Rs.2 lacs.

The premium is Rs.5000/-

Now, I can select the services insurance.

An additional Rs.500/-for Free medicines 

An additional Rs.300/- for Free Ambulance service

An additional Rs.320/- for Free Diagnostic tests

and so on...the list goes on.

Why is it that none of the insurance companies offers servicee insurance.

If they can take up health insurance, this is also possible.

My imagination takes on colour when I see the State Health department announcing 

This Service Insurance policy and making it compulsory for all residents of Kerala.

They can subsidise rates and ensure that all people have healthcare insurance and health care service insurance maybe at a fraction of the cost that private insurance agencies take from us.

When that happens I will believe that the Health Department is concerned about the people.

Sameer

the government and our health

Watched a news channel relating the french health system and was amazed at the seriousness and care they give to the health of their citizens. 

The French national healthcare system takes care of most part of the healthcare cost, subsidises it and the rest is taken care of by insurance companies. The result is that a patient getting critical care and spending about 10 days in a deluxe payward room pays a maximum of $200(about Rs.9000/-) which is cheaper than in a country like India.

And whats more, most of the times you don't pay anything when you are filling out a prescription at a drug store. 

Incredible. Thats what comes out of an efficient and futuristic government who cares about their people. The French national healthcare system ensures this for any resident national french citizen. One might wonder whether this means that salaries of doctors in France are low. But that is not the case. French doctors are some of the most highly paid in the world drawing  approximately Rs. 2 to 4 lacs per annum.

This government managed care system is rated as one of the best in the world not just because of its quality but because it is also available to just about every man, woman and child residing in France. 

The emergency care system is managed by doctors themselves. When a call comes in, the doctor discusses the problem and scrutinises the issue. They are able to reduce unwanted emergency situations and usage of emergency staff by as much as 50% because of this making it very cost effective. It is notable that there aare no paramedics in ambulances, but doctors. this ensures that the diagnosis is done mid way to the hospital saving time, cost and most important...patient lives.

The other part of French healthcare system is the private SOS care which ensures doctor visits at home at a predetermined interval or in other situations where patients cannot visit hospitals. This ensures better health and less travel to hospitals unless in an emergency. 

India is a developing country, yet our healthcare management has a long way to go. It is time we took stock of our situation. Do write in with your comments and views. We, at Lifelines are creating a project report that will be handed over to our health minister to implement. 

I know we have a long way to go and tons of effort to change our system and the government, but well, a step in the right direction is worth it even if its a tiny step.

Together we can do it.

Reinventing yourself

Its recession time. And its knocking at all our doors. Its affecting all of us in some way or the other. Some of us have lost jobs...some have had salary cuts...some have seen lean business revenue... In a way its also a fad. Everyone's using this as an excuse to cut the flab. Sure, the U.S. economy is in recession, but that does not mean that India needs to be too.

Whatever it is, even if you have not yet been affected, brace yourself...cause its soon going to come and embrace you too in some way or the other. In a way, its not too bad if we understand and react in advance. So dig in, and prepare for the battle ahead. The recession is just an automatic system letting us know that we have ravaged the limits of business...lifestyles...of life itself and its telling us to alter.

We have plundered the earth, its resources and strained the economy to get closer to what we think is luxury. Even when the signs were upon us...power cuts, water shortage, higher bills... we still refused to accept. In a way, its like the tower of Babel. Up until this point in the Bible, the whole world had one language - one common speech for all people. Man built the tower to reach the heavens and God destroyed it and punished them all by scattering them. God confused their language, causing them to speak different languages so they would not understand each other. But well, you know us. We reinvented ourselves and now here we are. We never give up!

Today, ...right now...start reinventing. Life is about to change. I read somewhere about scientists researching how to reduce waste even to the extent of the plastic that we dispose in a toothbrush. Remember to recycle...reorganise...redevelop ideas...in short ...reinvent.

Build up your skill sets(what you are good at/what people recognise you for) and get accepted for that. Be a super skilled, specialist in whatever you are. Find ways to do whatever you are best at in a better way. Be superman. And nobody's gonna take your job away. Who knows, this recession might just help you a few notches up the career ladder

Find innovative ways to sell yourself...and to be remembered always. Teachers are now conducting virtual classes online...and one of them I believe has started classes by taking up a time slot on an FM radio station. Consultants are being called in and work is being outsourced. The service industry is seeing major upheavals. Offices are going lean and mean. Real estate has redesigned itself with nano flats. The car is going NANO.

Get off the tower of Babel. Discover yourself as a new avataar. The name of the game is Reinvent! And that is not a once in a lifetime job. You need to do that everyday, maybe every hour. Wake up and decide just who you want to be this day...Inspirational?... Freedom?... Responsibility? ... Power?... Love?

A new world awaits you. Roll up your sleeves and get to work.