Sense and Sensitivity

What does PubG, Rehman's music, Master Chef, a sweater and a perfume have in common?

Nothing?

Think again!

Still nothing?

Okay! I was just trying to avoid a mundane question: what do you think is the only thing that connects us to the world around us? Hmm... not so mundane! I suggest you stop reading a while and try to answer that.

Let's take some more hints: light, darkness, garbage dump, air conditioning, cool cake, car horn, coffee...

Okay! So it's our sense organs. Just think about it. How else would you even know anything about the world without them?

Yet, when is the last time you really, actually used all, some or any one of them? Oh! What am I talking about? Don't we use them all the time?

Okay, tell me what was the last thing you ate before reading this and what it tasted like.

Name any ten things you see around you right now and think about how many of them you noticed just now.

How's the temperature now - are you in a sweater or AC or don't feel like either?

Name any five sounds you hear right now. Yes, even the whirrrr of the fan or the dripping of the tap.

Find something to smell. How was the odour? Good or bad?

Now do you know what I mean?

Many centuries ago, these sense organs were all that we had to keep us alive. Yes, literally! Just think about it! The roar of a wild animal, the rumble of clouds, an approaching army, the smell of burning, biting cold, one could be safe from any of these only by using one's senses. They preserved life!

What about now? We come to know about all these things from our mobile phone and other devices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) today even adjusts your AC temperature and the volume of your TV as per your need. So what role do our sense organs play today?

And all the while we watch anything on any kind of screen, we say to ourselves that we aren't sensitive to the things we watch, follow or play; that we 'follow' all these things just for fun and they don't affect us in any way! Several youngsters I spoke to said the same thing about PubG: all that violence and bloodshed doesn't have any impact on them.

When we fully understand that we are aware of this world only through our senses, that we are sensitive  to them, and then feed these same senses (eyes & ears in particular) all this virtual stuff constantly, day and night, then how in the world can we be so sure that they don't impact us?

All of us are becoming numb to everything around us as we spiral down to loneliness and self-pity. Stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal behavior are at an all time high! If this sensitivity to life's challenges is not a danger to our lives, then what is?

SENSES TO THE RESCUE!
Just like the old times, even now, our sense organs are there with us to save our lives. But this can happen only when we use them, call them for help and acknowledge their presence and help.

Everytime I feel down and low, I simply become still and feel my immediate surroundings with all my senses. I watch the colours and shapes of things around me, listen to the tick tock of my clock, feel the heat or cold on my face, hands and feet, smell random objects and recall the taste of my favorite foods. And I suddenly feel ALIVE! As if everything is alright, everyone is good, every moment is a gift of the Creator!

Why don't you just try that? The following poem beautifully captures the sense of listening sensitively:

Listen to the deep murmurs of your heart
Decipher their words, they may mean something to you
Listen to the tiny voice of your conscience
At least let it have its say, then decide for yourself
Listen to your breath as it rushes in and out
Make it deeper till it builds up into a sigh of content
Listen to the throbbing of blood and feel it
Coursing through the body making you feel alive
Listen to the ticks and pops of muscle
When you move around after hours of sleep
Listen to the scratching sound on your head
When you pass your fingers through your hair
Listen to the sniff, the parting of lips
Do you have to show that subtle displeasure?

Listen to the tap of your feet on the floor
As you hurry along with daily chores
Listen to the creaking of that staircase
Notice which step makes the loudest sound
Listen to the water gushing out the tap
Play with your fingers and change its tune
Listen to the pots and pans and plates
See if you can make them fall into a rhythm
Listen to the drawing of the curtain in the hallway
Draw it again, see if it sounds the same
Listen to the opening and closing of doors around
Guess if someone's getting in or out
Listen to shutters of garages nearby
Count the number of cars starting on their way

Listen to the wind swishing around your face
As you rush to work or school or home
Listen to the clamour of footfall on the sidewalk
As everyone gets on with his business
Listen to the voices of all these people
And pay attention to how they differ
Listen to the car, bus, train or whatever
Think of where they might be headed
Listen to the engine, escalator, automatic door
Wonder how someone got the idea of inventing them
Listen to the typing or clicking or switching
Wait for the ping that follows a given command
Listen to the swiveling chairs, tapping pens, fluttering paper
As everyone gets to work, too busy to talk

The trouble with us today is that
We have completely ceased to listen
Hence our minds are clouded with worries
Making it burdensome to think clearly
There's so much in our world worth listening to
And not a moment is passed without something beautiful

Listen.... it's worth it!

Knowledge and Wisdom

🧨 -What is this?
-A lighted cracker ready to go off.
-Do you know how to burst it?
-Of course!
-Come on! Burst it right now!
-What? But we're in class!

Hmm... so you don't burst crackers in class! You do know how to burst them. That's knowledge. 👩‍🎨

You are conscious about not bursting them in class. That's wisdom 🤴

Going to more common things around us in our lives, there are many things we know how to do. Today knowledge is everywhere waiting for takers.

Long back, we had to look hard for any bit of knowledge we wanted. Else, we had to depend on the eternal knowledge of family and friends. I still remember the four different ways of making roti taught to me as "the best way" or "the most correct way"! Today kids learn that from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. 🤭

  Strangely, even wisdom is lying in wait for its takers, but there is hardly anyone interested in getting it. That's why any Google search is full of 'How to...' while very few people ask 'Why to...', 'Why not to...', 'When to...', 'When not to...', and several other such questions. 😑

  We know how to talk, read, write, watch videos, buy things and so on. That's knowledge.

   Do we know when not to talk, what not to read, where not to write, what not to watch, which things not to buy and so on? Think about it, because that's wisdom. And it's there, somewhere within everyone of us. We just need to keep it within reach and use it often.

  Now, how to use wisdom? Funny how we need knowledge about wisdom! But then, how would we start doing anything without knowing how to do it?😊

There's the good old URGENT & IMPORTANT matrix: https://youtu.be/tT89OZ7TNwc

Then there's a simple question we should ask ourselves everytime we begin doing something.
IS THIS THE RIGHT THING TO DO? Does it hurt or harm me or anyone else? What do I gain? What do I lose? Is it alright to lose that? Yes? No? What are my reasons for doing this? Is this the right time, place, person?

Thinking about so many things may seem difficult or tedious but ultimately it becomes a habit: and imagine what we can achieve if being wise becomes a habit!🤩


  

Life or Strife?

 Life or strife?

Scene: VELS session
Characters: Me & a class of erratic teenagers
Me: So now you tell me. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Boy 1: (looks at me blank faced)
Girl 1: Maybe working in people's homes
Boy 2: How do we know if I'd even be alive?

(You would say that had me. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't answer that. No please... you're mistaken)

I drew two stick people on the blackboard and labelled them A & B.

Me: This is person A, who worked hard, made a name, became successful and is now 22. Person A may die today. We don't know.
Here's person B, at 85 years of age, sitting on an old cot in a run down house, having done nothing to make life worthwhile, telling us that thinking about the next five years is a waste as nobody knows if we shall be alive.
What's more frightening? Being A or B?
All those erratic teenagers: Person B
Me: And who do you want to become?
All: Person A

Oxford Dictionary:

life
/lʌɪf/
the condition that distinguishes animals from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth and continual change 

strife
/strʌɪf/
noun
angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict.

Take a deep breath. Feel the oxygen course through your body. Life! The very definition of life includes growth and change. And the very definition of strife includes conflict. What would you like to go with?

I shall end this blog with a poem that beautifully captures the give and take between life and strife. Do leave your comments 👍

Life has a way of teaching lessons 🎭
Now it's upon us to realize
That the favourite teacher at school 👩‍🏫
Was actually extremely intolerant
When it came to how hard we worked 🏃‍♂️

Life has a way of burning ropes 🧨
Now it's upon us to realize
That the ropes we choose to hold on to🧶
Might actually be keeping us away🧗‍♀️
From firmer ground just inches below 🏕

Life has a way of flinging dirt👎
Now it's upon us to realize
That the most precious treasures lay💰
Under several feet of dirt and dust🏜
And hands must be dirtied to get to them🧹⛏

Life has a way of causing falls 🏂
Now it's upon us to realize
That the strongest fortress is built 🧱
With the best foundation which
Keeps away humiliation and disgrace🤴

Life has a way of handing us pain😑
Now it's upon us to realize
That the very beginning of life 🤰
Involved a lot of pain and pain 👶
Means that we are born and growing👵

Life has a way of crushing dreams 😖
Now it's upon us to realize
That the best of fragrances are derived🎉
From crushing the most beautiful flowers 🌺
And squeezing out all they have🌸

Life has a way of doing things 👨‍🔧
Now it's upon us to realize
That we decide what we do with it 👨‍🎨
It's prudent to live it to the fullest 🧚‍♂️
And not to dwell on what it does to us🙇‍♀️

Value Education and Life Skills

 Hello and welcome to my blog on Value Education and Life Skills. 

  It's only appropriate that you first knew something about me.

 I'm a High School English and Social Studies teacher since the last twenty years.

I've been a Master Trainer for the Intel Teach to the Future program 

An academic counselor for Kidzee Preschool  

 Master Trainer for Zea Learn Pre Primary Teacher Training Program

 I've been holding Value Education and Life Skills sessions for teenagers since the last few years, albeit without any formal training or qualification. 

However, I recently took Life Coach Certification Program from Udemy and successfully completed it.

My idea is to spread awareness about the importance of Life Skills in the lives of youngsters today.

I hope to make my posts more interesting and more enjoyable as well as informative in future.