The Bright Sunshine

Good Morning!! Aren't these wonderful words? In fact, these might be the first two words your loved ones get to hear from you every morning. And so does the rest of your universe - colleagues, friends and customers. On the flip side, these also are the first words you get to hear from them.

The Joy of Being Welcomed
The big 'checkered-floor' training room on the 2nd floor was full of computers that were arranged along its three sides. A projector lay in the middle facing the fourth. For next one month, this would be the seating and training area for a batch of 30+ young professionals raring to dive into the corporate world. And I just happened to be one among them. 

On our very first day, as I swung open the door, a brisk animated voice greeted me from the far end of the room. "Good Morning, Vinod". It caught me completely unaware (or rather like a deer in front of the headlights). It was so unique and invigorating simply due to its joyful tone. Somewhat startled, I looked up in its direction to spot the person. It was Sanil, Sanil Pillai, with a twinkle in his eyes that were fixed on me. He had a big smile on his face while his fingers continued playing with the keys.

I had never been 'accorded' such a welcome-greeting before to a day in my life. I really didn't know how to react and could barely muster a soft response. It took me few days to get used to such an energetic and lively 'welcome'. For next one year, until he quit, Sanil would welcome everyone with the same zeal and zest. But by then, it had rubbed on me too. The fact that I remember the moment even after a decade and a half shows how much it has impacted me. Besides, it also pushed me to respond with equal zest.

Bright Sunshine 
Have you ever observed HOW do you greet another person into a new day? A day of their life that they are about to spend with you? 

Do you greet them with a DRY welcome - engrossed in your preoccupation, no smile, no eye-contact and the words stretching themselves hard to reach the person? OR Do you greet them with a WARM welcome - shine in your eyes, a smile on the face and exuding LIFE. Does your "Good Morning" play like a subdued-note OR sounds like a chime? Does the tone of your voice cheer them up? Does it fill them with energy and excitement? 

If you still don't know then just think about this - How different is your "Good Morning" from your "Good Night"?

Bright Sunshine - that's what "Good Morning" stands for. Wish them abundance of it. With your complete presence! The way Sanil does!! Until next morning!!!

Out of Order Show

The band struck the chords and drums to tune up and their beats reverberated briefly through the auditorium. We were at the fag end of our marathon half-day session. The starving crowd, which had already queued itself next to the dinner tables, turned their heads in anticipation. They, however, were disappointed as no sound bite followed for next few minutes. As the minutes ticked by, there were occasional guitar, drums, keyboard beats and they were largely ignored. The wait was appearing to be agonizingly long and few persons had already left.

At last, the band played. And what a show it turned out to be! For next 30 minutes, they belted out one hit after another sending shivers down everyone's spines. They captivated their small audience and held them spellbound. The effect probably was magnified due to smaller size of the auditorium and familiar faces in the crowd and the band. It felt like being in a college fest after ages.

Later that night, while driving back home, I couldn't resist thinking about "The Band". They had a very peculiar name – Out of Order Band. If this was what Out-of-Order meant then I was for it every single moment of my life.

Noise or Music?

A band, in essence, produces sound that sounds like phenomenal music because it is produced in a certain pattern and order. How can they do it? Because its members understand and complement each other. They come together to play in unison, not in isolation. They do not compete with each other and neither any one plays to outdo the rest. Every member acknowledges and respects the contribution of others. Occasionally and intentionally, they allow one of them to take over and hog the limelight for a while. Why? Because that's what the music demands sometimes in order to propel the audience experience and that member to a higher level. And what do other members do? They simply raise themselves up to meet and match them all in that higher orbit. This is one of the ways how tempo is built. At its peak, it is beyond words and can only be experienced.

The Sounds of Life

Yes, life mirrors a musical band. Whether its sound bites seem like music or noise is controlled by us. What instruments and how many does your band require is decided by you. After all, it is your band.

In general, the instruments we struggle to synchronize across would fall under these 4 categories (rather they are the instruments): Personal, Professional, Family and Social.

We must recognize and respect contribution of our band members and ensure they play in unison. If they compete with each other every single moment, you will only feel stress and hear noise. Of course occasionally one or the other will hog the limelight for a while. Only for a while! Because if you allow one member to play for far too long, you run the risk of ruining the show. Your very own "SHOW"!!

The Selfish Faith

Has your GOD ever spoken to you? Really really spoke? What if HE could utter words, just like you? What would happen? 

The Bitter Truth

A person returning from temple, with smeared forehead and a small copper vessel in hand, was caught in a 4-way traffic junction. With no traffic signal and cop in sight, motorists were having a field day from all directions. When the devotee dared to cross this maze, a car driver blared the horn almost tripping him. He lost composure and started moving frantically back and forth. If he steps forward to cross, the driver in front blares again to dare not cross. Now if he retreats, he finds no space since the vehicle behind him has already inched ahead. So he hops further along the road to another empty passage and yet another driver forces his retreat. This ruthless game almost sucked the life out of him. After 15-20 nightmarish seconds, he eventually regained composure and managed to cross somehow. Phew!!

Of course all these motorists would have prayed to their respective Gods before leaving homes. In fact, many of them may even have God 'parked' permanently on their dashboards. But they failed to notice HIM since a convenient, fearful and selfish belief does not lead to logically, or even humanely, expected behavior.

Play the Game

Imagine yourself as an independent observer who is observing a group of persons harboring three distinct mindsets:

a. A subset of them is indifferent to you. They know that they have to fend for themselves anyway. 

b. A subset of them is fearful of your presence. Their true self is revealed when you are not present.

c. A subset of them love your existence. They are fond of you and, therefore, find you everywhere. 

Now if you are asked to arrange them in the order of your admiration, what would be your pick? If set (b) gravitates towards the bottom then that is because rarely someone likes such inconsistent individuals. They lack something very basic - "Integrity". They are neither true to you nor to themselves. They wear masks. They deceive.

God, an independent observer like you, must be staring constantly at these three sets. No surprise to realize which set do most of us belong to.

The Genie of God

For us, God is like a Genie. Confined to our homes and places of worship, HE appears only when summoned at a particular time everyday to listen to the list of our wishes pertaining just to us and near/dear ones. 

Though we believe HE resides in our hearts and every being but that's exactly the place where we do not want HIM to be. Instead we carry HIM along on the dashboard of cars, our wallets or even around necks and wrists conveniently failing to notice HIM in billions of beings surrounding us. Even when we pray or beg HIM, we look at HIM outside us. The truth is we look for HIM ONLY in inanimate objects. Why? Because they cannot speak! If they could then we would have been rendered speechless by our very own actions. For us, God lived in the PAST. 

The Reason for Belief

Ever wondered why do you believe in God? More importantly, would you still have faith in HIM if he was believed to fulfill none of your wishes? If still yes then WHY? If out of love for HIM then why ignore billions of HIS forms? The fact is Fear rules our Conditioned Mind and Heart. Our faith is convenient, fearful and selfish.

Just behold your SELF and peek within to get your answer. May be you can catch a glimpse of HIM too!!