Expansion of Idea - Making The Best Of life

We have got into the habit of complaining and grumbling about our problems and difficulties. Instead of facing our problems and finding solution for it, what we do is whine over our troubles. By doing so we can never achieve any solution to the problem we face or never get any success out of our life.

Life is mean at times. But the best that we can do about it is face it with all our might and try to make the best of it. When we try to find solutions instead of crying and whining, we realize that life is not that bad at all. And in all that meanness which life throws at us, we can find those moments of joy and happiness which can make life worth living and enjoying. It is all about the attitude with which we approach life. As they say -

"However mean your life is,

meet it and live it;

do not shun it and

call it hard names."

Why Cognitive Skills Are Important For Children

The memory of a person has an ability to learn and process new information. This capacity to adapt and understand new things which could include a high level of perception to certain information or understanding written data, could vary from person to person. Such an ability to interpret and process certain notion is termed as Cognitive Skill. Every individual has his or her own level of capacity to cognitive functioning which usually develops during the childhood. At an early age children are more adaptive in learning new skills and functions. As compared to an adult, a child can absorb and analyze information to greater levels. And hence learning to improve cognitive skills for children is very important at an early age.

Six Important Cognitive Skills

- Memory.

- Attention.

- Processing.

- Perception.

- Mobility.

- Logic and Reasoning.

Need of Cognitive Skills for Children

In today's competitive world nothing is easy. Not even for children! The competition starts right at the school level and continues to rise every single level. Smart kids make their way through but certain children cannot always work up their way to the top. This is where the development of cognitive skills for children comes handy. The development of cognitive skills not only helps in a child's progress but it also improves other key areas pertaining to his or her academics such as  learning, attention span, memory  and perception. A child with improved cognitive skills can grasp and comprehend way better than other children. And this evaluation of information by a child works in a positive manner in his or her  overall development.

Teaching Cognitive Skills to Children

Every parent dreams about their child's excellent academic and social growth. They wish their child grow smarter and do well in his life. As every plant needs regular dose of water, sunlight and good care to grow, so does children. Certain cognitive skills such as perception, concentration, memory, logical thinking, and thought process needs proper learning as these skills need to be taught.  Every single parent out there should be aware of this fact that cognitive skills need to be 'taught' . For example, a child may pay attention in the class but still be unable to focus or concentrate on the words he is been taught. And concentration is one of the important cognitive skill a child needs to learn to perform well academically.

In the similar manner, no progress could be achieved from a child who has problem in recalling what he had learnt. If a child has a habit of forgetting what is been taught to him, then it is important to work in this area by teaching cognitive skills which would benefit  in improving his memory.  Not just teachers but even parents need to play an important role in this matter. At an early age children can learn these cognitive skills and absorb way better than adults. And hence it is important to empower a child to grow smarter by sharpening his cognitive skills.

Family Tree Poem by Ron Tranmer

I came across this poem on family tree which is inspirational and beautiful. It touches the chord and makes you smile.

 Family Tree Poem

      - By Ron Tranmer

There's love within our family tree

and happiness abounds.

It's roots are deeply planted

in rich and fertile ground.

We enjoy the rays of sunlight,

and endure the winds and rain.

And when a leaf falls from our tree,

together we share the pain.

God gave us earthly families

and never did intend,

that bonds of love built on earth,

upon our death would end.

For when our life is over

and from earth our souls will flee.

one by one, leaf by leaf

we will rejoin our family tree.

Finest Example of Presence of Mind - Whistler in the Class

Presence of mind is a state of mind where one can stay calm and yet manage to deliver. Sharing one of the story from the net that relates to it. The tile of this story is 'Whistler in the Class'!

A Professor started his class on a very serious topic. The moment he turned towards the blackboard, one of the students whistled. He turned, looked at the class and asked the whistler's name. No one answered.

The Professor peacefully kept the Pen in his pocket saying: "Lecture ends here. I'll tell you a story to utilize the remaining time". Everyone became interested. "Yesterday night I tried hard to sleep, but it was miles away from my eyes, so I thought I'd better get petrol in my car, which will save my time next morning and might induce sleep. After having my tank full, I started roaming in that area, enjoying the peace of a traffic free ride. Suddenly, in the corner I saw a girl who was as young and beautiful as the clothes she was wearing. Out of courtesy, I turned my car towards her and asked if I may be of any help. She asked me if I could drop her to her home, she'll be very obliged, to which I agreed.

She sat in the front seat with me. We started talking, and to my amazement she was very intelligent, had control on many topics which many youngsters don't. When we reached her address, she admitted my courteous nature and behavior and accepted that she had fallen in love with me.I also admitted her intelligence and beauty and that I've also started liking her. I told her about my job as a professor in the university. The girl asked my number, which I gave her willingly. Then she asked me a favor, to which I couldn't have denied naturally.

She said that her brother is a student in the same university, and asked me to take care of him, since we'll be in a long relationship now. I asked the name of the student. She said that I'll recognize him with one of his very prominent quality, He whistles a lot! All eyes in the classroom turned towards the boy who had whistled.

The professor said: " Young man, I didn't buy my Ph.D in Psychology.. I earned it”.

Essay - Failure in Life

Encountering failure is one of the biggest challenges known to mankind. Not everyone is good at handling failure. One may overcome the biggest challenges to achieve success but when it comes to handling failure, not everyone can tackle it. Each individual has his own way of tackling failure. It is a whole different story for each one of us. Some may accept failure and learn to fight a way through it by trying again. Some take failures as graciously as they could while some miserably mess things up. Here is a story that I recently learnt which tell us about how not having the strength to handle failure could lead to serious repercussions. 

There was a very brilliant boy, who always scored 100% in Science. He got selected for IIT Madras and scored excellent in IIT. He then went to the University of California for MBA and got a high paying job in America and settled there. 

He got married a beautiful Tamil girl and bought a 5 room big house and luxury cars.

He had everything that made him successful but a few years ago he committed suicide after shooting his wife and children.

So, WHAT WENT WRONG?

California Institute of Clinical Psychology Studied his case and found “what went wrong?”  The researcher met the boy’s friends and family and found that he lost his job due to America’s economic crisis and he had to sit without a job for a long time. Even after expecting a job with less salary than his previous, he didn't get any. 

Since he couldn't manage keeping steady his house installments, the family lost the home. They survived a few months with low money and then he and his wife together decided to commit suicide. He first shot his wife and children and then shot himself.

The case concluded that the man was programmed for successes but he was not trained for handling failures. Now let's come to the actual question, 

"What are the habits of highly successful people?"

People often share their success stories but very few share their battles and struggles to success. Many fail miserably in their early attempts of success and then rise to shine.  Nothing is predictable in life. There are risks and possibilities. At any point of time, one may lose what he owns. Here is a quote that speaks the same, 

" Life is like a river, 

sometimes it sweeps you gently along and 

sometimes the rapids comes

out of nowhere."

What this means is that when we plan to start something new, nobody can predict how things would go on. We can desire success, but we should learn to accept failures too. Failures make us who we are. They help us learn things and give us experiences that we knew nothing about. Hence one of the most important success habit to share is to learn to handle failures. 

Same lesson applies to the kids. We want our children to gain success in everything they do. Seldom we teach our child that it is okay to fail. When a child fails we get disappointed which in turn disappoints the child. But instead of programming our child to be successful we should prepare them to handle failures which is one of the most important life lesson you could teach your child.

What it Means to Let Go?

When we say we want to let go of things, what does it really mean? Letting go means a lot more than one can think. The let go meaning is all about taking care of yourself and keeping oneself from getting hurt. Just came across this wonderful post and felt like sharing. Please do read...

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring.

It means I can't do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off.

It's the realization that I can't control another.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness,

which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another.

It's to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, 

but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, 

but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, 

but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes,

but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to deny, 

but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, 

but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires,

but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, 

but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.

The Beautiful Moon Poem

This 'The Beautiful Moon' Poem is beautiful. This poem refers to the moon as 'she' and talks about her loneliness but still about her ability to lock up her emotions and guiding those who are in need of light to show them the way. I hope everyone enjoys this poem the way I did!

The Beautiful Moon Poem

 - By Unknown

How beautiful is the moon,

Glowing bright in the night skies.

Hiding herself during noon,

So you'll never know if she cries.

Alone she sits in the sky,

Guiding those who need the light.

Warming the hearts of those who cry,

But always keeping herself locked up tight.

Though surrounded by many stars,

In solitude she rather be.

A consequence produced by scars,

Shh... Can you hear her silent plea?

Away from people, away from pain,

She hides herself, in plain sight.

I've told you once and I'll tell you again,

The story of a beautiful moon

Whose light glows brightest at night.

Thinking is Like a Seed

Thinking is like a seed. Thinking about something is like planting the seed in your heart. What you think, grows within you. Thinking about the same thing everyday is like watering the seed of thought everyday to germinate and take the shape of a plant.

Once you start to overthink, you nurture the plant with your energy which acts as a fertilizer to grow more and more branches and blossom.So it is all about how much importance you give to this thought that shapes the future of this plant which will grow as a creeper and cling to every part of your mind and your brain. This creeper is nothing but a parasite that firstly, feeds on you to grow  and then overpowers you.

Once it does that it engulfs around you and there is no escape. The dark energy from this overthought creates its own space which do not leave a space of our own. What follows is a series of bad thoughts that scare us to the core.

Instead what one can do is absorb positive energy which can blossom the plant with positivity. The power of positive thought is unimaginably great and it helps people to gain courage and hope. Once you believe about being positive you summon courage to cope with life problem's more optimistically.

As this quote goes,

"A happy thought is like a seed,

that sows positivity for all

to reap."

Always try to find things that keep you grounded and to develop those strong beliefs. This way no matter how crazy the winds of life blows at you, you will stand tall, firmly planted and not easily uprooted.

Essay - The Change in Gender Role

In this evolving world, not only women but men too must prepare themselves for the change. Today's scenario one witnesses a lot of change and confidence building in women. Women are meeting challenging roles successfully, but one can't say the same about the men. It has been a matter of two generations especially in the urban scenario, where women changed their gender based role. It could be the result of perfect parenting where women were raised to be confident and made aware to stand for their rights. But has this parenting been biased when it came to boys? Has it been made clear to them about the change that was imbibed in women and how it was going to effect in the future run?

 When the daughters of the house were taught to shape into this new role, no one bothered to notify the men that their sisters were changing and evolving. No more the women in the house needed the so-called protection and dependency. Where women were taught to grow beyond their roles in kitchen and work in male dominated areas, men were never taught to cook and house-keep. Why is cooking and housekeeping considered solely to be a women's job? If women can work and walk hand in hand with men today by earning equals, men don't seem to approve the idea where they could cook and clean when their wives or mothers were out working.

Theoretically men accepted the role of their wives or mothers or sisters as working women; but they were completely unprepared for the role of a homemaker. Men were never taught to honor and accept living with women who earned more. Men were never taught that it was okay to stay home and manage the house and kids while their wives continued to work. A women is so good with multi-tasking. She can successfully handles a field job, prepare reports, manage house, manage kids, prepare lunches, come home and cook dinner. But men seem to lack this potential.

 When a woman gets a promotion or a career boost which may take her away from the city or which may mean less family indulgence, it gets quite clear that she has to select her family first and turn down such opportunities. But have the men been taught to do the same? No. And hence men need to be made aware that they too need to come out of their shelves and evolve. When we speak of empowering women, we must also help men to prepare for the change in gender role so to set their expectations right.

The Bird With Two Heads Story

The Bird With Two Heads Story

Long time ago, there lived a strange bird on a tree just near the banks of a lake. The bird was strange from the rest of the other birds because it had two heads.

Once when the bird was flying around searching for fruit, the first head saw a beautiful red colored fruit.  The bird plucked the food with the same head and started eating it. But the second head was curious and bit jealous.

So the second head of the bird grumbled,"Looks like a delicious food! Share some with me." But the first head that was enjoying the fruit replied,"You or me! What difference does it make? Whoever eats the fruit would go in the same stomach. So why share? Let me share half the fruit with our wife." This reply made the second head sad. From that day onward the second head kept to itself and didn't talk much.

One day the bird with two heads again wandered around in search of food. The second head saw some fruits and got delighted. But the fruits came from a poisonous tree. When the first head realized this, it immediately warned the other head to not eat the fruit.

But this time the second head wasn't going to miss the chance of mocking the first head by finishing the fruit himself. And so the other head finished the entire fruit. But as the fruit was poisonous, the bird with the two heads suffered and eventually died.

Moral of the story  - It is better to live in agreement or to suffer severely like the bird did.

I am Standing Tall Poem

Recently I read a proverb that made me think over. The proverb goes like this:

"When the roots are deep,

there is no reason to fear

the wind."

Making a use of this proverb and adding some words of mine, here is a poem I plant to share that comes to my mind.

I am Standing Tall Poem 

"I have weathered many storms

and often, had to stand alone.

Though many leaves have fallen,

I look to my roots and say to myself..."

I am still standing tall..

"When the roots are deep,

there is no reason to fear

the wind."

Who worries about uproot

when all I think is to sway..

Sway around in happiness,

Sway around in peace..

When I look at things around me

I sway around in bliss.

Who cares what could happen

Who cares if I fall one day,

For I shall always remember these moments

That made my heart swell.

- Sangs

A Deadly Frozen Night Story (A True Story) - Life Lesson For Secret to Survival In This World

A Deadly Frozen Night (A True Story)

There was a Jewish man named Yankel, who had a bakery, in a town, Crown Heights, Germany. He always said, "You know why I’m alive today?"

He said "I was a kid, just a teenager at the time in Germany. Nazis were killing Jews with no mercy.

We were on the train being taken to Auschwitz by Nazis. Night came and it was deathly cold in that compartment.

The Germans left us on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days, without any food. There were no blankets to keep us warm. Snow was falling everywhere. 

Cold winds were hitting our cheeks, every second. We were hundreds of people in that terribly cold night. No food. No water. No shelter. No blankets ".

"The blood in our bodies started freezing. It was becoming ice.

Beside me, there was a beloved elderly Jewish man from my hometown. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked terrible. So I wrapped my arms around him to warm him up. I hugged him tightly to give him some heat. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his face, his neck. 

I begged him to try to be alive. I encouraged him. All night long, I kept this man warm this way. I was tired, and freezing cold myself. My fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop rubbing heat into that old man’s body.

Hours and hours went by. Finally, morning came and the sun began to shine. I looked around to see the other people. 

To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies. All I could hear was deathly silence.

Nobody else in that cabin were alive. That freezing night killed them all. They died from the cold. 

Only two people survived: the old man and me. The old man survived because I kept him warm... and I survived because I was warming him. 

May I tell you the secret to survival in this world?

When you warm other people’s hearts, you will remain warm yourself.

When you support, encourage and inspire others, then you will discover support, encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well. My friends, That is the secret to a happy life." "When you are good to others you are good to yourself" "When you make people happy, people will make you happy"

Moral - You know who are the happiest people in this world - the givers not the takers. Few people in this world only know to take. But then there are those who know only to give. Giving gives them immense satisfaction and happiness. Such happiness could never be compared with any other precious wealth in this world. And hence they are the happiest people in the world. 

What are Snow Donuts

Snow donut image

Snow donuts are commonly referred as 'snow rollers', 'snowballs' or even 'snowbales'. This natural phenomenon occurs rarely in certain specific weather conditions. Snow donuts resemble donut shaped spiral that rolls the icy ground in unusual cold weathers. This happens when wind pushes snow, making it roll across the vertical ground of the hill surface. But these phenomenons are rare and requires the right mixture of climatic conditions including wind, temperature, snow and moisture.



The snow that rolls across the hill starts gathering in a shape of a hollow cylinder to form a snow donut. But not all of the snow lands to the bottom surface shaped as a snow donut. Most of the cylindrical balls get squashed up. Very few manage to roll on the icy surface down the hills leaving behind a trail.Once the climatic conditions are just right enough to successfully transform the snow clump into a snow donut, the snow doughnut resembles a cylindrical ball with a hole in the center. The shapes of snow doughnuts or snow donuts could vary right from small ball to big wheels.

Snow donuts are usually found in Canada, Poland and on the  Prairies of North America.

Believe in Yourself Poem

This poem 'Believe in yourself' is wonderful and motivating. It allows us the strength and hope of believing in oneself enough to do what we think we can do. It takes away the negativity and inspires us to keep going. I am not sure who the poet is but it is a wonderful work..

Believe in Yourself Poem

- By unknown

Believe in yourself and in your dream,

Though impossible things may seem.

Someday, somehow you'll get through,

To the goal you have in view.

Mountains fall and seas divide,

Before the one who in his stride,

Takes a hard road day by day,

Sweeping obstacles away.

Believe in yourself and in your plan,

Say not - I cannot - but , I can

The prizes of life we fail to win

Because we doubt the power within.

When Blindness Is In The Mind and Not Eyes

A blind man once asked a

Wise man, 

"Can there be anything

worse than losing eye 

sight?"

The Wise man replied,

"Yes, losing your Vision."

I recently came across a thought of wisdom by unknown which made me think about the actual difference in losing one's vision and losing eyesight. This above thought says a lot in itself. It is all about when blindness is in the mind and not eyes. The eyes are the windows to the soul. But if the soul is empty, what could the eyes see. It is not about losing the eye sight, it is about losing the vision.


According to Anglo-Irish poet Jonathan Swift,

“Vision is the art of seeing 

what is invisible to others.”

It is really important to have vision in our life as it helps us to concentrate and pay heed to the direction we choose. It allows us to enjoy a realistic yet positive mindset. It inspires and provides us with immense energy to carry on the path that we choose in our life.

George Washington Carver quoted,

"When there is no vision,

there is no hope."

So it is important to not limit our vision to reality but to focus far ahead and create our own path that can help us achieve our dreams.

Expansion of Idea - However Mean Your Life is, Meet it and Live it; Do no Shun it and Call it Hard Names.

Human being has harvested into the constant habit of nagging. Be it grumbling about their financial problems or crying over facing daily struggles. Such people who persistently complain can never achieve happiness in life. Nor would success come to such people who whine about every single thing happening in their life.

Life could be mean at times, but that doesn't mean we stop living it or we stop enjoying the good moments that come across. Once we start living our life we will soon realize that it is not that bad at all. So instead of shunning our life and complaining about it, we should enjoy each and every moment we come across. 

The Man And The Bear Story - Inspirational Story

This is such a wonderful story! Hear it out..

So once a man went for hunting in a jungle. Since he couldn't find anything to hunt, the man was bit disappointed. Being tired and thirsty, he visited the small pond in the jungle to quench his thirst. He set aside the bow and arrow he was carrying and started drinking water from the pond. Suddenly a tiger appeared in front of him from the nearby bushes which scared the man. Frightened the man started running. Seeing that the tiger was following him, the man thought of climbing the nearby tree.

As he was about to climb, he saw a bear already sitting on one of the big branches of the tree. The following tiger and the bear above terrorized the man throughout. He just didn't know what to do next! That is when the bear said to him, "Do not be frighten, climb the tree. I won't hurt you. I am sitting here protecting myself from the tiger too" Trusting the bear, the man climbed the tree and sat on one of the thick branch waiting for the tiger to go away.

But the tiger wouldn't leave. He sat below the tree waiting for one of them to come down. Tired and weary the man went to sleep. Seeing the man sleeping, the tiger said to the bear, "This man doesn't mean anything to you, so why don't you push him down. I am hungry and let me eat him. I will not harm you at all."

But the bear didn't budge. The bear waited for the man to wake up and as soon as he did, it tried to catch some sleep. As soon as the bear slept, the tiger said to the man, "This bear means nothing to you, so why do you care? Just push it down and I will satiate my hunger and no harm will come to you." Without giving it a second thought, the man pushed the bear down. Fortunately the bear held on to one of the branches of the tree with its firm grip and saved itself.

The bear didn't fall, but did realize the true nature of this ungrateful human being in front of it, who could never be trusted. The bear said to the man, "I didn't betray you, but you did with the first chance you got. One can always trust an animal but one could never trust a human!"

Moral - Human being is known for his betrayal. Being unfaithful is one of his or her major traits.  But here's a wonderful quote that goes,

"A good man or woman will

be honest no matter how

painful the truth is.

A coward hides behind the lies 

and deceit." 

Making the bear's words come true is in one's own hand. You can either be faithful and not give in or just stab behind someone's back - the decision is yours and yours only! A good person know how to face difficulties and hence his difficulties don't last long. On the contrary the person who brings difficulties to others never stays happy.

The Gloomy Frog Story - A Story About Being a Victim

The gloomy frog story is one of the inspirational stories one can come across. I recently read it in a library under the section - 'short children inspirational stories'! The story sounded so good, I thought of sharing it here. Enjoy..

Freddie the frog was hopping past a pond when he heard a loud sigh.

He stopped and saw a sad looking frog named Frank sitting on a lily pad.

“What’s wrong?” Freddie asked.

“Life is so hard here on this pond,” said Frank, “there used to be more insects to eat, now I’m starving.”

“I live in the pond down the road, we have plenty of insects to share,” explained Freddie.

“I wish that there were more insects here, then I wouldn’t have to move.”

“But if you move there will be plenty of insects to eat.” said Freddie.

“I wish that my tongue was longer.  That would fix everything, then I could catch more insects without having to move.”

“But you will never have a longer tongue and if you move, you will have enough insects,” said an increasingly frustrated Freddie.

As they spoke, a large heron landed at the other end of the pond.

“Oh great, “said Frank, “Now the heron is going to eat me.”

“It doesn’t have to.  Quick come with me, there are no herons at my pond,” said Freddie as he hopped away to safety.

Frank watched the other frog hop to his pond and sighed loudly.

“That frog is so lucky,” he said before being eaten by the heron.

This Year, Resolve To Be Loving And Giving - By Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Sharing here few excerpts from an inspiring thought full of positivity and hope by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi.  A few days late to post but still I hope you like it too!


"Another new year is here. All people dream of a happy and fortuitous future. May this New Year be filled with happiness and peace, with less war and conflict than in the year gone by. It’s not enough to pray and hope for a favorable future. We should also be ready to work with alertness, determination and self-confidence.

Realizing our past mistakes and learning from them, we should move forward and work with enthusiasm. If we put in effort, we will definitely receive God’s grace. Then, we may be able to create a world filled with goodness, peace and love. May the New Year enable us to come closer to God, nature and our fellow beings.

All of us enjoy newness, but what is it that lends something that sense of freshness? It is when our heart has love and openness – that is when we are able to see goodness and beauty in everything.

A garden filled with fallen leaves and dry twigs will cover all the flowers and their beauty will be lost. Wild plants growing in the forest do not require watering or fertilizer. They get their nutrients naturally from the soil. Yet, if we want the same plants to blossom after being transplanted into our garden, we will have to regularly water and nurture them.

It is the same with the garden of our heart. Currently the flowers that exude the fragrance of pure love are covered with the dead leaves of selfishness, anger and jealousy. This prevents us from being able to awaken the goodness within us. Let us clear away hatred and jealousy and awaken positive thoughts. Let us nurture a mind that does not harbor past animosities but welcomes everything afresh. If we can do this, we will be able to see newness and beauty everywhere and discover joy in that.

Everything depends on the mind. If we have an open heart, we will be able to see goodness in anything and enjoy its beauty.

Nurture a mind that finds joy in loving and giving – a mind that accepts criticism with love. This should be our New Year resolution. Those who have this will never fail."