Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

~ Max Ehrmann

"Dont just sit there. Celebrate something."
~ Jacob Creek advertisement at Raffles City

Moment of Victory

In every race, there is a moment of victory before actually winning. It is that instant before crossing the finishing line when the winner realizes that the race is won. It is this moment in which lies the true joy of victory. Sometimes that moment arrives even before competing; when the winner has given a performance that is not merely the best among the crowd, rather is the best possible.

~Doc

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber, and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca on your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what these Ithacas mean.

~ Constantine P. Cavafy

As we try to decipher the meaning of life, let us not forget the 'living' ~ Doc

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away."
~ Anonymous

Right Decisions

You can only be happy with the people, places, things you love. And love is crazy, it makes you take insane decisions but love also ensures that you can happily live with those decisions and make the best out of them. So the trick often is not to take the decision that is in your best rational interest or seems to be, but to take a decision that you love - you would never regret it.

Simply put, pursue your bliss. Deep inside yourself, you already know where your bliss lies. It is just a matter of discovering what you already know and accepting it.

As Time Goes By ~ Casablanca

You must remember this

A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.

The fundamental things apply

As time goes by.

And when two lovers woo

They still say, "I love you."

On that you can rely

No matter what the future brings

As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs

Never out of date.

Hearts full of passion

Jealousy and hate.

Woman needs man

And man must have his mate

That no one can deny.

It's still the same old story

A fight for love and glory

A case of do or die.

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by.
Oh yes, the world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by.

~ Herman Hupfeld for the movie Casablanca

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step. ~ Martin Luther King

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I can't change,
the courage
to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Childhood, when we were the most powerful

Childhood was the time in our life when we were the most powerful. One of my favorite people who lived, Audrey Hepburn wrote, "There is nothing more determined than a child with a dream." I believe there is also nothing more powerful than such a child, because a child does not know what he or she cannot do, a child does not know what cannot happen. Children live in absolute possibility.
They keep fairy tales alive and some of the greatest things achieved in this world have simply been a relentless pursuit of a treasured fairy tale - Disneyland, aircrafts, space travel and great nations to name a few. Children are powerful in the mind. Their naive faith their weakness, and their greatest power... our greatest power.

~ Doc

She walks in beauty like the night...

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

~ Lord Byron

Life uncertain...

"Life is uncertain, tumultuous, almost random. My father puts it best, "It is a game of snakes and ladders." It is a hitchhiker's dream and a business traveler's nightmare. So, stop being the business traveler, and become the hitch hiker, the backpacker, yes, the maverick. Do what you love and bother not where it takes you because wherever it does will be splendid beyond your wildest dreams. Live the adventure." ~ Doc

Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo



37- year old dying professor Randy Pausch from CMU delivers his 'last lecture' about achieving childhood dreams.

हमेशा अपने दील की पहली आवाज़ सुनना , क्योंकी दील की पहली आवाज़ परमात्मा की आवाज़ होती है ~ Hindi movie 'Barsaat'

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” ~ Randy Pausch

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don’t realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world." – Calvin, from Calvin n Hobbes

"Don't borrow someone else's spectacles to view yourself with." ~ Simon Travaglia

"I have simple taste, only the best" ~ Oscar Wilde

Your early twenties are exactly the time to take insane career risks. ~ Paul Graham

"The bravest battle that was ever fought;
Shall I tell you where and when?
On the maps of the world you will find it not;
It was fought by the mothers of men."
~ Joaquin Miller