The Boiling Frog Syndrome

              Hello Everyone. Today I bring to you a very interesting story. Rather than a story, it is based on factual information and with a little thought, would reveal to you a very strong life lesson. Story below.
Frog is a cold blooded animal.
Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water.
As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly.
The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature...
Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore...
At that point the frog decides to jump out...
The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature...
Very soon the frog dies.
What killed the frog?
Many of us would say the boiling water...
But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.
We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to confront/face.
There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action...
If we allow people to exploit us physically, mentally, emotionally or financially, they will continue to do so...
We have to decide when to jump.
Let us jump while we still have the strength.
Think on It !!

Be the Change..

This is something I had always wanted to write about. India just completed 68 years of independence. India might be the largest democracy. However its major fails are with the people. We meet them every day. The shopkeeper who sells beverages above MRP., The ever so urgent commuter who has no time to stop at a traffic signal., The Traffic inspector who takes bribe and refuses to charge you having found you guilty of not abiding by the traffic rules., The auto wala who refuses to go by the meter. The bus conductor who takes money from you and would not give you the travel ticket as you intend to get down in the next stop., The lazy car driver who would not use the indicator for turns., The police constable who gets a petty bribe of 10 Rs. every day from every shopkeeper at the market duly justified for the protection (dadagiri) they provide for any local issues., And the list goes on..,

                It’s very easy to say “everyone does it., what’s the big deal...” These small mistakes are the ones that brings India down and have other countries look down upon us. We all know it, but overlook it every other time. Everybody are ready to get into a debate as to how they are being fooled by others and how corrupt the system is. But none ready to accept their own mistakes or to change their ways. Today I happened to be at a bakery where I asked for a 2litre cool drink bottle. The printed MRP on the bottle being 78Rs. the shopkeeper demanded Rs. 80 justifying the additional sum of 2 rs. for the refrigeration charges. When asked why he does this, he laughs at me as though I am an alien and says that is how it is, take it or leave it. Every other store at my place does this. One shopkeeper told me to even go and complain to the police or the consumer court and it won’t affect him as he pays bribe to every one of them. Is this how a truly democratic country grows? In a country that has treasured its culture, lived on its morals and known for its honesty and ethics, aren’t we ruining it day on day? No wonder our economy is on its way down. Getting petty issues like these to the consumer forum or any other judicial authority again threatens us with the corruption involved there as well. A true plead for justice is always defeated by corruption in the system.

                People talk about bringing about a change, but always overlook the fact that change begins from one’s self. Take a while to think about it. Better late than never. There is no harm in waiting for the signal to turn green or to wear a seat belt or a helmet. The law is for everyone. I am sure that you are not losing on a huge fortune by waiting a couple of minutes at the signal. People who complain about public hygiene are the same ones who are found Spitting on the roads, littering public places and urinating under every other electric transformer or a telephone junction box. Not everyone have the time to complain about these things and follow up with the consumer court or any judicial authority over these common things. It is better to not buy from a shop that sells way above MRP than fighting him or raising it to the consumer court. Change is gradual and it is ‘certain’ if it begins from every individual. Let’s take a pledge to be the change we want to see in our dream of a better India. I have taken a pledge to not involve in any form of corruption, to follow the rules rather than trying to bend them. have you?

The Elephant Rope

I got to read this story on the internet on a random site. This is truly inspiring and motivational. I share the story here as i hope it would inspire someone else as well. 

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life...

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Prayer - A Random Thought

                  I wonder what people pray when they join their hands together in front of the God's idol. Me being a firm non-believer of God, seem to wonder upon this fact like a kid wondering upon seeing a flying airplane for the first time. I have heard people say that they had prayed for the welfare of all the people in the world. This is insane. It is practically not possible. However there is a point which hit my head. 

                   A sincere prayer of a firm believer of God, has requests for the goodwill of all the people whom he really cares for, in his life. I think this also paves a way for us to have an emotional bondage with our loved ones. For example, in our fast paced world, we may not have the time to call our parents, close friends and relatives or even think of them. But if there is a sincere prayer that one does each day, a person is sure to remember all his loved ones and focus his attention on the problems that he or his loved ones have, and not get deviated by the other day to day happenings. This is what I think creates an emotional bondage although our parents or friends live far from us. May be it is the reason why prayer was invented by man...  Just a random thought..!

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Life after Resignation

It has been more than a month that I have left work at my previous organization. I have been at home and also attending some interviews once in a while. After being continuously working for the past five years, this break was a much needed relaxation to me. However, these times also are my toughest in the last 3-4 years both mentally and otherwise. I had been having mixed emotions on my resignation. At times this feeling of having resigned without any offers in hand eats my mind. It really feels foolish considering my commitments that I have each month. But the decision had to be made.

                That being said, there is also a lighter side of this feeling where my mind says that it was a good decision to make, as it paved way to many good things. I have learned to be optimistic, smile at my failures and even take time to enjoy the smallest things in life which I would have ignored otherwise, had I been working on a routine basis. My wife kept me in a positive state of mind and cheered for me whenever I was feeling low. My best friends helped me through these times morally and otherwise. I am so blessed to have such good friends and a caring, positive minded woman as my soul mate. Not many have such a privilege.

                Very few office friends kept in touch, attended a lot of interviews, managed to watch more movies. It was just like old times. I had installed Linux on my notebook and brushed up on my technical skills. Although I could not get to Chennai to meet my parents, I had timely conversations with mom and dad who kept my spirits high. It is not that I could not qualify for any job opportunities. I had managed to crack multiple interviews. However i am yet to receive the offers and seems it is going to take a while. Sometimes being strong is not about being insensitive to circumstances. It is all about how well we are able to hide our fears during testing times… Nonetheless, Life is a bitch..!

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