I believe that when we feel much for others, and little for ourselves; to put a hold on our selfishness, and exercise our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfect art of human nature. In today's world, it does not matter what we take up, but what we give up to mankind, is what makes us richer. I feel the greatest satisfaction when I wholeheartedly distribute to the needy what is in my possession and truly of no use to me.
I remember a Quote by 'Seneca' in my school days, which says:"We should give as we would receive cheerfully, quickly and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers". An act of benevolence is a spontaneous gesture of goodwill towards someone or something - our fellow humans, the animal kingdom, and the kingdom of nature. We all have a response embedded deep within us, which is kind words and deeds that comes from benevolence, which is a silent way of uttering softly, "I Care for You". Knowingly or unknowingly, you may be doing an act of kindness without your knowledge, like wishing someone a great day, complimenting them on their success, their positive attitudes. A soft word of kindness is all that is required to build bridges between us. Had the world adapted this in practice, I am sure today the world would have been a better place to live in. We need to strongly empathize with each others sufferings, sorrow, misery rather than just sympathize.
Humanity has a strong link with nature, and if we choose to ignore this, we do so at our own risk. We have observed for a long time that nature has been mis-used, destroyed or ravaged. We need to bring an awareness in people to annihilate this gruesome act of exploitation.
We need to be role models, setting an example for the future generations, to be more judicious in our utilisation of water and electricity. Let us help in saving our Earth in small ways. Bringing in control of Pollution of all sorts, stopping the felling of trees, stopping the very act of poaching of rare species of wild animals. Let us be gentle with planet Earth. Being kind sort of triggers some very positive responses inside me. I remember an incident that happened in my life very recently. I had just finished my lunch and was getting ready to read a book, when there was a soft knock on my door. The sound itself gave me the feeling that the knocker was still pensive about his knocking on my door. I answered the caller and found a middle-aged woman in tears, standing in front of me. I was about to question her, who she was and how she managed to cross the Security guards to reach my house. But the look on her face stopped me. She blurted in between sobs, "Please offer me some food, my children have not eaten for the past few days, I am jobless". The first re-action on my part was "What if I were in her place? Who would feed my children"? I asked her to wait for a while, bolted my door and came back with a box packed well with food for a dozen children. I then accompanied her to the exit as I was sure the Security guard would not let her go and she would be booked at the Police station. I still cannot forget the look of happiness on her face, amidst the tears streaming down her face. Her face still haunts me today. The enormous satisfaction I have achieved by this small act is very difficult to fathom.
Let us try and be more considerate of other people’s feelings and promote kindness wherever we go. To show benevolence does not require high levels of education or money, nor are they conditional of age, religion, culture and so on - they are within the grasp of every human being. One can help another when they need assistance without waiting for them to ask for it. Let us show the spontaneity of our generosity naturally. Let us not forget to be the first to apologize under any circumstances. Let us be the first to accept moral responsibility for our actions.
I make it a practice to encourage my children to involve themselves in community work. My daughter once had the opportunity of helping a senior citizen, who was a total stranger, (who had met with an accident ) with blood donation. It just came to her notice through one of her friends when he asked her for her blood group. The next moment, my dear daughter goes to one end of the city in a far-off hospital to donate blood as it was a very serious case. Her presence of mind was what touched me. All of a sudden, I hugged my daughter and said,"You saved a Life, baby."
I feel as parents we have a very high degree of responsibility in bringing up our children. I am sure all of you would agree on this point. What sort of a world do we expect our children to grow up in when we do not teach them the basic attitudes towards people and the environment? Let us learn to listen to our children with patience and tact rather than jumping on to give them the advice and pointing out the pros and cons of life. When advice is required or asked for, it is imperative to give them our undivided attention.
When my children insisted on watching television, during school days, I made it mandatory that they finish all pending school work given, to be done at home, first, and I would keep a track of it from time to time. Before hitting the bed, I saw to it that all work was completed, nothing pending for the next day, and all the requirements ready for school the next morning. This has become more or less a routine with my children and they have even imparted this to their peers. I would set up a roster for each of my child as to what responsibility in the house work they have been assigned. They would be suitably rewarded for this by the end of the week. This was a good inspiration to them, a sort of motivation to be more committed and dedicated in future.
I remember a quote by one of my teachers in school which she would repeat it as said by A.P. Stanley," Each one of us is bound to make the little circle in which he lives better, and happier. Bound to see that out of that small circle the widest good may flow. Each may have fixed in his mind the thought that out of a single household may flow infuences that shall stimulate the whole commonwealth and the whole civilized world".
I remember a Quote by 'Seneca' in my school days, which says:"We should give as we would receive cheerfully, quickly and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers". An act of benevolence is a spontaneous gesture of goodwill towards someone or something - our fellow humans, the animal kingdom, and the kingdom of nature. We all have a response embedded deep within us, which is kind words and deeds that comes from benevolence, which is a silent way of uttering softly, "I Care for You". Knowingly or unknowingly, you may be doing an act of kindness without your knowledge, like wishing someone a great day, complimenting them on their success, their positive attitudes. A soft word of kindness is all that is required to build bridges between us. Had the world adapted this in practice, I am sure today the world would have been a better place to live in. We need to strongly empathize with each others sufferings, sorrow, misery rather than just sympathize.
Humanity has a strong link with nature, and if we choose to ignore this, we do so at our own risk. We have observed for a long time that nature has been mis-used, destroyed or ravaged. We need to bring an awareness in people to annihilate this gruesome act of exploitation.
We need to be role models, setting an example for the future generations, to be more judicious in our utilisation of water and electricity. Let us help in saving our Earth in small ways. Bringing in control of Pollution of all sorts, stopping the felling of trees, stopping the very act of poaching of rare species of wild animals. Let us be gentle with planet Earth. Being kind sort of triggers some very positive responses inside me. I remember an incident that happened in my life very recently. I had just finished my lunch and was getting ready to read a book, when there was a soft knock on my door. The sound itself gave me the feeling that the knocker was still pensive about his knocking on my door. I answered the caller and found a middle-aged woman in tears, standing in front of me. I was about to question her, who she was and how she managed to cross the Security guards to reach my house. But the look on her face stopped me. She blurted in between sobs, "Please offer me some food, my children have not eaten for the past few days, I am jobless". The first re-action on my part was "What if I were in her place? Who would feed my children"? I asked her to wait for a while, bolted my door and came back with a box packed well with food for a dozen children. I then accompanied her to the exit as I was sure the Security guard would not let her go and she would be booked at the Police station. I still cannot forget the look of happiness on her face, amidst the tears streaming down her face. Her face still haunts me today. The enormous satisfaction I have achieved by this small act is very difficult to fathom.
Let us try and be more considerate of other people’s feelings and promote kindness wherever we go. To show benevolence does not require high levels of education or money, nor are they conditional of age, religion, culture and so on - they are within the grasp of every human being. One can help another when they need assistance without waiting for them to ask for it. Let us show the spontaneity of our generosity naturally. Let us not forget to be the first to apologize under any circumstances. Let us be the first to accept moral responsibility for our actions.
I make it a practice to encourage my children to involve themselves in community work. My daughter once had the opportunity of helping a senior citizen, who was a total stranger, (who had met with an accident ) with blood donation. It just came to her notice through one of her friends when he asked her for her blood group. The next moment, my dear daughter goes to one end of the city in a far-off hospital to donate blood as it was a very serious case. Her presence of mind was what touched me. All of a sudden, I hugged my daughter and said,"You saved a Life, baby."
I feel as parents we have a very high degree of responsibility in bringing up our children. I am sure all of you would agree on this point. What sort of a world do we expect our children to grow up in when we do not teach them the basic attitudes towards people and the environment? Let us learn to listen to our children with patience and tact rather than jumping on to give them the advice and pointing out the pros and cons of life. When advice is required or asked for, it is imperative to give them our undivided attention.
When my children insisted on watching television, during school days, I made it mandatory that they finish all pending school work given, to be done at home, first, and I would keep a track of it from time to time. Before hitting the bed, I saw to it that all work was completed, nothing pending for the next day, and all the requirements ready for school the next morning. This has become more or less a routine with my children and they have even imparted this to their peers. I would set up a roster for each of my child as to what responsibility in the house work they have been assigned. They would be suitably rewarded for this by the end of the week. This was a good inspiration to them, a sort of motivation to be more committed and dedicated in future.
I remember a quote by one of my teachers in school which she would repeat it as said by A.P. Stanley," Each one of us is bound to make the little circle in which he lives better, and happier. Bound to see that out of that small circle the widest good may flow. Each may have fixed in his mind the thought that out of a single household may flow infuences that shall stimulate the whole commonwealth and the whole civilized world".
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