WANNA  TRAVEL  TO  A  PARALLEL  UNIVERSE?  U  R  WELCOME  HERE !

Google Maps recently found a mysterious spiral in Egypt. It covers 1 million square feet. Speculation started immediately as to what it was. Some said it is a landing strip for Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) from outer space. Others were sure it was the gateway to a parallel universe. If only we could find the key to pen this gate and move to a better world !

It turns out it is a piece of environmental art installation done by three artists in March 1997. They called it “Desert Breath”. They meant it to celebrate the desert as “a state of mind, a landscape of the mind”.

Thank God for our fertile imagination and our irresistible continuous search for meaning in all that we see, hear and experience. If it were not for our imagination we would not have progressed so much in science and the knowledge of the world. The fruits of these are the comforts of modern life. If it were not for our search for meaning we would not have today the heights of theology and philosophy we have developed.

On the other hand, we have to be careful of where our imagination leads us, the meanings we see or give to things we experience. Imagination gone wild makes us foolish, and our theological and philosophical interpretations sometimes lead us to violence against one another.

May you see a gateway to heaven in all you experience today, and may you walk safe and warm on firm earth all through your life!

REJECTING  REJECTION

Poor Shafqat Amanat Ali ! He went to an audition with a national TV channel of Pakistan. He was rejected – the only one sent back among all those took part in the audition! He did not give up. He just worked harder and kept going, and look where he is now. 

BOSCONET has several people who go out on to the streets each day. They approach and talk to total strangers outside metro stations, malls, cinema halls, etc.  They explain our services for the poor and ask them to become a regular donor, signing up to contribute anywhere from Rs 300 to Rs 10,000 a month to support the education of needy children in India. 

The success rate of these young men and women is about one in thirty. After hearing a resounding “NO” 29 times they can hope to get one “Yes.” It takes a lot of dedication to their mission, and inexhaustible love for children to keep them going despite rejection, insults and humiliation. 

Robert Kiyasaki, the multi-millionaire businessman and writer says every young person should work as a house-to-house salesman at least for a year. Only then would he/she develop the thick skin needed to achieve great success in any field, and true greatness in life. They learn to reject rejection and keep working with a positive attitude, a smile on their face and love in their heart.

By the way, would you like to sign up to donate a minimum of Rs 300/= a month towards the education of needy children in India? If so, send me a message. THANKS.

TOO OLD TO INNOVATE ?

We admire the wisdom of the elderly. At the same time, we take it almost for granted that younger people are more creative, innovative and dynamic.

A recent study by the US National Bureau of Economic Research seems to dispute this “common sense” notion of ours. The exuberance and energy that are required by innovation are not exclusive to youth.

‘Conceptual innovators’ tend to be young. ‘Experimental innovators’, instead, launch out with trial and error, and gather knowledge while tinkering with established ideas; they are older. 

Thank God, I am 65 years ‘young’ – not too late for conceptual innovation and still a long way to go for experimental innovation! Or, am I mistaken? Have I lost all capacity to innovate, experiment, create?

How about you?