ALWAYS CONNECTED TO YOU

 

“To add value to others,

                                                      One must value others.” 

When I entered my room in the school, the whole room was decorated with birthday wishes and some of the memorable photos, covering my life from when I was an infant to the latest photo, beautifully curated and placed under different headings, that defined a certain period in my life.

I had a broad smile as I moved towards the photographs. I went up to each section of the photos displayed and it kindled pleasant memories. I felt humbled to see the effort behind everything that was done to make my birthday special. I could see the love of my team and felt it everywhere in the room.

A few moments later the students came into my room cheerfully, each one clapping their hands and singing the birthday song, as if I was a little kid. Soon after, they showed me a video presented by students about what they learnt from me.

I thanked them profusely and I had a small chat with them. I told them that they are the reason why I come to school enthusiastically every day, they are the very Purpose of my life and they make me feel so complete. It was from the heart, and I meant every word I spoke.

As an educationist, the greatest joy I derive is, being with children every day, planning for their future, giving them positive experiences, creating a conducive environment and empowering them.

I will never miss an opportunity to interact with them. Twice a month I talk to them about life. We literally prepare them for life and not just for the Board exams.

Children may or may not know how much my heart beats for them. But I keep showering my love on them through the varied experiences we create in the school for them, which, I am sure, will prepare them to live a beautiful life.

Like how, when we circumambulate a temple, our mind is connected to the altar in the center, within the sanctum sanctorum, similarly, wherever I am, or whatever I do, my thoughts are always connected to the students of NSN. They live in my heart. Almost three decades of joyous journey in the field of education, soaked and immersed in the vibrations of the angels in school. Life is absolutely beautiful.

In the hustle and bustle of our everyday life, we tend to miss out on the joy of being a teacher.

Being a teacher is not about attending school every day, completing the portions, imparting knowledge, meeting deadlines, being duty bound, but about moulding the students, mentoring them, interacting with them during leisure, guiding them, nurturing them with love and care, fostering in them values and discipline, walking that extra mile to  create a future for them, empowering them, going beyond the call of duty in the interest of the students, and  above all, building an everlasting  bond with them.

That is where we derive our energy from. We will never feel tired if teaching is our “Swadharma.”

Wake up all your senses, and see the beautiful faces around you, listen to their cheerful laughter, smell the fragrance of their innocence, taste the aroma of their brilliance and feel the beauty of their love towards you.

In fact, the school environment rejuvenates and revitalizes me. A paradigm shift in our outlook and approach towards our profession, will greatly enhance our experience in school. Teaching is a calling. I feel blessed to be amidst children. What about you?

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

DON’T GIVE UP

You know how an Indian wedding happens these days. It is a minimum three -day celebration. So, the whole family was gearing up for the sangeet. Though the dance videos were shared in the family Whatsapp group, the practice started only when everyone came together. Since many of them were living abroad, they were not familiar with Bollywood dance. I could see some of them trying hard to dance and frustration writ large on their face. They were on the point of giving up, when the youngsters joined together and broke it up into smaller steps and made it easier for them to dance.

That was when I was thinking how easily we give up in so many aspects of life. If teachers can break the difficult tasks into smaller tasks, help students to learn bigger concepts by breaking it into smaller units, no child will fail. Children get overwhelmed and intimidated when they see something that is seemingly tough.

Instead of frightening them, all that we need to do is, reassure them and build their confidence by constantly telling them that they can do it. We need to be persuasive.

When both our schools went in for accreditation, we had a consultant, who trained all of us and prepared the school for a transformation. Initially we had no clue about the journey. She would talk about the various processes, and when she was done with it, we would look at each other, as if we were asking each other, “Hey! Did you understand?” And we would give a smile, as if to say, I understood nothing. But she would end every session by saying, “That’s all ma.” That became a joke amongst us.

But sure enough, our faith in her kept our spirits high. Not once did we feel that we cannot do it. That is the reassurance she gave us by saying again and again,” That’s all ma.”

Today, we have set high standards for ourselves by scoring well in the annual surveillance, year after year, and we are also being bench-marked. It is all because one lady kept telling us that it is not as tough as we think it is. And sure enough, the belief was built in all of us that we can do it.

Are we instilling that faith in our children that they can do it? Be it in sports, performing arts, academics, or in their profession. They all need that one person who can motivate them to chase their goal relentlessly. Giving up is easy, but going up needs a lot of perseverance.

 

                              “Every child deserves a champion:

                               an adult who will never give up

                               on them, who understands the

                               power of connection and insists

                               that they become the best they

                                can possibly be.”

 

Never give up on any child. Every parent and every teacher must stand firmly behind every child like a rock of Gibraltar and give them the much-needed strength, when they feel weak.

I also wish to say that no matter who discourages you, you need to believe that you are good enough, you are a champion material, you have great potential to reach for the stars. Can you hear your voice saying, “Keep going, keep growing?” So, never give up on yourself.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.”- Robert the Bruce

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

THE INNER VOICE

“Your inner voice is the voice of

Divinity. To hear it, we need to be in

Solitude, even in crowded places.”

Do you know that our school holds special memories for each of us? Even much after we leave our school, the beautiful memories continue to linger in us. Schooling is the most memorable part of everyone’s life, as, that is where we literally grow into an adult, from a toddler.  I still vividly remember my days in kindergarten and I cherish it.  Who will not!

Each school has its own way of starting the day. In NSN, the day begins with a message from mahatria Ra, the Diviner of the Path, infinitheism, in order to jump start the day on a positive note. This is followed by eleven minutes of sitting in non-doing, before the morning assembly.  Students come to school with different emotions. Sitting in non-doing (meditation) will calm them down.

Our mind entertains thousands of thoughts. Meditation helps in reducing the quantity of thoughts. In course of time it improves the quality of our thoughts and thus brings clarity in our thinking.

Most of the time there is no clarity in our thinking. We are not mindful. This practice of sitting in Silence, over the years, will magically improve the way we think. Self-awareness is the gift of sitting in Silence. It gives life to our inner voice, which is like a guiding light in our life. It helps us to navigate through life peacefully.

Many tend to lose their direction in life due to their inability to think clearly. Relationships become sour, work life balance cannot be achieved, with whom we should associate, we are not sure, should we or should we not, itself is not clear, why we do what we do is always a question mark. If only we have clarity in thinking, we will not battle with all of these. We will be able to take the right decisions.

The noise around us is so loud that we fail to hear our inner voice whispering to us to choose what is right over what is easy and convenient

Silence will help us to hear our inner voice telling us what to embrace and what to avoid. Our decisions will slowly and steadily turn out to be right. We will not act impulsively. We will be calm and composed if we are guided by our inner voice, which is our conscience. That will be our moral compass.

Sometimes it pays to be silent in an otherwise loud world…

Everything you desire will happen in life if you listen to your inner voice, which should be the loudest in your head. Listen carefully to the silent whispers!

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting 

 

ROUTINE SETS YOU FREE

“Your ability to discipline yourself

To set clear goals

And then to work

Towards them every day,

Will do more

to guarantee your

success than any other

single factor.”

I wonder why people think that a disciplined life means, you cannot enjoy life. In fact, you start smiling only when you have a routine, because, there is no confusion or missing out on anything important. We don’t get stressed as there is nothing that has to be done in the last minute. Everything is well planned. In fact, you feel that you have more time at your disposal. There is also a sense of satisfaction when you complete each of the work you planned to do.

I know what I have gone through in my childhood, when I was not at all disciplined. Life was more pleasure driven. The result of living such a life gave me no returns, in terms of success. When I realized how I had messed up my life by not having a routine, I decided that I will not waste my time.

From then on, life has been an upward spiral. Contrary to what people believe, routine does not imprison you to a scheduled life, rather it sets you free. I started enjoying the benefits of having a schedule, devoting my time to my studies. Success came my way for the first time. I started feeling confident and even began to look up to myself. What a privileged life!

Mahatria says, “The best way to tell the world to shut up is to produce results.” This can be achieved only if we have a routine in our life that will provide us a route.

I started producing results. When we produce results, the feeling is so good. This is what motivates us to keep achieving. We need to give ourselves an opportunity to experience at least a small victory. This will be the beginning for us to be consistently motivated in life. At least, in my case, living a disciplined life gave me time to do everything. The quality of life changed dramatically. This itself is a motivation to stick to a routine.

Ask a Djokovic, or a Mukesh Ambani or a Rohit Sharma or an Elon Musk, what they do with their time. Their success comes from not only their intelligence, but the way they use their time to achieve their goal. Read about them to know how a disciplined routine can transform your life.

                                    “Time is what we want most

                                     But what we use worst.”

Time is the greatest resource. How much we gain if we have a daily routine! We can achieve so much more in life. Be conscious about time wasters and time stealers that do not contribute to our future. My day is used for my mental, intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. Nothing like a planned day. We will do what is important and necessary. We will be productive. That is what differentiates a high achiever from a non-performer,  who underutilizes their time without a planned routine.

                                      “The secret of your

                                       future is hidden in

                                       your daily routine,”

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting