Why??

Why must mult-story carpark must have doors? costing can be save on unneccery items like this. 

( question that I always ask whenever both hands carrying heavy staffs and have to put down on the floor in-order to open the door)

Why Singapore I/C does not indicate whether the person is single or marriage?

( to avoid people from lying about their marital status to be involed in another relationship)

Why moral education are not strongly taught by school?

( children now a days are soooooo rude that they don't even respect themselves.)

Why car owners ALWAYS park at loading and unloading bays? Maybe they don't understand english??

( me driving van and deliver goods daily. Hate it whenever loading and unloading bays always occupied by car owners that parking there without hazel light and more than 1hrs. wasting my time waiting for the loading lots to deliver my goods. ANGRY!!)

Why must I talking to answering machine whenever I call big firms/ company or government sector? I WANT HUMAN being TO ANSWER MY CALL!!!

Why phone operator are all foreiners.

( I always kana philippino operator, Can't understand their english.

First of all i would like to thank Life! for giving the late Yasmin Ahmad a page coverage of her works and contribution in our society. I’m too a great fan of hers and was shocked and saddened by her sudden death.  My deepest condolences to Yasmin’s family.

As I read the article featured in Life! dated 27 July with a heavy heart, I was also rather concern  by a sentence written by Ong Sor Fern in the article ‘Natural-born storyteller who was true to her heart’. The said sentence is written as follow ‘But she was also an observant Muslim who was always dressed in the demure baju kurung’.

I would like to highlight,baju kurung does not reflect one as a Muslim or let alone an observant one. One cannot define an observant Muslim through their dressing.  It requires more than dressing.  Moreover, baju kurung is a reflection of traditional clothing or dressing of the Malay community commonly in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

I hope Life! could take extra measures to provide correct culture information to educate the public.

ANCHORING YOURSELF

This explores the moral dilemma faced by any parent whereby the growing child feels that his peers are a better guru than his own parent. Once the anchor is cast, the ship cannot move further. But the reality is that the ship is still not at port and not minding the open sea which can suddenly turn bad and turbulent in the event of weather change.  

Show these images of beer to anyone who loves beer and he will feel happy and excited. Once I saw the slogan at a cafe which loudly said, “It’s Tiger Time!”  I have heard how a man encourages a depressed man with the powerful word: Come On, Be a man! Not to fall behind, he takes the first sip of beer and he finds it palatable. After sometime, he finds that he feels exhilarated and his confidence builds up; he feels he is at the top of all situations and there is the tiger within him.

This is how liquor is being enticed or introduced. There is the element of cheers, similar to what you see in the movies of situation at a stock exchange. The broker and winner are cheered up by the good market and they may physically join hands to cheer.

Do beers really cheer you up? It is a question with a few answers. To some it really cheers up because it is time to relax, time to socialise and be away from the stress of a working day. Some may disagree because the effect of intoxication gives a false sense of being a winner. Once the intoxication is over, there is the hangover and one feels sick or lousy.                    

Drinking of beer could be an ice breaker. However, there is a cost to it. As a person navigates with his track record of continual progress, the often consumption of beer could in time act as a powerful anchor to progress.

The message sinks home strongly when the drinking parent finds himself in an awkward situation. One day as he opens the fridge, he sees an anchor beer can. He tries to recall hard but he realises that he has not purchased the can on that day. He goes to the bathroom and later reappears fresh with new clothes. When he opens the fridge to take the beer can, he finds it no more. Puzzled at first but then later he finds the room door of his teenage son locked. Thinking that the lad is resting, he leaves the house to visit his friend.  

In his heart, he knows that the son is quietly drinking beer but then he has no guts to confront his own family member. He feels hurt that he is the guru of good moral values to his own children but then the children seek new experience and knowledge from their peers or other adults. It is common to see that another adult will not discourage a teen from drinking because he may feel that the fellow drinker is matured enough to know what is right and wrong.

The moral dilemma of the parent continues because he is unwilling to take action. Hence the tiger is being raised within the teenage boy while the parent looks on passively and helplessly as ever.

Hence from one habit, the teenage boy may progress to another bad habit. Actually once a path is chosen, it is natural to progress on and on without applying the brake to think or pause to reflect on oneself.   

Om Nath Panday

22 July 2009     

MOON LANDING: A GREAT SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT

on 20 JULY 1969

40th Anniversary

Hindus worship the Sun & Moon God with great reverence because they believe that these are the only Gods visible to humanity. Moreover, the sun and moon is important for the sustenance of life on Earth. The Moon is held with respect by Muslims and also by other religious groups.  Throughout History, the moon has held human’s fascination and much has been written and celebrated by the various customs, culture, in literature and writings, in poems or poetry.

The landing of moon by the three astronauts came as disbelief to many people on Earth in 1969. They thought that the news of moon landing was fake and created to win attention.  When the moon rocks sample was sent to all over the world, many witnessed it.  I was lucky to see the sample of the moon rocks. Our science teacher was passionate and wanted the class to know more about the moon exploration. We learned a lot of scientific terms pertaining to astronomy and the moon expedition.

Meanwhile as the belief in the application systems of modern science strengthen, people agreed with the lunar mission achievement.  Today mankind has gone far in space science and research & exploration. There has been a lot of breakthrough or technological spin-offs with the NASA programs.

I quote the following (taken from the Apollo 11 Mission article): 

The purpose of the Apollo 11 mission was to land men on the lunar surface and to return them safely to Earth. The crew was Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot.

After launch, the spacecraft was inserted into lunar orbit about 76 hours into the mission. After a rest period, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the Lunar Module preparing for descent to the lunar surface. The two spacecraft were undocked at about 100 hours, when the Command and Service Modules separated from the Lunar Module. The spacecraft landed in the Sea of Tranquillity at 4:18 p.m. EDT. Afterwards, they ate their first meal on the Moon and decided to begin the surface operations earlier than planned.

A Lunar Module camera provided live television coverage of Armstrong setting foot on the lunar surface at 10:56 p.m. EDT. Just as he stepped off the Lunar Module Neil Armstrong proclaimed, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin emerged soon after, setting foot on the lunar surface at 11:16 p.m. EDT. Aldrin evaluated his ability to operate and move about and was able to move about rapidly and with confidence. Forty-seven pounds of lunar surface material were collected to be returned for analysis. The surface exploration was concluded in 2½ hours, when the crew re-entered the lunar module.

After lunar ascent, the Lunar Module docked with the Command and Service Modules at 128 hours. The crew transferred into the Command and Service Modules, the ascent stage was jettisoned and they prepared for trans-Earth injection. Only one midcourse correction was required, and passive thermal control was used for most of trans-Earth coast. Bad weather made it necessary to move the splashdown point 346 kilometers (215 miles) downrange. Atmospheric entry phase was normal, and the command module landed in the Pacific Ocean at 195¼ hours. The landing coordinates, as determined from the onboard computer, were 13 degrees 30 minutes north latitude and -169 degrees 15 minutes east longitude.

With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

Fact in brief:

Mission    Apollo XI

Crew Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin Aldrin Jr.

Lift Off

Saturn V
July 16, 1969
9:32 a.m. EDT
KSC, Florida
Complex 39-A

Lunar LandingJuly 20, 1969 @ 4:18 p.m. EDT
Sea of Tranquillity

Lunar
Lift Off July 21, 1969 @ 1:54 p.m. EDT

Splash-
down July 24, 1969; 12:50 p.m. EDT (Pacific Ocean)

Duration 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes

Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. The Apollo program cost $25.4 billion at the time, which is nearly $150 billion in current dollars. There were six landings, but man has not been to the moon since December 1972.

What Astronaut Michael Collins says:

"When we flew to the moon, our population was 3 billion; today it has more than doubled and is headed for 8 billion, the experts say," Collins said. "I do not think this growth is sustainable or healthy. The loss of habitat, the trashing of oceans, the accumulation of waste products - this is no way to treat a planet."

The Earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied."

Shared by Om Nath Panday as part of understanding

the legacy of science progress for humanity benefits

18 July 2009

Latest News:

ASTRONAUT TURNED ARTIST

WASHINGTON (AFP)  Forty years after Alan Bean became the fourth man to walk on the moon, the now 77-year-old former astronaut still likes to share his memories of space flight with a broad audience  by painting them.

Bean decided to make the switch from astronaut to artist a dozen years after the Apollo 12 mission that took him to the moon in November 1969 and after spending two months in space in 1973 on board Skylab, and his souvenirs from both missions dominate his artwork.

When, at age 49, he dropped a bombshell on his bosses and colleagues at NASA, telling them that he was leaving to become a full-time painter, they wondered if he wasn't in the throes of lunacy.

"My boss could have fallen off the wall," Bean told AFP at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, where his paintings of space went on display in the days leading up to the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing.

"He asked if I could make a living at painting. My friends thought I was having a midlife crisis," he said.

But they've all come round and now quite like the canvasses that Bean sells for up to 200,000 dollars these days, some incorporating precious moon dust and threads from the American flag that was on his space suit during his moon flight into the textured acrylics that are his preferred medium.

He's parsimonious with his use of his lunar souvenirs; Bean wants them to last as long as he is able to create his works of art.

"If you look at my American flag, it doesn't have any stripes now. They've all been used in paintings," he said.

"I have to somehow stretch these to last as long as I keep painting," he added of the rest of his lunar souvenirs.

Bean's paintings depict not only his own experiences in space but also those of other astronauts.

Since he left NASA 28 years ago, Bean has spent entire days in his studio, crafting his art, which he lays down on wood, not canvas.

One painting takes him nearly three months to complete.

Part of the uniqueness of the 160 paintings Bean has created comes from the fact that the astronaut-artist carves the footprint of a moonboot into a base layer of each work. He does this preparatory carving work with a rockhammer that he used on the moon.

His realist paintings show astronauts in cumbersome spacesuits; Earth, another astronaut, the American flag or the black of space reflecting in their visor as they cavort on the lunar surface like children.

Bean says his paintings are some of the first paintings of a new world, the world of space, and compares them to cave drawings found on Earth.

"Maybe some of these painting will end up on permanent display when they have an art gallery on the moon," he said.

"It may be 500 years from now, but they will have a gallery on the moon," he said.

INTIMATION

You start off life anew as you step into the adult world. Your dreams, either hazy or sharp, depends on your being how close you are in your visualisation or action. There can be challenges or falls associated with intimation unless applied with care and careful thought. Read further to see what Om Nath has to say.  

You laugh, you cry, you sing, you dance, you joke or even whistle. I would say you are alive and lively person. You are intimate to yourself, with your feelings and do not like to hide behind a self-created image. I think you live life fully and fruitfully.

Is this the image of intimation you believe in? I believe some of you may have a different view point. You may recall the priest whom you know and how Father used to sing verse after verse without tiring himself and he was so well-versed with the Holy Book, his spiritual knowledge so great that you would rise, bow a little and call him Yours Highness. Father is so high in mind and spirit that he dwells intimately with God. Whatever he utters you listen with great care and note down the worthy points he make or elaborate in his many sermons.

Seeing him week after week, you see in him the GOD you always wish to connect to. Have inner dialogue with yourself. This is what you hear in the Zee TV when a swami meditates in an ashram and reveals to you some useful things about yoga & living. In a movie shooting, you chance to see an actress wearing suggestive clothes to remind you that she is a princess in an ancient time. As the story progresses, your eyes fill with tears to learn of her suffering in the deep jungle where evil tigers, demons and gentle deer & a saint lived in.

Far from the maddening crowd of a stressed up city, you lie on the sands of comfortable beach. The cool lapping sea water beckons you to take a dip in this heavenly place. You have a sip of the sweet coconut juice and are thinking of lovely lunch that would be served to you at this holiday resort. At a bar, you develop a strong liking for the lady who serves you drinks and in a moment of careless drunkenness, you reveal some of your inner secrets to her. Although she seems not to be listening to you seriously, suddenly afterward you develop the inner fear that what if the pretty lady is a hired spy. To be nice to her and hoping that she won’t harm you, you give her a lavish tip which is beyond her wildest dream. She is very grateful to have met a wonderful prince like you. 

At the lounge, you sit in a cosy chair and have an informal discussion with your fellow managers on how to improve the organisation and everyone is busy trying to map out the work plan for the coming year. For a moment, you discuss with your confidant partner and in return you get chided on your wild plans. For a moment, you appear as a timid mouse, half-forgetting all your fine details to your proposed work-plan. As you look out you see the gentle view of the outside belies the seriousness of business talk that is going on in the lounge.       

You feel the need for a confidant secretary, one who can help you in your paper works and nurse your wounds you receive in the boardroom meeting. Where to get such gentle and faithful creature? You scratch your head in thoughtfulness. You have watched a recent movie whereby the role of secretary is depicted in bad light. Dragging the boss into sexual compromise and stealing the company secrets for a dangerous competitor is one thing you remember not forgetting about this movie. A lady appears with a tray of wine glasses, and you meekly accept a glass. Your fingers trembles a little, your face flushes and cold sweat breaks on your forehead. Your nearest colleague looks at you in surprise and thinks that you have fallen for the wine girl. You feel inwardly angry and awkward that the earlier worries of a James Bond type secretary have created this inappropriate behaviour.

You mutter to yourself: “Yes, I can forget about a secretary because to a secretary, I am bound to share business secrets in the course of work”. The fact that you continue to remain a single man overseeing the marketing departing makes you happy and confident. You are intimate with the facts and figures of your organisation and feel knowledgeable about the whole operation. You say in your mind: “I don’t need a charming and bright red lip-painted secretary”. Suddenly your mind rebels back and say: “You, fool, the time is passing away. You seriously need a secretary with bright smiling eyes and one that exudes charms around her”. I was already in a quandary. The idea of having a person with whom I can share my feelings and sorrow was too great to easily dismiss it.

To prevent this nagging thought disturbing me at the holiday resort, I wrote in my notebook: Get a secretary by month’s end to take care of my department. Making sure that the ink has dried up, I then closed the notebook. The balance two days left after the workshop was meant for unwinding at the island. I did my shopping and also bought antique silverware for the glass cabinet.

As I left the island for Singapore, my mind was full with the events and happenings during the four days. Yes, I enjoyed my trip and also learned something new and discovered more about myself. As I checked my travel bag for the passport, I smiled to see a book written by an English professor “Your mind, it’s your most intimate partner”. I brought the book nearer to my nose to smell the fresh fragrance; its pages were still fresh like a new bride.

As I sit closer to the window watching the scattered white clouds, I mutter to myself during mid-flight: You can sign with pride your name on important papers. Likewise given the opportunity your mind readies itself to sign and starts off with these magical words: Yours Intimately. 

Om Nath Panday

18 JULY 2009

NATURAL HEALER
How Dr Wu rid himself of cancer with a vegetarian diet
By: ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA
Published: 7/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: My life


At the age of 30, Chinese doctor Tom Wu was diagnosed with advanced stages of lung cancer, and was told he had only a few months to live. However, Dr Wu, who recently spoke with My life, has already reached 70years old, and to our surprise, he still looks like a young and healthy man in he's 50s. Not only has he survived, but the doctor has maintained a healthy life. The cancer is all gone, and he said he's never caught a cold or other illness for 40years. He has stopped going for blood tests.

"My body and feelings tell me I'm well, that I'm truly in good health," says Dr Wu. His secret lies in the power of natural healing. Dr Wu always says that no wonder drug can cure diseases. But our own internal healing power, our immune system, can. And what can strengthen our immune system are simple foods from Mother Nature, and a healthy lifestyle. In his view, diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease can be overcome by changing the diet. Dr Wu says people get sick because they eat the wrong foods. Fried food, for example, causes blockage in the arteries, bad circulation, cholesterol, and heart disease. "Instead of taking a cholesterol lowering drug, I would urge them to stop eating greasy food. My suggestion is to eat clean food, which is high in phytochemicals," he says.

Phytochemicals are natural cleansing agents that will help rid plaque from your arteries. They come from natural foods such as vegetables, fruits with their seeds, and common garden herbs. Phytochemicals will nourish the body's cells so they can fight against any foreign substances that invade your body.
Dr Wu's outstanding contributions to the development of natural medicine earned him the "World Famous Doctor Award" from the UN in 2001, and the "Best Wellness Doctor of the World" award from India's World Wellness Open University in March.
The secrets of how he won the fight against lung cancer and maintains a healthy body are revealed in his first book, Dr Wu's Principle of Natural Cures, which has recently been translated from its original Chinese version into a Thai edition, Thammachart Chuay Chewit, published by Namebooks Publications. It was launched in Thailand in March.

Dr Wu says what's written in the book is unique and easy to understand because "the author is both the doctor and the patient himself". All the ideas and guidelines suggested in the book come from his own experience as well as what he has learned from his patients.
Dr Wu turns to natural medicine. Dr Wu had first studied Western medicine in France, and then furthered his education in alternative therapy, earning a doctorate degree. The turning point arrived when he was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 30. Modern medicine gave him no hope; it was too late to remove the damaged parts of the lung. The cancer had already spread to other organs, and the doctor told him he had only a few months left.

In his despair, Dr Wu picked up the Bible and prayed to God. Then the Bible fell to the floor, and he read the page it opened to carefully. The chapter talked about the days God created the Earth and everything needed for human beings. Then he created Adam and Eve, and told both of them that plants, vegetables and seeded fruits growing on Earth have been provided for them to eat.
"I thought about what I had eaten in the past - meat, fish, fried and grilled food, sweet cake, but God simply wanted us to eat vegetables and sour fruits. I was confused and doubted whether I would become weak if I ate too many vegetables and less meat," says Dr Wu. Yet he decided to follow the Bible's guidance. He ate a lot of vegetable and fruits, drank clean water, and completely adjusted his lifestyle - his sleeping, breathing and exercise habits.

Nine months later, he went for a check-up, and surprisingly no cancer cells were detected. He advised people in his family and in the neighborhood about his discovery, and studied natural medicine until he received a doctorate degree in naturopathy and nutrition from the US.

Dr Wu has been a frequent speaker at worldwide forums, spreading his knowledge on natural cures and the use of organic food. He advises people to use the most simple foods in the most natural way in order to fight illnesses and maintain good health.

Dr Wu's secrets to good health Published: 7/05/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: My life

The human body has the power to heal itself. The immune system has a self-defence mechanism to block and destroy bacteria or viruses that invade our bodies, while the self-healing mechanism will get us back on the road to recovery. When you have a cold and take medicine, the medication may kill the virus but your immune system will not fully function, and its efficiency will decrease. As a result, your body will be more vulnerable to germs.

Dr Wu's principle is to strengthen the immune system, and avoid medication as much as possible. In his book, he offers the following guidelines to good health:

1. Have at least three bowel movements a day.

Other health experts may advise one bowel movement a day, but Dr Wu says that's not enough. You need three to four bowel movements a day in order to excrete all the accumulated faeces from your intestine. Your liver will not be overburdened and it also helps reduce cholesterol in your body.

How much water you need to drink each day depends on your specific situation. If your office is air-conditioned, drinking six glasses of water a day is enough. If your work involves lots of walking, you have to drink 8-10 glasses a day. If you work under the hot sun, then 10-12 glasses of water are required. The way you drink is also important. The correct way is to sip it little by little, to give your body cells time to absorb the water. If you drink the whole glass down at once, your cells can't absorb it all, and the water will be excreted as urine.

7. Eat according to your blood type.

Your blood type determines what you should eat. Eating the wrong foods will make you sick. People with blood type O have to eat a certain amount of meat. If they eat only vegetables for a long time, their body won't absorb all the substances they need to strengthen their immune system. The recommended diet for this group is 75% vegetables, 10% fruits, 10% meat, seafood and goat's milk (avoid cow's milk), and 5% grains. People with blood type A, however should avoid milk and meat, while increasing grains and fruits. People with blood type B should also avoid meat, while those with blood type AB should avoid chicken and beef.

8. Eat according to your biological clock.

Every human being has a biological clock that tells us when to eat, sleep, and wake up. If you don't follow your biological clock, the organs will lose their balance. Toxins and wastes won't be excreted from your body, and soon you'll get sick. According to Dr Wu, the biological clock is divided into three phases.
From 4am to noon is the time for bowel movements, so in the morning you should eat foods with lots of fiber. Fruit and vegetable smoothies are recommended. From noon to 8pm, your body will absorb food so lunch is the most important meal. A vegetable salad with grains is recommended. Fish or boiled eggs can be added to your lunch. Avoid meat at dinner as the amino acids in the meat will disturb your sleep. Try to finish dinner by 6pm. From 8pm to 4am, the nutrients and energy from food will be distributed throughout your body organs. The golden time for your sleep is between 10pm and 2am, as your immune and self-healing system will function at its best.

Why are your attitute and manners so bad? It is from Jurong CC.

All of us have a bag. It could be a suitcase, a leather bag, a travelling bag, a sports bag, a sling bag or a fashionable handbag. The humble purse which carries the many coins – 50 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents or even the shiny $1 coins could be considered to be a small bag.

Have a bag and call it the ‘Bag of Creativity’. You can keep your creative ideas in it. It could be pieces of small notes; symbolic objects to remind you something; pen, pencil with eraser tip, a marker and a highlighter, some small tools like screw driver, spanner, thumb tags or pins to use when required; a set of needles and colourful threads; some postcards – local or foreign, some photos or pictures of places you have ever visited; a pair of skipping ropes and so forth. Don’t use a purse because it cannot accommodate many things.

The list can be many as it depends on the person’s taste, needs or even his desire to do something. An item kept for some time, you never know, could be used in another way. It is common knowledge that the compass and rope is useful in navigation but then sailors realized that a ladder is useful for embarking or disembarking on to the boat because some jetties are not equipped with steps. That ladder must not be something that is difficult to carry. Hence this thought gave birth to the idea of Jacob’s ladder. This ladder is actually a rope ladder and after use it could be easily folded up and kept in a small corner within the cabin.

Now suppose a sailor lands on an unknown island, then he can drop some small things as he walks along so that when he wish to return back, he can trace his steps back. Suppose he uses beans, then you know what can happen to him?  The beans would definitely be eaten up by the birds and then it becomes difficult or worse still impossible for him to trace back his steps. Hence the best choice would be to drop plastic beads or plastic seeds so that the birds would not eat it. To keep ENO on board would be useful because it can give relief for minor stomach-ache. Paracetamol is good to keep for relief of headache. Well, all these ideas were applied in the past and then they were creative at that point in time. It always pays to keep some health items on board. In an adventure trip, even the minimal comfort goes a long way to keep fatigue and other discomfort at bay.

I hope you have heard the story of the crow. It was very thirsty and happened to fly over a peasant’s hut. It saw a vessel containing water. The problem was that the water was near to the base and vessel’s neck was narrow. The crow was afraid to put its neck into the vessel because it could get stuck into the vessel or worse still if someone happens to come while it was craning to drink, its life would be in danger. Hence it perched on the branch of a tree to pause and think of a solution. An idea struck the crow and it began to put pebbles into the vessel. Gradually the water level rose and finally it was within its beak reach. Hence the crow was at last able to drink the water from the vessel. This story illustrates that necessity is the mother of invention.

Likewise the student keeps his study tools in his bag such as the filed notes, writing materials like pen, pencil, erasers, colour pencils, felt pen, stencil set and so on. He refers to his notes from time to time as reference while doing his home assignments given by the class teacher. For the essay of the day, he may record in his scrap book some salient points. He refers to them, pauses and thinks about them for a while and then starts to put down his thoughts on to the paper. If in need of some good words, he would refer to the dictionary he always keep in his glass display cabinet. He writes altering some of his facts again, correct the grammar mistakes and rewrite properly this time. He reads his completed work and is satisfied, then closes the book; keep it in his school bag for passing it up to the teacher the next day.

So you have seen what the plumber have in his tool box, the carpenter in his work box, the medic for his first aid box, the school going boy for his school bag and so on. What have you thought about yourself if you wish to go on a vacation? What are the things you wish to keep in your travel bag? At a lucky draw one of our colleagues happened to win a travel bag. Now this bag would be useful for his travelling purpose. Let us imagine what the things he would put in are. First and foremost, he would put in his clothing. Then he would include his toilettes such as a bar of soap, talc powder, a shoe polish bottle, a bath towel, a pair of slippers or sandals and perhaps some medicine he wish to bring along with himself. He may even put in a can or two of soft drinks to while his time while on the journey. He may also bring along his portable radio and nowadays it is the MP3 players. Well the choice is many and my colleague would put in things which he feels necessary for the trip. Of course, he will not forget to bring along his cash and credit card.

Now what does an artist carries in his bag. I mean his bag of creativity. He might have a set of carving knives to do some wood carving, carry some oil paints, keep some brushes, a bottle of thinner, a palette, a bottle of glitters – it could be red, gold, green or silver, a glue bottle, some scrap paper and so on. A person may be an artist either by occupation or driven by passion to be creative. Art is one form of creative expression. There are other forms of expression through arts i.e. through drama or script writing, playing music or involved in theatre plays. Hence many things come in like musical instruments, masks, body paints, cosmetic jewellery, hat or caps and colourful or artistic costumes.

Of course, we must not forget the props. These props are actually items displayed or placed at strategic places on the stage. This is to enhance or activate the play. Props actually act as support in a play. Hence if a river is to be created, then we have the cloth or paper backdrop of a flowing river. Nowadays to create flame, artist like to glue strips of orange or red shiny papers and then put it on to a fan blower and a red or orange light. The ever fluttering strips of paper appears like a flame to the viewers. Likewise a drum can be shown by cutting foam and pasting it with colourful paper to look like a drum. Sometimes it is done so artistically that the artificial drum looks so real. Hence there are many types of props. The angel wings are often sewn to thin ribs of rattan and sewed to the dress. As the dancer dance, she looks like an angel from the Heavens because of her real-like wings.

The embroiderer keeps a lot of colourful beads, sequins and threads. She may also have many types of sewing needles and other tools of embroidery. Nowadays a flag maker would scan the original sample, and then store it into his computer system. When he requires making the flag, he would retrieve back to it and the machine controls the position of the image or characters on to the flag so that it is accurate and neat. Creativity has penetrated into machine work and this is useful especially in mass production. The right spray of colour on to the material is an art and also science in this new age. I have seen the end-product of silkscreen printing and it is so beautifully done by the machine that it looks marvellous.

So you can also have your own bag of creativity. It could be just as simple as keeping a note book, a pencil, a ball pen of 4 colours i.e. red, blue, green and black and a scrap book. You could keep some cuttings or pictures from magazines or even objects in your bag. I once saw the panel board of a taxi decorated by coins from different countries.  When I asked the driver about it, he told me that each coin from different land represents the nations he visited during his vacations. Instead of keeping souvenirs from different lands, he simply keeps one coin from each visit. As he looks at each coin, he is at once connected with his past visit to that nation. The memories flood back to his mind and he is precisely able to tell what happened in his trip at that time. Hence the coin acts as a memory trigger for him. I listened to him with fascination. I thought to myself that the driver’s idea was a good one – he is creative in his own ways. Hence the bag of creativity is useful in the sense that it acts a power house of ideas that can be retrieved from time to time.   

Om Nath Panday

12 JUL 2009

Once you understand the principle that motivates the motivator, you can proceed to achieve your goal and can motivate others too. Your internal motivation is your drive and attitude. It is contagious. Attitude is the key to getting the response you want from others. How does a person stay motivated and focused? One important tool that has been used by athletes for a long time is called autosuggestion. Auto suggestions are positive statements made in the present tense and repeated regularly. In other words it is positive self-talk. Motivation is classified into two types: external and internal.

EXTERNAL MOTIVATION

External motivation comes from outside, such as money, societal approval, fame or fear. Examples of external motivation are fear of getting spanked by parents and fear of getting fired at work. A company wanted to set up a pension plan. In order for the plan to be installed, it needed 100% participation. Everyone signed up except John. The plan made sense and was in the best interest of everyone. John not signing was the only obstacle. John's supervisor and other co-workers had tried to persuade him without success.

The owner of the company called John into his office and said, "John, here is a pen and these are the papers for you to sign to enroll into the pension plan. If you don't enroll, you are fired this minute." John signed right away. The owner asked John why he hadn't signed earlier. John replied, "No one explained the plan quite as clearly as you did."

INTERNAL MOTIVATION

Internal motivation is the inner gratification, not for success or winning, but for the fulfillment that comes from having done it. It is a feeling of accomplishment, rather than just achieving a goal. Reaching an unworthy goal does not give the gratifying feeling. Internal motivation is lasting, because it comes from within and translates into selfmotivation. Motivation needs to be identified and constantly strengthened to succeed. Keep your goals in front of you and read them morning and evening. The two most important motivating factors are recognition and responsibility. Recognition means being appreciated; being treated with respect and dignity; and feeling a sense of belonging.

Responsibility gives a person a feeling of belonging and ownership. He then becomes part of the bigger picture. Lack of responsibility can become demotivating. Monetary rewards are temporary and short-lived; they are not gratifying in the long run. In contrast, seeing an idea being implemented can be emotionally gratifying by itself. People feel that they are not being treated like objects. They feel part of a worthwhile team. The reward of doing the right thing by itself is motivating.

Remember, people who gossip with you also will gossip about you in your absence.

Gossiping and lying are closely related.

A gossip listens in haste and repeats at leisure.

A gossip never minds his own business because he neither has a mind nor a business.

A gossip is more concerned about what he overhears than what he hears.

Gossip is the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves nothing unsaid.

Someone said it well: "Small people talk about other people, mediocre people talk about things, great people talk about ideas."

Gossip can lead to slander and defamation of character. People who listen to gossip are as guilty as those who do the gossiping.

A gossip usually gets caught in his own mouth trap.

Gossip has no respect for justice. It breaks hearts, it ruins lives, it is cunning and malicious. It victimizes the helpless.

Gossip is hard to track down because it has no face or name. It tarnishes reputations, topples governments, wrecks marriages, ruins careers, makes the innocent cry, causes heartaches and sleepless nights.

The next time you indulge in gossip, ask yourself.

• Is it the truth?

• Is it kind and gentle?

• Is it necessary?

• Am I spreading rumors?

• Do I say positive things about others?

• Do I enjoy and encourage others to spread rumors?

• Does my conversation begin with, "Don't tell anyone?"

• Can I maintain confidentiality?