Birthday Resolution – on my 63rd Birthday – September 12, 2019

September 12, 2019 – my 63^rd Birthday. 

Yes – I was born on September 12, 1956 – and now – I am 63 years old. 

Here is My Birthday Resolution: 

“I will try my best to “flower” and “bloom” – wherever I am – with whatever I have...” 

Yes – “Wherever God has planted me – I will try to flower and bloom...” 

This is my Birthday Resolution. 

BIRTHDAY RESOLUTION – 12 SEPTEMBER 2019 

Inspirational Introspection

By

VIKRAM KARVE

I learnt more about the Art of Living by reading good literature – rather than from hearing sermons and moral lectures – or from highfalutin philosophy or spiritualism.

One thing good about the Navy is that it inculcated and fostered the reading habit in me.

I read a lot of sea stories and novels like The Cruel Sea, The Caine Mutiny, Run Silent Run Deep, HMS Ulysses, Tales of the South Pacific – and so many more.

One sea novel I like very much is: 

THE CAPTAIN by Jan De Hartog

In this story – the protagonist is a Merchant Navy Officer who is frustrated because – owing to reasons beyond his control – he gets stuck in Tugs whereas he wants to sail in the main fleet.

Seeing his frustration – his Tug Captain gives him a maxim:

“Ou Dieu vous a seme – il faut savoir fleurir” 

which roughly translated means

“You must know how to flower where God has sown you” 

or

“wherever God plants you – there you must learn how to bloom”

The young Merchant Navy Officer takes this to heart. 

He works very hard on the Tug on which he is assigned. 

And then – he works with dedication, sincerity and devotion to duty throughout his career on Tugs.

In due course – he becomes the most famous sea-going Tug Captain. 

And ultimately – he becomes the owner of flourishing company with a huge fleet of ocean going tugs.

Inspired by this book – I too tried my best to imbibe this philosophy in my life – especially in my Naval Career – and – I tried my best to “flower” wherever the Navy posted me.

It is good philosophy to apply in your life:

“Wherever God plants you – there you must learn how to flower and bloom...”

NAVY MOTTO

“LIKE IT” OR “LUMP IT” : If you don’t like it – just lump it

If you do not get what you like 

Then – you must learn to like what you get 

And – you must make the most of it 

Like they say in the Navy:

If you don’t “like” it – just “lump” it.

“Like it” or “Lump it” 

There is another saying I read a few years ago:

If life gives you a “Lemon” – make “Lemonade”.

Yes – when life gives you a “lemon” – use that “lemon” and make “lemonade” – instead of cribbing and carping – wallowing in self pity – becoming bitter and spreading bitterness – and making your own life hell and everyone else’s life miserable.

Like they say in NLP :

There is no such thing as “failure” 

There is only “learning experience”

So – metaphorically – the “lemon” is the failure – and – the “lemonade” is the learning experience.

And this “learning experience” will enable you to “flower” and “bloom” wherever you are “sown” or “planted”

Well – I have tried to follow this mantra: 

“Ou Dieu vous a seme – il faut savoir fleurir”  

When I was in the Navy – wherever the Navy transferred me – to whatever job they assigned me – whether they promoted me or not – I tried not to get disillusioned or demoralized.

And – in my own inimitable style: 

I tried to “flower” and “bloom” wherever I was “sown” or “planted”. 

Yes – I made “lemonade” with all the “lemons” that the Navy gave me.

I am trying to do this after my retirement too – trying to “flower” and “bloom” in the back-of-beyond lonely place called Wakad – on the outskirts of Pune – where God has planted me after my retirement. 

That is one of the reasons you are reading this Blog.

Yes – the result of all this “flowering” and “blooming” is this prolific Blog – and the couple of books I have written. 

Well – I am going to “flower” and “bloom” away and “bash on regardless” with my Blogging and Writing – since – this is the best thing I can do where God has planted me. 

God has given me the “lemon” of loneliness. 

And – from this “lemon” of loneliness – I have made the “lemonade” of my blogs – and my books – and all my writing.

Have a good day - whatever “lemons” you get today – just keep making “lemonade” and enjoy every drop of it.

Sometimes you may feel a sense of “failure” – you may feel that you have “failed” in life.

There is no such thing as “failure” – it is all in the mind.

And still – if you feel a sense of “failure” – think of “failure” as a “lemon” – and make “lemonade”.

Talking of the “lemon” of “failure” – let me tell you one thing that I have learnt from my own life experiences.

Sometimes – failure is good

You can take my word for it.

Remember the maxim:

“Ou Dieu vous a seme – il faut savoir fleurir”  

(wherever God plants you – there you must learn how to flower and bloom)

Apply this to your life – and you will “flower and bloom” wherever you are. 

Well – I am doing this for a long time – and – on my birthday – I resolve to continue to follow this maxim with even more determination.  

I am sure I will succeed. 

Dear Reader: 

Please wish me a Happy Birthday 

May you “flower and bloom” wherever God has planted you.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

1. These are my personal views. Please do your own due diligence while selecting a philosophy of life.

2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (all rights reserved)

This article is an abridged version of my article posted online at urls: http://creative.sulekha.com/ou-dieu-vous-a-seme-il-faut-savoir-fleurir_469567_blog  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2010/10/ou-dieu-vous-seme-il-faut-savoir.html  and  http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2013/10/learning-art-of-living-from-literature.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/11/navy-philosophy-like-it-or-lump-it.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/10/insipirational-self-help-mantra.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/12/new-years-resolution-2017-i-will-flower.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/05/monday-motivation-inspirational-pep.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2017/09/navy-motto-like-it-or-lump-it-if-you.html and  http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2017/12/new-years-resolution-2018.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2018/09/birthday-resolution-on-my-62nd-birthday.html etc

Military Humor – Spit and Polish

SPIT AND POLISH

An Apocryphal Story

Re-told by

VIKRAM KARVE

Sometime ago – I decided to clean my bookcase – and while delving through my collection of books – I saw a delightful book called  “The Psychology of Military Humour”  by Brigadier J. Nazareth which I had acquired long back.

While browsing through this book – I came across an anecdote about the celebrated Russian Second World War General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (Marshal of the Soviet Union) (01 December 1896 – 18 June 1974).

Since the book mentioned the anecdote very briefly – I did a bit of searching on the internet – in order to enable me to narrate the story in a more elaborate manner.

Whether this “shoe-shining story” is true – or a part of folklore – we do not know.

What is important is the lesson to be learnt from the story.

SPIT AND POLISH

When he was handpicked to command the newly created mechanized regiment – the training principle that Zhukov introduced was:

If you don’t know how to do it – we will teach you how to do it

If you don’t want to do it – we will make you do it

Once – when he was the Regimental Commander – Zhukov decided to carry out a surprise inspection of the soldiers who were on duty.

He was accompanied by the Adjutant (a Major)

Zhukov was satisfied with the appearance and ‘turn-out’ of the soldiers – except one soldier – whose boots were poorly polished.

Zhukov asked the Adjutant what he thought of the soldier’s boots.

The Adjutant asked the soldier to explain why his boots were not polished properly.

The Soldier remained silent.

The Adjutant warned the soldier that he would be punished for improper turnout in uniform.

Zhukov raised his finger and interrupted the Adjutant. 

Then – Zhukov said angrily to the Adjutant: 

“I am asking you – not him. 

The important thing is not that the soldier’s boots are not polished properly.

What is more important is why you did not pay attention to the matter. 

There is apparently no one else in this regiment except the Commander to help him clean his boots…”

Zhukov ordered the Adjutant to bring a stool and boot polishing equipment.

A Stool and Boot Polishing Material was promptly brought.

Zhukov told the soldier to put one foot on the stool and watch attentively.

Then – Zhukov began polishing the soldier’s boot – showing the soldier exactly how to polish boots.

After a few minutes – the boot was shining.

Zhukov then gave the brush to the soldier and told him to polish the other boot to the same level of shine. 

When the soldier had done so – Zhukov nodded and walked away.

MORAL OF THE STORY

In the Military – there is no substitute for professionalism.

An officer is supposed to know how to do a task – before he orders his subordinates to do it.

That is why military training is so elaborate with a “hands on” approach.

However – this is not so in the civil services – where “generalists” rule the roost.

And sometimes – these clueless “administrators” pass vague and impracticable orders to specialists.

With the advent of “high-tech” weapons and “state-of-the-art” modern military technology – this “civil services” attitude seems to be creeping into the Defence Services too.

I have seen occasions – when a “generalist” senior officer tries to “bullshit” a technical specialist – and ends up embarrassed when his ignorance is exposed.

Of course – “Bullshit” does not work any longer.

If an officer does not know how to do a task – how can he teach or supervise his subordinates to do that task...?

In today’s world – the earlier “Carry on Chief” Style Navy Officership does not work nowadays. 

An Officer must be able to demonstrate to his juniors how to do a task.

That is why an Officer cannot stop learning even if he achieves high rank – because – there is no substitute for continual learning and professionalism.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 
1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Disclaimer:

1. This article is a spoof, satire, just for fun and humor, no offence is meant to anyone, so take it with a pinch of salt and have a laugh.

2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

Copyright © Vikram Karve (All Rights Reserved)

     

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

 

This is a Revised Re-Post of my article SPIT AND POLISH posted online earlier on 04 June 2015 at url: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/06/humor-in-uniform-spit-and-polish.html  and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/06/humor-in-uniform-spit-and-polish-shoe.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2017/01/military-officership-story.html  and https://karve.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/spit-and-polish-military-humor/ etc