Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: self improvement

Showing posts with label self improvement. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

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

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”

“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

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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.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Errors of the Past are the Wisdom of the Future

Lessons I Learnt in Life

MISTAKES ARE PORTALS OF DISCOVERY

Errors of the Past are the Wisdom of the Future

Musings of a Veteran

VIKRAM KARVE

This happened more than 27 years ago – in the early 1990’s – when we lived in the beautiful verdant campus of the erstwhile IAT (now called DIAT Deemed University) in the hills of Girinagar – overlooking the serene cool blue waters of Khadakwasla Lake – near Pune – with the mighty Sinhagad Fort towering above – as a sentinel .

We lived in a typical Military (MES) Accommodation – ground plus one storey with garages in between, four houses in a block.

Each house had a separate overhead water tank on top of the building and separate servant quarters behind the block .

We lived on the ground floor – and our neighbours who lived on the top floor above us were a young couple with a small kid.

Once there was a long weekend – 4 days off – 2 days Diwali holidays – followed by Saturday and Sunday.

Our neighbours – who lived above us – they decided to spend the long weekend in Mumbai with their relatives.

In contrast – a huge number of relatives had decided to visit us at IAT Girinagar – to celebrate Diwali – and spend the weekend in the picturesque surroundings on Girinagar – and do some sightseeing and trekking – climb up the Sinhagad Fort – and picnic at the Panshet and Varasgaon Dams – and stroll on the “beach” on the Khadakwasla lakeside.

The whole gang of relatives arrived early in the morning on the first day of Diwali.

We were enjoying ourselves – the children were bursting crackers outside – and my wife got down to making preparations for a festival feast for all of us – and we were looking forward to a delicious sumptuous lunch.

Suddenly – my wife came out – and she told me that the taps had run dry – and she said that water was not coming anywhere in the house.

This was surprising – since there was an abundance of water in Girinagar – and we had never faced any water problem.

I rang up the “pump house” – who confirmed that they had duly pumped water for 3 hours in the morning as per schedule – and there was no reason for a water shortage.

The “pump house” supervisor suggested that I have a look at my water tank on the roof – and if there was any plumbing or piping problem – they would send someone to rectify the fault.

I climbed up on the roof – and – I was aghast to see that my water tank was bone dry.

The lid of the water tank had been taken off – and the walls of the water tank had been freshly painted.

My neighbour’s water tank was full of water.

I came down – and I started enquiring – when my servant told me that she had seen our neighbour’s servant on the roof early in the morning.

I called the neighbour’s servant.

He said that before leaving for Mumbai – my neighbour had given him instructions to shut the inlet valve – drain the water tank – clean it up – dry it – and then apply a coat of paint – let the water tank dry for two days – and then – open the valve – so that the water tank would be full by the time they came back from their holiday.

He was contrite – and – he admitted that – by mistake – he had emptied and painted my water tank – instead of my neighbour’s water tank.

He had mistakenly assumed that my water tank was my neighbour’s water tank.

That is why he had drained out all the water – closed the inlet valve – dried the water tank – and then cleaned and painted it.

My neighbour’s servant profusely apologised – and he said he was very sorry for the mistake

But – I was furious – since – because of this man’s stupidity – we were going to have a water problem – and that too – when there were so many guests in the house.

I lost my temper – and – I started shouting angrily at the man.

As I started giving him a severe tongue-lashing – the man shivered in fright.

Suddenly – I noticed the man’s small son watching the proceedings.

The young boy trembled with fear – and – he had an expression of dread written all over his innocent face – as he watched his father being publicly scolded and humiliated.

I could not bear to see this heart-rending expression on the young boy’s face.

I felt terrible that I had scolded the man in front of his son.

So – I stopped my invective tirade.

I told the man to go away.

Then – I went into my room to cool off.

That day – I made a decision.

I resolved that I would never admonish anyone in front of their children or family.

Parents are heroes to their children.

So – the worst thing you can do is to humiliate parents in front of their children.

Similarly – it can be very demoralizing for an Officer – a Manager – or for any Employee – to be reprimanded by the Boss – in front of his juniors and subordinates.

I was in a profession where being “goody-goody” and “soft spoken” did not work in all cases.

So – occasionally – you had to shout at people and reprimand them – in order to get the desired results.

But – I ensured that whenever I gave a tongue-lashing to someone – I did so in private – by calling him aside separately to give him a dressing down.

Also – I tried my best to criticize the action and to ensure that I did not insult the person by making derogatory personal remarks about him.

I scrupulously tried my best to follow the dictum:

Praise in Public – but – Admonish in Private

I did lose my temper and yell at people in public sometimes – but I immediately made amends by apologising on the spot – or at the earliest opportunity.

We all make mistakes.

But – the trick lies in realizing your mistake when you commit one – learn from your mistake – take corrective action – and make sure you do not repeat the same mistake again.

Experience enables you to recognize a mistake.

As Cicero said:

Any man can make a mistake – but only a fool will continue in repeating it

Mistakes are your best teachers.

Mistakes are lessons of wisdom.

And – as James Joyce said:

Mistakes are the Portals of Discovery

I have made a lot of mistakes in my life.

I have tried my best to learn from my mistakes – and – I have endeavoured to ensure that I do not repeat my mistakes.

In some cases I have succeeded – and – in some cases – it is still an ongoing process.

As Tryon Edwards put it:

“Some of Best Lessons we ever Learn – we Learn from our Mistakes and Failures.

The Error of the Past is the Wisdom and Success of the Future...”

I will end with a quote by Wang Yang-Ming:

“The sages do not consider that making no mistake is a blessing.

They believe rather that the great virtue of man lies in his ability to correct his mistakes and to continually make a new man of himself...”

VIKRAM KARVE

Disclaimer:

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:

This article is a revised re-post of my article MISTAKES ARE THE PORTALS OF DISCOVERY posted by me online earlier at url: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/10/mistakes-are-portals-of-discovery.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/08/lessons-i-learnt-in-life-mistakes-are.html and https://www.quora.com/profile/Vikram-Karve/Writing-by-VIKRAM-KARVE/A-Life-Lesson-I-Learnt-21-years-ago-%E2%80%9CPraise-in-Public-but-Admonish-in-Private%E2%80%9D?share=1&srid=5Hkq and http://karvediat.blogspot.com/2017/10/mistakes-are-portals-of-discovery.html etc

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

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

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Errors of the Past are the Wisdom of the Future

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