WISDOM FROM A PIMPLE

After days of tummy waltzing with delicious

Alphonso mangoes the heat kicks in and I am

greeted one morning with a pimple.

It appeared on the right side of my face.

Close to the lower part of my cheek.

Brilliant enough to be clearly noticed a few

centimeters from my lips. I stood and stared

while it greeted me and its presence sunk in.

For me a pimple is strange company

considering I never had any in my youth!

So I peered and lifted my face and angled the

mirror. That was study enough. I turned and

walked away.

Day one unfolded. I lived every moment doing

the job at hand as best I can. The pimple

remained positioned and present in all the

order of work executed. But it did not claim

my interest. I did not try to conceal or

camouflage it. I had accepted it as part of me.

I made no pointed mention and directed no

attention to it. It was there accepted as part of

me.

The next day it hurt. I gave it a passing glance

as I stood before the mirror to get ready for

day two with my additional feature. The

pimple remained positioned and present in all

the order of work executed today too. But it

did claim my odd thought for it made its

presence felt with a twinge of pain now and

again.

I did not reach for it nor try to comfort it

directly. The day wore on as time has a way to

go. Nothing out of the extra ordinary

happened as teacher’s, parents and students

met me. Satisfaction ruled as I did my job.

With a smile on my face I returned home.

Day three greeted me with the repulsive sight

of a yellowish tip on my new feature. The

truth be told I felt sorry for whoever would

have to look into my face today. And that is

assured there would be plenty of traffic of

adults and children scheduled to interact with

me.

The Pimple was begging for attention with its

angry look. It could not be missed, that’s for

sure? A dab of an ointment went on to it as I

signaled to myself to go about my day.

Yes, a cocked eyebrow, a distracted smile and

a pointed “who beat you” by a tot had me

explaining myself several times that day. With

a little effort we were able to remain focused

on the job at hand.

And day three ended.

Day four was much the same as day three.

And with the dawn of day five, life started

getting into normal mode. My feature shrank

with each coming day and was almost invisible

on day seven.

I was relieved to note that with patience

and minimum interference the pimple

was gone. I smiled.

I sure was in for a rude shock on day nine

when additional feature number 2 decided to

appear. Right near my nose.

Panic rose within my beating breast this had

to go. I cannot accept this. I did less staring

and went into commando mode in a flash

decision. I fiddled and pressed and plucked

and pinched at it. It hurt, but that did not

seem to hinder me from doing what I went

about doing to my own skin. I patted it down

and tried to make it invisible.

And invisible it was not to be. Every morning

and every night I did the same routine of

fiddling and pressing and plucking and

pinching it into submission. Days were

littered with unpleasant and unhappy feelings

when I looked at or felt the pimple.

Pain and irritation clouded my thoughts

several minutes a day. Nonetheless, I did what

I had to do work wise but in crept a niggling

irritation when least expected.

And to cut a long story short it just remained

unfazed and the days rolled into weeks and my

pimple is with me 4 weeks later. As flushed

and in bloom as the first day it appeared. I

cannot lie there are days in between when it

seemed to be receding to the low lying areas of

invisibility.

But it never really does. It’s there

right under the surface the root inflamed and

ready to erupt on a short fuse.

Here’s what I learned in all this, acceptance of

reality of the things you cannot change is the

key to a rational operational choice. Of course

the practical aspect of acceptance in any

problem is in one’s best interest. As Pimple

number 1 ‘showed me so’.

Panic is a foe and battling problems which

only need acceptance to tide them over, may

lead to unending revolting consequences.

Being in a hurry to find solutions may

camouflage the problem but the root will

always be a source of pain. “I taught you so”

muttered Pimple number 2.

All healing takes time and must begin from

within. Thus spoke the Pimples and humbled

me with their wisdom.

Love always

Joscelyn

My Realistic Goals – as easy as ABC

Appreciate a teacher. Accept the weather.

Bounce back. Beckon all possibilities.

Cultivate the positive. Call on forward thinking.

Do yourself a favor. Dive into creativity.

Expect change. Exist in today.

Foster good practices. Feel the energy of progress.

Give yourself a break. Go have some fun.

Have kindness in the till always. Hold on to genuineness.

Increase your faith. Imbibe hope in shuttered eyes.

Jump for joy. Jig whenever you want.

Kid around. Keep peace near.

Leave something’s unsaid. Long for nothing.

Make a child smile. Make parents partners in their children’s education.

Never delay a good action. Note what makes you happy.

Open your mind to another perspective. Offer only the viable.

Pull a bunny from a hat. Practice patience & persistent

Quiet the rumble of self doubt. Queue up constructive action.

Return a Smile. Reverse a frown.

Signal negative thoughts to disperse. Savor healthy ones.

Thank your sadness. Take time to laugh.

Unfold the layers of your personality. Uncover your eyes to bliss.

Voice your love. Vote for peace.

When the tick in your heart yells now know it is the time. Wake up to contentment.

X-ray your intentions. X out the mistaken.

Yellow is also a colour. Yell for help, its ok.

Zigzag into peace. Zing it to last.

Go for it!

Love always

Joscelyn

What Testing found in WORDS.

The most promising word - PEACE
The dirtiest word - RIVALRY
The longest word - WAIT
The meaningless word - EGO

The heaviest word –REGRET
The present word - FORGIVE
The toughest word – KIND
The ugliest word - BLAME

The strongest word - LOVE
The humblest word - SORRY
The grateful word - THANKS
The happiest word - SMILE

The quickest word - NO
The saddest word - CANNOT
The rarest word - ACCOUNTABILITY
The forgotten word - SILENCE

The challenging word - SETBACK
The smallest word - QUIT
The biggest word – GIVE
The angriest word - HATE

The worst motivational word - FEAR

Joscelyn

Good Deeds.

Your deeds are duty
Your deeds are glory
Your deeds are you.
You define their helpfulness or helplessness.


In the direction of self
For those who will never be able to return
Toward those who can return in equal measure
Intended for those who will return in more that you can measure


I once asked an individual what was the motivation for the philanthropic work. “See, it makes a good topic of conversation for the gossip monger“ Was the answer.


It may start out as just a means to be seen in a favourable light. It ends up as a real life changing and a rewarding experience. A person recovering from an addiction whispered, “It’s a purpose to live for”.


Does the flavor of deed change and define who and what we are?


“Meant for the world to see” ‘Do Gooder’s sentiments yelled from angry and hostile eyes. The reward lasted as long as people remembered to mention all about it in glowing terms.


“You can get used to the fabulous feeling of satisfaction” blushed an expert, wrinkled fingers clutching the fiver to be given to the next unsuspecting aged on the road.


‘On behalf of favours received’ in goes the dollar and the dime into the donation box. In the name of religion too the price is fixed. To avoid the lightening strike in goes the note. Hardly noteworthy!


By far,the coolest act is “A return favour “. Its a weathered story.

Summer was kind to Fall without calculation.
On the other side of a good day Monsoon was shattered and in need kindness.
In walks Fall who took good care of Monsoon, thus doubling the kindness. Monsoon deemed its good luck and afforded the same to Winter in time of Winter’s need.

Somewhere, somehow Summer has ensured it’s time of need has been taken care of with kindness.

It never fails to turn and return.
The way you deal it makes the difference in the cut.


Good deeds, are there enough reasons?
Should there be a reason?

Joscelyn

An Awesome Step Forward.

My eyes flew open.
I had a smile on my lips.
My chest did feel light.
Energy soared.
I felt alive. It’s ok.
I sprang out bed.

With a purposeful stride reached the white board.
Marker pen in hand.
Surprising, Amazing, Awesome Breakthrough, I wrote.
Swirling in my mind were happy thoughts.

Thoughts which niggled at me as I lay my head down to sleep that night had turned turtle.
Petty were now their description. For the grip they had on me was no more.

Whatever anyone said or did was meant well.
That was the thought which woke me up. It was 3am.
It is true my subconscious gave me the answer. It was as clear as if spoken to me audibly.
I am living.

There is never a time that there is zilch to say. A kernel of thought is constantly being planted. To grow, flourish or die depends on the attention and focus it receives.

I have two ways to go today. I can dwell on what’s in the pipeline and developing.
Or I can choose to do and enjoy what can be done and is right in front of me.

The former is rewarding insofar as there is something to do on your part.
Once you do all in your power. You have to let it go, and let God.
Nudging the elbow spills the milk.

The latter is in front of me waiting to be done. I immerse myself in it.
I give myself creatively to it. For me it is to be alive physically and mentally where I am.
I am doing things which I thought
I would have the time for only 10 years from now.

I am writing, thinking and creating.
I am spending time with family.
I am making new friends.
I am getting in touch with old friends.

Isn’t it awesome? I find it irresistible!

Joscelyn

Shipshape And Ready To Go

I stared at the mail in my inbox. It was flooded with replies from Face book. At last I succumbed to the pressure. Family and friends welcomed me. At the first glance it looked all the same to me. I wondered who would send the same message so many times.
Then my eyes scrolled up and down and then sideways and I was pleasantly surprised.
Thank you all for the warm welcome.
I am off on my new assignment as Kindergarten Supervisor in Fujairah UAE. This is after a break of 6 months. The break was natural fallout of a decision taken on principle.
In Doha I had the most mind baffling experience of not being able to procure a Resident visa for my only daughter. So I decided to come back to India and set her up in a good college.
Everyone knows what a herculean task it is to get admission in a good reputed college. With the universe routing for us people were put in our path. Persons with their generosity, faith and kindness made admission to Sophia College and hostel a dream come true. Today, Janelle is attending this fantastic college and growing in responsibility. She is so up for the challenge.

To express myself was a need that grew in the days when all this was coming through. Addressing that need I started blogging at the end of May ’09. Tough times are most fertile for learning. I had my fair share of those times so I made the best of what I had.

I knew many things were going ‘not so well’ so as to speak. Nevertheless, there were many things ‘going well’ too. It was my decision to count my blessing on a larger platform than I was already doing. I had made gratitude an attitude by writing regularly from the year 2002. Each day and everyday! Little notepads and mini books I filled plenty.

Believe me I am real
I cry
I mop
I imagine the worst
I freeze
I stare at the TV
I churn
I fear
I doubt
This happens at intervals and I allow it for short periods only.

Then no matter what, I always make a choice to get back on track of making today fruitful in even the simplest way. I do what I can do and I focus on doing it well.

So, I signed up for Sunny Thoughts and practiced them making them my own
I blogged about what I adopted and how it benefited me
I meditated on faith and belief
I brushed up my computer skills
I tuned into finer thinking
I read, and devoured everything in my reach. I hailed it as a resource and a signal to what I needed. I accepted it as such so it worked as such.

I like the feeling which accompanies this kind of doing! So I seek it.
In a new and improved approach I trusted my instincts and relied more and more on my abilities.
I searched and I found.

Joscelyn