All Entries Tagged With: "Turning Point"

I was living a beautiful, content life of marital bliss, enjoying motherhood and generally just being there. Life was good, I believed in myself, God was not a word in my lexicon; I passed my leisure reading fiction and watching movies. But, and it is a big ‘but’, at times I felt that there was more in me.

monday sunriseI emptied my bedroom dustbin into the black garbage bag, ready to throw it down the chute. I had one last cigarette left in the packet and fifteen minutes to spare before I could start for the office. Giving in to the temptation, I lit the cigarette and threw the packet into the bag as well, my last piece of garbage from the weekend.

I was in Dumaguete, a city in the South of Manila, when I celebrated my 44th birthday last November 2008. I was not alone. I was with a group from the office, managing a multi-million peso event that was to crown all our achievements for the year. I was the team leader and I owned the project.

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt In recent weeks, I have been getting calls from clients who have lost or are about to lose their jobs. It [...]

Find yourself hating your job? It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some steps to start enjoying work.

My husband’s company went under two years ago and I lost my job 10 months ago. We are both unemployed for the first time, ever (remember, 45 here)

A little child is being rewarded by her mother for good behavior. “Mom I want ice-cream!” She shouted excitedly. The momentarily indulgent mother immediately takes the course to the best ice-cream corner….not knowing what she’s getting into. On the way, the little girl is busy describing her favorite ice-cream, “Mom, you know what I like [...]

Recently, I wanted to try a bus route to reach my office, so I left my home very early on feet to get to the station. When I arrived there I got a direct bus to reach my office. There was no rush in the bus and so I got a window seat. I was [...]

A friend remarked to me that what defines America is its veneration of entrepreneurship. The French, he added, most admired style and elegance. What defines India? That was the challenge my American friend posed. Before I could speak a word, he admonished me, “Don’t give me the clichéd answer that anything one says about India [...]

Do you know the story about the two stone cutters? When asked what he’s doing, the first man replies, “I’m cutting this stone into bricks.” When the second laborer is asked what he’s doing, he replies, “I’m building a temple.” How much do we do in a day with our nose to the grindstone? Myopic, [...]

My friends tease me that my pseudonym is “How is it relevant”. I use this phrase very often and for most situations because it helps focus my mind. Let me share this secret with you. Scene 1. The boss is firing the hell out of a person and the person is miserable. Scene 2. The [...]

Turning points. They are experienced by everyone. These are events that are capable of transforming the entire being of a person: both positively and negatively. They can restructure psyches – or sometimes even shatter them and create new ones in place. What is the reach of such incidents? Everywhere possible – individually and collectively, physically [...]

Language has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone. Paul J Tillich, The Eternal Now In today’s fast paced life we all seek peace and happiness. We set material goals and work toward achieving them. But, in [...]

In March 2001, when I was at the lowest point in my life, I went with my cousin to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, up in the Indian Himalayas, where he has lived in exile since 1959. The meeting lasted perhaps 20 minutes — I can’t be sure because I lost track of time [...]

It occurred to me this week that this is a mighty powerful question. What’s it going to take? We usually use that phrase in dire circumstances. What’s it going to take for you to wake up? What’s it going to take for me to quit? What’s it going to take for them to realize? But [...]

The taxi driver and I shared one thing in common: indulging in the art of listening and understanding. From Sharjah he cruised at a constant speed towards Dubai. Studying his profile from time to time, I saw he was about 54, a sparse, almost ordinary man, but there was in his voice that indefinable tone, [...]

My friend Yvonne sent me the following: Question: How many women with menopause does it take to change a light bulb? Woman’s Answer: One! Only one! And do you know why? Because no one else in this house knows how to change a light bulb! They don’t even know that the bulb is burned out!! [...]

What happened in your childhood or another life informs patterns in your current reality. But sooner or later, you’ve simply got to get over using yesterday to explain today’s behavior.