The Splash of Wisdom

"UNDOUBTEDLY SOME OF THE WISEST ADVICE ON LIFE CAME FROM THOSE WHO WERE EXITING THIS WORLD. IF WE LEARN FROM THIS WE CAN STOP STRIVING TO FIND HAPPINESS AND ACTUALLY FIND IT" For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learned never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five: 1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me This was the most common regret...

A jobless man applied for the position of 'office boy' at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. 'You are employed.' He said.' Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.' The man replied 'But I don't have a computer, neither an email.' I'm sorry', said the HR manager, 'If you don't have an email, that means you do not exist. And who doesn't exist, cannot have the job.' The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy a 10Kg tomato crate. He then sold the tomatoes in a door to door round. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the Operation three times, and returned home with $60. The man realized that he can survive by this Way, and started to go everyday earlier, and return late Thu...

Published in HindustanTimes dated 26th Apr 2011

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favourite 'fast food' when you were growing up?' 'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.' 'C'mon, seriously.. Where did you eat?'  'It was a place called 'home,'' I explained. ! 'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.' By this time, the lad was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I'd figured his system could have handled it: Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore jeans, set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card. My p...

Never underestimate your customer's complaint, no matter how silly it might sound to be.  This is a real story that happened between the customer of General Motors and its Customer-Care Executive. A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors. This is the second time I have written to you and I don't blame you for not answering me since I sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner each night. But the kind of ice cream varies every night, after dinner the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem. You see, every time I buy a vanilla ice cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question...

From an Indian student in Germany… Germany is a highly industrialized country. It produces top brands like Benz, BMW, and Siemens etc. The nuclear reactor pump is made in a small town in this country. In such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life. At least that was my impression before my study trip. When I arrived at Hamburg, my colleagues who work in Hamburg arranged a welcome party for me in a restaurant. As we walked into the restaurant, we noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans of beer on the table. I wondered if such simple meal could be cool, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy. There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every bit of the food on their plates. We did not pay much attention to them, as we were looking forward to the dishes we ordered. ...

Matlab se bhari is duniya mein insaan ki kimat koi nahi Bas jeetnewalon ko puche Jazbaton ka wajood koi nahin! Jab hath diya tab dost baney jab saath diya to pyaar Tanhai mein sab chod gaye hum kehte they jinhey yaar! Aaj bhi hum jab sochtey hai to aankhen bhar ati hai Jo dil se nibhaye rishtey they ab unke liye harjayi hai! Jab waqt humara tha humne ek baar palat ke na socha Ki tu jab chod ke jayega sab rishtey bhi ley jayega! Guman tha humen apney hone par bas badhtey hi jayenge Rastey to aaj bhi wahi hai magar hum ab chal nahi payenge! Ghairon ka diya hum bhul gaye apno ke bhi dard ab yaad nahi Befiqr pila tu ai saki koi zakhm rahe na yaad abhi! Jab saans ki dor yeh tutegi mat rona aye duniyawalon Ek aur gaya is duniya se kuch aur abhi to baki hai!!!                      - Written by Kalpesh Modi (2006)