Catch em thinking

To know what or how a person is REALLY thinking  - take them by surprise ! 

Ambush them in the gulch where they are least expecting it ! 

Once upon a time , a man came to the court of a great King  and displayed an  ability to speak many languages , fluently .

The court was amazed and the King  got many people ,whose native tongue was different, to speak to the man . He replied each one in their own tongue down to idiom and syntax. 

On being asked , several times , the man refused to reveal his origins. 

Intrigued , the King said he would offer a large fortune to any one who could discover the secret .

Many clever people approached the man himself and offered him a ' cut ' if he made them the messengers of the answer. He refused ! 

Then a clever one sneaked into the linguist's chamber in the early hours when he was fast asleep and sprinkled some water on his face .

The man was startled out of slumber uttering  who's that's and what's that's ( including some unprintables ) BUT THEY WERE IN HIS MOTHER TONGUE ! His secret stood revealed ! 

So while it's not advocated that we go around sneaking into bed chambers sprinkling water on people sometimes it's necessary to catch people with their mask off and defenses down  to know their truth.

Perception

Sharing this story only to underline the importance of perception and not to belittle any art form .

A Marriage broker ( when they were still in fashion )  arranged a meeting between two families with the purpose of mutual going over of prospects.  After some time of polite conversation the girl and her  family left and the broker remained behind to  get the boys side of things. 

The family broke in on the hapless man as to how he could have brought someone who has no nose ,  only one eye , that too in the middle of the forehead and square ears etc etc 

In the middle of it the man put up his hand and said

 " STOP ! You either like Picasso or you don't ! "

Sometimes I wonder if we don't question and have prejudices about the Art Form the Maker / Creator used from His repertoire to design our lives ? 

If we understand the flow of His lines and strokes wouldn't we be more content and focus better on our CORE COMPETENCIES ?

Understanding is productivity

Triumph is for those who do battle and not of those who work at just keeping the enemy / competition out .

Just thinking , what wasted and negative  energy is  " boycotting " an idea or product 

We could get much further if we diverted the same energy in doing things  better so that the object of our discomfort would get dislodged . 

Free competition and open markets are important spurs for efficient productivity ! 

Nationalism , protectionism and politics only offer  easy crutches  for being second and limping.

Nothing in life ever goes away by pretending it does not exist ! That is the hard reality and the earlier we recognise it as a hidden blessing and not an unwanted curse , the better and quicker is our effort to overcome any disadvantage , percieved or otherwise . 

#humbleopinion

Toss of the coin

Common phrases used by most people in the game of " I am always right "

" Yes but ......... "  and " I told you so " or  " Didn't I tell you "

It works like this : You moot an idea to a group and the above immediately give you all the reasons why it can't work

You go ahead with the idea and it works they can claim that their observations helped you iron out the weak points and hence success but if it fails ..... Then they had said so hadn't they ? 

HEADS I WIN TAILS YOU LOSE !

On Light Houses

Lighthouses don't run around and give light ! They just stand and deliver ! 

What pleasure to stand on the shores of Life's Ocean and watch the passing people like ships floating along and offering the Light to whom you can and who want and generally have a useful existence !

All of us who offer guidance and help to others on the choppy seas of life are the Light Houses who offer clarity for a successful passage

Two Sides of a coin

In your case , your Karma is visiting you - now pay ! 

In my case - I am a victim of circumstances -sympathise 

In your case sympathy will only be a crutch - rise and be strong 

In my case - it's everyone's ethical duty to support 

Empathy

Just an observation :

Was standing in a crowd of people on the sidewalk when an ambulance raced by with siren screaming and lights flashing .

Just like when such a thing happened several times on different occasions in the past  I noticed quite a few faces around me looking concerned , their eyes following the vehicle racing away , and I thought they looked, for some moments ,  sad .

For an unknown person whose poor condition and possible suffering was only indicated by our association of ideas with a speeding ambulance .

Leads me to believe that #empathy is a natural human response but often it requires an ambulance to evoke it .

Does not happen , as such , if it's a silent hearse 

Nor a silent person in our life !