Quotes – Page 18 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

Daily, Family and Society, Life, Quotes, Reflections

At a Child’s Pace

Posted on May 6, 2019May 4, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Let the child be the scriptwriter, the director and the actor in his own play.” Magda Gerber

Every morning, before going off to work, my toddler sees me off before going to his day care. As his centre is close to my work place, the daily morning walk is all of ten minutes only. Yet some days we both take almost thirty minutes to get there by foot; for then we walk at his pace. Walking at his pace involves, stopping to watch the traffic, examine the caterpillar crawling across, collecting the smooth round pebbles near the stream and bringing along the sturdy sticks to his daycare and back to home as well.

“Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded.” Jess Lair

Source:https://vk.com/veruj

At times, the mothers’ pace in me comes to full force, with loud “Hurry up’s”, holding his hand and flying ahead, not stopping to look at the “distractions or landscape”. These situations are later compensated when we go homeward bound in the evening. The memories of “walking at a child’s pace” are beautiful.The warring thoughts in their mind, while attaining their “collectible treasures” of “funny shaped rocks”, watching the pigeons drink the water, seeing the frogs leaping across with various emotions flitting across their faces offer refreshing joy and peace to the adult mind. Leave them in the garden alone, with child safe measures and behold, its’ like watch fountains of joy and laughter explode like hot springs. Watching them ponder and examine what they see, the wonder of seeing the “big cars, JCB’s, buses” on the road (for the miniature toy ones are in their control) and their joy in the simple things of life are treasured moments.

“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” William Arthur Ward

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Living with the speed of a child is never easy for us adults, but when we do, the joy of experiencing the little delights that life offers makes the “slowing down” all the more worth. Over the years, this valuable time is what helps not just our children to grow, but also help us adults to handle the bad days with these happy moments. For the “child’s‘ pace” teaches us to find time to notice the wonders’ of the skies, the smell of the earth and be surprised by the simple but beautiful things that life offers us.

“A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” Paulo Coelho

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Food, Life, Quotes, Reflections

Slices of “Strawberry” Summer

Posted on May 5, 2019May 4, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Happiness, I have grasped, is a destination, like strawberry fields. Once you find the way in, there you are, and you’ll never feel low again.” Rachel Simon

With the scent of summer still in the air, one wouldn’t miss the scent of wild strawberries in the fields. With lazy weekends beckoning a walk, it would be a perfect time for some family bonding as well as strawberry picking.

“You can pick wild strawberries with your eyes closed, locating them by smell, for they are two parts perfume to one part taste. An hour of searching might yield a handful if you’re lucky. Wild strawberries can’t be encouraged, nor can they be discouraged: They come to you unbidden and unearned. They appear, or do not, by the grace of the sun.” Hope Jahren

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

https://www.123rf.com/photo_41607812_child-picking-strawberries-kids-pick-fresh-fruit-on-organic-strawberry-farm-children-gardening-and-h.html

During this impromptu excursion, certain moments get engraved silently in the mind. The rapid passing of time, children growing up fast as well as hectic weeks leaving very less time to unwind, converse as well as simply relax; all highlight the significance in shutting down the media and heading back to nature.

“Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.” Pema Chodron

With plenty of fresh strawberries to go around, it would be fun to go artsy, creative and add some sweetness to the regular meals as well as desserts. Browsing through the old recipes and brushing them with some “taste of summer” would make the strawberries as well as moments and memories to capture for the later years.

“As our lives speed up more and more, so do our children’s. We forget and thus they forget that there is nothing more important than the present moment. We forget and thus they forget to relax, to find spiritual solitude, to let go of the past, to quiet ambition, to fully enjoy the eating of a strawberry, the scent of a rose, the touch of a hand on a cheek…” Michael Gurian

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

Source:https://vk.com/pub_mdma

“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder

Source:https://vk.com/comeshome

Daily, Family and Society, Quotes, Stories Around the World, Work

Choose the “Focus”

Posted on May 3, 2019February 13, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” Paulo Coelho

As the new academic school year starts; curriculum is changed, new texts are bought as well depending on the school year, children are excited to join the tryouts for new school teams or plans are being made for the choice of subjects and career opportunities. During this entire process, the young minds are trying to focus on what they want to do and how they want to do, in the next academic session. Just like in the modern lives, these young minds are learning the art to focus and more importantly to “focus right”.

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” Aristotle Onassis

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source”https://vk.com/public138314547

Fast forward to the days of an adult, “finding the focus” has been the daily mantra or mode as we go about the grind. At the work arena, set the priorities, targets and goals, and focus which ones would be achieved. At the home front, one focuses on prioritizing the “daily task list” and deciding which work needs to be done first and at the right time is an art learned well over practice, patience and time.

“Instead of focusing on that circumstances that you cannot change – focus strongly and powerfully on the circumstances that you can.” Joy Page

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

During the “focus” , many things need to be done in the right manner, from finding the right direction, deciding what to shift our mind, balancing to find the realism of the circumstances and above all, choosing to move forward in the right way. “Which way is the right one?” That would be answered best when we learn from time, experience with the inherent knowledge, wisdom and perceptions that lie within us. The “right focus” is as equal as “finding the focus” for by targeting the “lone black dot”, we may miss the “white landscape” that awaits us to make the change.

“Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful. Your life is always moving toward something.” Ralph Marston

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source:https://vk.com

The black dot

One day, a professor entered his classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They all waited anxiously at their desks for the exam to begin.
The professor handed out the exams with the text facing down, as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked the students to turn over the papers.
To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions–just a black dot in the center of the paper. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s faces, told them the following: “I want you to write about what you see there.” The students, confused, got started on the inexplicable task.
At the end of the class, the professor took all the exams, and started reading each one of them out loud in front of all the students.
All of them, with no exception, defined the black dot, trying to explain its position in the center of the sheet. After all had been read, the classroom silent, the professor started to explain:
“I’m not going to grade you on this, I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot – and the same thing happens in our lives. However, we insist on focusing only on the black dot – the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend. The dark spots are very small when compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. Take your the eyes away from the black dots in your lives. Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with love!”

“Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.” John Carmack

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Daily, Family and Society, Quotes, Reflections, Work

Language or Jargon

Posted on May 2, 2019February 8, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water.” Franklin P. Jones

Living in a house with teenagers still in the family, one becomes an expert with short forms and abbreviations. In fact, one of the advantages (or disadvantages) of messaging and texting in the present day, is the use of less words, more of “emojis” and short forms that enable us to “save time”. Ironically what has happened is that we have forgotten how to spell correctly, speak in complete sentences or deliver a message without sounding garbled or hunting for the right words midway.

“When you lose a language and a language goes extinct, it’s like dropping a bomb on the Louvre.” Michael Krauss

Photo by Ju00c9SHOOTS on Pexels.com

Source:https://vk.com/comeshome

Running through the official emails as well as personal ones’, the distinct difference in the style of writing, expression of words as well as use of “emoticons” highlight the official from the personal. Yet sometimes on rereading the mail, one has to very often guess the meaning behind the emoticons. Shifting between “smileys” and “dancing girls”, everything can be classified broadly into good or bad. In a way, words like adjectives, adverbs and similes have become almost extinct. Looking at the initial days of man, I guess we are back into the language of “expressions, hand signals, sounds, mono-, bi-or tri-syllables and garbles” just like the primitive ancestors.

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

“Losing the language means losing the culture. We need to know who we are because it makes a difference in who our children are.” Dottie LeBeau

Moving with the times is important. Hence striking a balance between the “cool” and “official language ” is a must, for us to convey complete and whole messages, before we lose out completely on our own sense of language, speech and words.

“At any one time language is a kaleidoscope of styles, genres and dialects.” David Crystal

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

“… once upon a time there were synonyms: “good, beautiful, valuable, positive, outstanding, excellent, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, lovely, seductive, wonderful, cute, amazing, stunning, fantastic, magnificent, grandiose, irresistible attractive, fascinating, enticing, attractive, incomparable, unique, enticing, amazing, entrancing, divine “, and so on and so forth. And what? – left only “cool.” Less often – “cool” … ” by T. Thick in “Hope and support”

Daily, Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes

Treasured Memories

Posted on April 29, 2019February 1, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child’s eye – it is very beautiful.” Kailash Satyarthi

The joyous days of fun, laughter and treasures are something that time or age can ever erase. For parents and guardians, having children around brings to mind and memory of their days. As children, they try to make out and see the best of everything. While it may be because they haven’t yet caught the cynicism and attitude of the world, the gentleness of children brings joy to the dark days.

“Imagination and invention go hand in hand. Remember how lack of resources was never a problem in childhood games? Shift a few pieces of furniture around the living room, and you have yourself a fort.” Alexandra Adornetto

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Yet what happens when they grow up ? Caught in the modern paced world of consumerism, materialism as well as ambition; along the lines the simplicity of childhood is lost. As parents, care givers, guardians and nurturers of the future generations, care should be taken that in the modernism that we surround ourselves, children shouldn’t lose out on their best years of their life, their childhood. True that academics, cultural and sports do matter; cultivate their talents but let them do what they love. Forcing them into a mould from the very early days, breaks them from their very essence.

“One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is, I think, to have a happy childhood.” Agatha Christie

Roaming the lanes, exploring the backyard, learning how a frog leaps or why some plants creep and others grow tall, how the wind pane moves and the like are what engages their attention or interest. Their talents of dance, music and ball do matter; but let them pique their inquisitiveness as their minds grow. Draw the lines, set the limits but never curb their rightful curiosity. Let them grow and treasure the memories of their childhood; for its’ their right.

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” Tom Stoppard

In childhood, when we were immortal,
Were our wealth countless.
Each pebble was precious,
Life – well-dressed, as if on stage

Even fragments of broken dishes
Once again came to life in the mystery of a miracle.
There was no more beautiful doll rag,
It was not sweeter trickle krinynnoy.

Behind the wheel with an iron jump
into the future, boys ran away …
Old books, rare films
Were kept, were loved …

We, that we had a taste of the earthly paradise,
Were not surprised by the promise of another …
Believe me …
In childhood, when they were still immortal …

L. Znakovskaya

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Source:https://vk.com/veruj

Daily, Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, Quotes, Stories Around the World, Work

Communication Fillers and Gaps

Posted on April 25, 2019February 8, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

One of the recently circulated video on my social network pages, shows a social experiment in which four queues of employees are made to stand, with a message being conveyed as a sequence of actions likened to starting a motorbike. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH_7F3KI8yg)

Unfortunately as the message, in the form of sequence of actions, were passed on, minor alterations were being added on, which eventually resulted in the last person of the queue mimicking the actions that were no where close to the initial sequence or message that the first person had initiated. Although the video may seem hilarious at the end, on reflecting later, the lack of communication as well as the errors in the message being conveyed, understood and repeated are alarming.

“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.” Paul J. Meyer

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

At every walk in life, communication is what brings man apart from other living species. Knowing how to convey ideas, bring about changes as well discuss and share various aspects makes human life meaningful, interesting and enriched. Yet when thoughts are shared wrong, with each one modifying the truth as per one’s short-lived understanding, thinking or viewpoint, the real sequence of events gets distorted, destroying the harmony and peaceful thinking.

Source:https://vk.com/we_live_a

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” Peter Drucker

Each time we come across any information, words or actions, thinking about them before e repeat them elsewhere would go a long way in maintaining one’s own peace and harmony. The process of adding one’s own bit to the real sequence of events, when not understood the right way, can do significant harm than plausible.

Source:https://vk.com/englisharoundtheworld

Family and Society, Personal Musings, Quotes, Stories Around the World

To Care and Nurture

Posted on April 24, 2019February 1, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” Margaret Mead

During my early years of university, attending classes and taking care of my infant was difficult. Unwilling to put my infant son in a daycare so early, I had turned to my parents and in laws for help. Besides stepping in completely and covering during my classes and training schedules, as my child grew under their care; their happiness and joy were marked to be seen.

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” James Keller

Source:https://vk.com/veruj

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

One of the oldest concepts of family has been their since civilization. Besides belonging to a fold, family helps and takes care of each other. The sociological concept of “nurture” has been widely studied and debated with the “nature” concept. Real life examples are present in our daily encounters, once we look around and observe.

“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
Unknown

Caring for someone or nurturing them helps not the nurtured but also the nurturer. Besides giving new dimensions to focus on, the health, happiness as well as life for both becomes more meaningful and joyous. On the days that one in bone-tired, dejected, weary and worried; taking care of someone decreases the problems and gives the fuel to move on. Caring for others brings many closer, not just relationships by blood but also fragile relationships which become stronger out of the mutual love, respect and care for the other.

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

“I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.” Pablo Casals

An old fox lived its’ last days in the zoo. Old, decrepit and shabby. When a couple of young foxes were left without their mother. And the young foxes were hooked to the old fox, as they were left without a mother. The decrepit fox began to take care of the little ones. The caring instincts were involved. And the old fox became younger, fluffy and energetic. She gained new youth and health; lived very well for several years, until the foxes grew up and became independent. (Source: A.Kiryanova)

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000

Source: https://vk.com/public138314547

Source:https://vk.com/public75290000