NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 7

SEPTEMBER 2011

NUMBER 9

SUPPORTED BY READERS

LIKE YOU

ACCEPT REALITY

SPONSORSHIP

The September to November 2011 issues of NARA’S  NOTEPAD

are sponsored by Mr. T. Upendran, one of my class fellows

in B.Sc (Ag) degree course at Madras Agricultural College, Coimbatore. 

 I thank him for his good gesture.

MEMO FROM NARA...

In a way, all of us have some sort of habits. If we repeat something several times in the same way, we will have formed the habit of doing it that way. That is habit! There are good habits and bad habits too. People are, in general, addicted to a particular habit which they develop when they are young. All our life is but a mass of habit. Each one of us has a particular habit or habits which others may or may not like. Sometimes, in order to please others we need to hide or leave our habits. Good habits are always liked by everyone.

I brush my teeth two times a day, one in the morning as soon as I get up from my bed and another before going to sleep in the night. I felt it is a good habit for keeping the mouth free of harmful bacteria. Similarly, I used to go for a walk in the evening everyday with my friends. It is also a good habit, because I feel active and healthy. At the same time there are number of bad habits such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, sitting hours together to watch TV etc. etc. Such habits are very hard to leave but there are ways and means to abandon these habits.

One can break any habit by strong concentration on its opposite. If we concentrate on the ill effects of bad habits we will be able to get away from such habits. All our habits are consciously or unconsciously or sub-consciously by the will. Our will power can certainly help in controlling habits. Realizing the habits is the first step before thinking of controlling them. If we control a bad habit, we are really successful in life. Cultivating good habits in our life and also teaching children to follow good habits will go a long way in making our life happy. There are unpleasant habits too like nail-biting, talking loud, etc. Others do not like such habits, so we need to learn from others’ point of view also. In fact, we are creatures of habits, “imitators and copiers of our past selves.”

THEY SAID...

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

- Swami Vivekananda

“Health is the greatest possession.

Contentment is the greatest treasure.

Confidence is the greatest friend.

Non-living is the greatest joy.” – Lao Tzu

JUST TO LAUGH...

A guy walks into work both his ears bandaged up.

The boss says, “What happened to your ears?”

He says, “Yesterday I was ironing a shirt when the phone rang and I accidentally answered the iron.”

The boss says, “Well, that explains one ear, but what happened to the other ear?”

He says, “Well, I had to call the doctor.”

A man drove past a traffic camera and saw it flash. He couldn’t believe he had been caught speeding when he was driving below the prescribed limit. He turned around and drove past again, this time even slower. But as he passed the camera, it flashed again. Furious, he turned around and time drove past at a snail’s pace. But the camera flashed once more. “Well, it must be broken,” he thought and drove home. A week later, he received three challans in his mail box for not wearing his seatbelt.

Raju: How was the English Exam.?

Ramu: Exam. Was ok, but for the past tense of THINK, I really thought, thought, thought hard and at last wrote – THINK.

WORK

1) Make enough money to meet your basic needs. Studies have shown that anything beyond that amount will not necessarily make you happier.

2) Avoid financial hierarchies. For a new job, choose a place where everyone makes a similar amount. People feel better when they feel equal to their co-workers.

3) Find satisfaction in the job you have. Don't expect to find one job that will make you happy—instead focus on the positive aspects of your work instead of blaming a job for your unhappiness.

4) Take initiative at work. You'll gain professional respect, self-fulfillment and feel more in control in the workplace.

5) Keep plants in your workspace. The LA Times found that employees who decorate their office space are more satisfied with their jobs.

6) Bake cookies and bring them to work. You'll enjoy the baking and making your co-workers happy.

TRAVEL

1) Travel when you can. Travel can open your eyes to the world and offer a fresh new perspective.

2) Take a weekend trip. If you haven't got the funds for a jaunt to Paris, no matter. Even a weekend or day long break from home can make you happier.

3) Spend time by the ocean. There's nothing like sand between your toes and fresh sea air.

4) Go camping. Commune with nature closer to home—the food will taste better and you'll sleep deeper in the great outdoors.

5) Go skydiving. Face your fears and reap the benefits of this exhilarating extreme sport—you'll be euphoric for weeks.

6) Go stargazing. Find a spot relatively free of unnatural light and marvel at the beauty of the night sky.

7) Sit in front of a beautiful view. Find a spot close by with a nice view that you can visit when you need a break.

VIEWPOINTS

The economic disparity in our country is so high. On the one side, we have people stashing away their riches in Swiss banks and, on the other, we have poverty-stricken people surviving without even basic necessities. More people should look out of their windows and help wipe away some tears.

Nothing in life comes without efforts. Sometimes a little effort is all that is required to accomplish a task, but sometimes, a marathon effort is required .The key is not to give up.

We developed a cynical attitude towards politics. But it is time we paid our dues too. If today we are a global power, 60 years after independence it has to be due to some honest politicians, some people who had the right policies, the right ideas, and the right vision.

THE MIND

The mind is an infinite wonder. It has the fantastic ability to transmute your desires into their physical counterparts. You can do anything that your mind can conceive, as long as you have the belief and will power to back it up. So how can you use your mind to achieve your dreams? One of the most effective ways is to use the "as if" principle. Act as if you are the person you want to be. Act as if you are already in possession of whatever you long to have. So what do you want to be? You want to be a lawyer, doctor, athlete, or newscaster? Think, act, and feel like one. You'll be much closer to your goal if you're constantly intact with your objective. Be obsessed with your dream. It doesn't mean that if you want to be Superman you'll fly out the window. Not a good idea! It's not enough that you act like one, but you have to actually ACT. Do what needs to be done. You might get so lost in your fantasy dream world that you've forgotten to take some action. Let your visions encourage and motivate you to actualize your purpose. - Michael Lee

LINES I LIKED

Ø  Maturity is the capacity to endure uncertainly.

Ø  Don’t criticize what you can’t understand.

Ø  Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command.

Ø  Real conversation is ready for its obituary.

Ø  We express anger very easily, but not our other feelings.

Ø  People who boast that they are taking care of 500 people through their business, but aren’t able to care for the four people in their family.

Ø  Success is a shallow way to define happiness.

Ø  There are two kinds of people: those who are valued because of the things they possess, and those who add value to things.

Ø  Words and actions become valuable because of the one who speaks them or perform them.

Ø  Home is where heart is.

ASTEROIDS

Lumps of rock that orbit the Sun are called asteroids. They are also known as minor planets. Most asteroids are in the asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter. Some distant asteroids are made of ice and orbit the Sun beyond Neptune. There are more than one million asteroids bigger than one km across. More than 200 asteroids are more than 100 km across. A few asteroids come near Earth. They are called Near Earth Objects. The first asteroid to be discovered was Ceres in 1801. It was detected by Giuseppi Piazzi, one of the Celestial Police, whose mission was to find a ‘missing’ planet. Ceres is the biggest asteroid with 940 km across and 0.0002 percent of the Earth’s mass. Small asteroids are burnt up by the Earth’s atmosphere every day. The chances of a big one colliding with us and destroying the Earth are remote. Every 50 million years, the Earth is hit by an asteroid measuring more than 10 km across.

Seek reasons behind every action!

Meet you next month – OCTOBER, 2011

 Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP

E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com 

Ph : 0422 2423017 Mobile : 98422 42301

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