NARA'S NOTEPAD
VOLUME 19
DECEMBER 2022
NUMBER 12
Thursday, December 1, 2022
THE SEASONS OF AUTUMN AND WINTER
THE SEASONS OF AUTUMN AND WINTER
By November the autumn season has ended and the
cold winter season has started in December all over the temperate countries of
the West. Autumn is a beautiful season with the trees turning colours and that
colourful foliage fall when the wind blows or otherwise because of their
senescence. That’s why Americans call autumn the fall season. I was fortunate
to see the autumn and winter seasons in France, Denmark, the UK and the USA.
Since I was young at that point in time, I could enjoy these seasons even in the
biting cold, rain and snow. The autumn with drizzling rain mixed with the
fallen foliage of the trees makes a mess in the footpaths of the city roads of
those countries. I still remember those scenes as if I were seeing them now.
But in photographs and videos, the such mess will not be projected. Only the
colourful leaves of those trees like the maple and the falling leaves are
visible in the picture. The trees lining the highway roads and the trees
growing in the woods are to be enjoyed on a car trip. Finally, it would be a
great job for corporations to put people to gather these fallen leaves and
transport them somewhere to make manure or burn them off. I do not know what
exactly they do with it?
The bare trees without beautiful leaves during
the months of winter enter into a stage of dormancy. Those poor trees drenched
with pure white snow remain to wake up when the spring season arrives. The
quantum of snowfall varies from place to place as the rainfall in our place. I
have seen the snowfall in the Alps mountains where some of my French friends
took me for skinning – a game to glide on snow by skating. They hired a pair of
skis, boots and bindings and a pair of poles, helmet and ski gloves for me and
made me a ski sportsman. They took some photographs of me when I tried to ski,
it was funny. I could move with the ski in both my legs for a short distance
balancing with the two poles. Indeed it was an unforgettable memory. I cannot
forget about those winter seasons. It was a sight to see the corporation people
clear the snow deposited on the roads
every morning for the traffic to move on.
Besoncon (pronounced as Besonson) is one of the
cities I was sent to learn French when I went to France for the first time.
Every day the French class started at 8 am. I used to get up at 7 am and take
breakfast in the canteen. Then my friends from countries like Malaysia and
Thailand walk on the snot to reach the French school. Some days we have to walk
on 2 or 3-foot-high snow on the road. We used to play by throwing snowballs.
When the snow melts, water mixed with the soil on the road makes a mess. I
spent a holiday during winter at Odense of Denmark with a lovely Danish family.
I met them on a summer holiday in Copenhagen. It was also a memorable part of
my life. They used to take me around Odense to show me the snow-covered parks,
houses and playgrounds.
Thus my experience with autumn and winter in
western countries comes to mind when my Facebook and Tumblr friends sent me
photos and videos of these scenes of autumn and winter seasons. You might have
also experienced these seasons in those countries. But where I live nowadays –
Coimbatore does not have autumn and winter. The winter temperature does not go
below 18 degrees Celsius. It’s better for me as I am 80 plus now. I feel it is
a lovely place where I live now. Many Decembers have come and many more to come!
The Xmas followed by my birthday and retirement from
service on 31 December are coming for a happy celebration. My best wishes to
all of you. - NARA
SOME NICE THINGS TO DO
Some Nice Things to Do
1. Wear what you
want
2. Smile at a
stranger
3. Don’t worry.
Worrying about the future is useless. it will be a lot less scary than you
imagined
4. Stop not caring
about important things. care about everything and everyone you love with all
your heart.
5. Stop checking
your notifications every 2 minutes
6. Don’t play mind
games with people
7. Make your resting face happier
8. Think happy thoughts even if it feels fake, and
you will turn more positive
9. Be confident. Fake the confidence until you have
natural confidence
10. Make every morning a new beginning
HOW TO BECOME BETTER?
Be more observant. Notice everything that surrounds
you. The world is full of examples, ideas, words, wisdom, mistakes and
experiences.
Collect ideas. Ideas and thoughts tend to evaporate
from your mind too fast. Try to capture them before it is too late, ideally,
write down or record every single one as a voice memo
Become more intuitive, trust yourself and accept
your mistakes. Progress isn't linear but you will always learn something from
your intuition.
Be kind to people, and radiate the energy you want to
receive.
Communicate, with your partner, your friends,
family, coworkers. Every little thing, even if you are scared people would
judge you.
EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN THE MIND
Mind training can help enhance memory, response time and logical skills. Although research shows that the relationship between brain training activities and cognitive skill function is complicated, exercises can significantly reduce cognitive decline in the long run.
On that
note, here's a look at six exercises to strengthen the mind:
1) Concentration Exercises: Mental
concentration exercises are often powerful tools to strengthen the mind. It's a
well-established workout to remove distracting objects when a child has an
exam. Other simple exercises that can help enhance your singular focus are:
a) Take a
book - any book - and count the words in any paragraph. Then count them again
to make sure you counted correctly. After you have practiced and are
comfortable with one paragraph, gradually increase the number of paragraphs.
b) Think
about inspiring words, phrases, sounds or anything that motivates you, and
focus on it for as long as you can. That can enhance your concentration and
engage your neural pathways.
2) Imagery: Mental practice refers to repeating something in
our minds without any movement from our physical body. Meanwhile, imagery is a
very focused and specific type of mental practice. Imagery uses all our senses
to create an experience in our mind. By utilizing all our senses, we're able to
regulate our emotions. Many athletes use imagery to control their anger,
anxiety or pain. When used effectively, visualization or imagery can make the
learning process more exciting. Paying attention to your diet can truly pay
off, whether you want to optimize your nutrition during your workday or stay
focused in a business meeting.
3) Maintaining your memory, concentration and
focus may be possible
by eating a healthy, balanced diet that contains nutrients which improve brain
function. Like all other organs, the brain cannot work without energy. The
ability to concentrate and focus comes from an adequate, steady supply of
energy (in the form of glucose) in the blood to the brain. That can be realized
by incorporating more whole grains and fresh food into your diet. The greater
the processing of a particular food, the lower its nutritional value and lower
its power to improve brain function.
4) Working with
Complexity: Whatever mental
exercise you do, your brain should push you outside your comfort zone. It
doesn't matter if it's simple for someone else; what matters is that it's
complicated for you. Brain training exercises should require you to practice
complex thought processes, such as creative thinking and problem-solving.
TO QUOTE
Whatever you want, do it now. – Pope Paul VI
If you don’t have the capacity to change yourself and your attitudes, then nothing around you can be changed. – The Koran
JUST TO LAUGH
Steve, a lonely bachelor wants some company, so he buys a centipede and a small box for it to live in. That evening he decides to go out. “Want to grab a drink?” asks the centipede. But there’s no answer from the box. A few minutes later, he asks again – still no reply. Finally, hollers, “Hey! Do you want to get a drink?” “I heard you the first time!” says a small irritated voice. “I am putting on my shoes.”
As a stranger enters a country store, he spots a sign: “Danger! Beware of Dog!” Inside,
he sees a harmless old hound asleep in the middle of the floor. “Is that the
dog we’re supposed to beware of?” he asks the owner. “That’s him,” comes the
reply. He doesn’t look dangerous to me. Why would you put that sign? “Before I
posted that sign, people kept tripping over him.”
LINES I LIKED
LINES I LIKED...
Ø
Learn to be
indifferent towards pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, honour and dishonour
that may accrue out of your action.
Ø
Learn to be pleased
with everything.
Ø
Learn to celebrate failure.
Ø
Learn to forgive
yourself and others.
Ø
Learn to give love,
instead of asking for it.
Ø
Learn to laugh at
life.
Do something rather than nothing!
Meet you next month –2023
Professor A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO:
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com
Ph :
0422 4393017 Mobile : 75399 15614
(NARA’S
NOTEPAD)
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