Author’s view: On Good and Evil

And one of the elders of the city asked, Speak to us of Good and Evil.

And he answered :

Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?

Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters.

You are good when you are one with yourself you are not evil. For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is a divided house.

And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom. You are good when you strive to give yourself .Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.

For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.

Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, “Be like me , ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance.”

For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.

You are good when you are fully awake in your speech. Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose. And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.

You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good.

You are only loitering and sluggard.Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.

In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: And that longing is in all of you.

But in some of you longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secret of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.

And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore.

But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, “Wherefore are you  slow and halting?”

For the truly good ask not the naked, “Where is your garment?” nor the houseless , “What has befallen your house?”

There are a few more lessons to learn about life from the genius, will  you have the patience?

To BE Continued!

…………………………….. 🙂

Daily Prompt: Handwritten

When was the last time you wrote something by hand? What was it?

It was only yesterday, I wrote a cheque to the Plumbers who came to do some work in my bathroom. I wrote the name of the company, the amount I owed them in words, and finally signed my name.

It wasn’t a whole lot but I used my handwriting. It helps or else I’d forget how to write!

Writing 101, Day 5: Let social media inspire you

One of the goals for writing 101 is is to tap into new and unexpected places for post ideas.Today let’s look to Twitter for inspiration.Below you’ll see five tweets : each tweet is interesting in its own way, and we hope one will elicit a response from you.My pick is #5.

Follow

EJ Koh‏@thisisEJKoh

You study, study, study, and at the end, you are lucky enough to discover the greatest gift of education: that you know nothing at all.

I agree but  not everything I studied made me feel I know nothing at all. I remember, one fine morning I decided to teach in a school. I needed a degree in education to qualify for a teaching position.

I and a classmate of mine took a train to Mymensingh, Bangladesh, where there is a teacher’s training college.

Standing in front of the door of the college was the Principal herself. Looking at us curiously she inquired what brought us to her doorstep.

We were at a loss for words, we didn’t even think how we’d react to her questions. While I stood silent my classmate blurted out, oh we’ve come for admission at the Bed. faculty in your college.

She was furious, she said , “Do you know registration for the faculty is closed, where were you all this time?”

This time I spoke, we were preparing for our Master’s degree exam, we completed the written part yesterday and are waiting for viva which is next week.

Her attitude suddenly changed, knowing that we were not fooling around but finishing our exam, seemed a light went on, in her head. She called the Vice principal and instructed her to register us. Everything was happening so quickly it seemed to me I didn’t really make up my mind to study here. How will I tell her I need time to think.

We went back to Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh where we were students of Dhaka University.

I was unhappy, I did not want to study in that college. It was a dark dingy place, there were lights but they seemed very dim. It was like a ghost building, besides I’ll have to ask my brothers to pay for my tuition one more year. What will be their reaction, these thoughts scared me. Did I have a choice, at that moment I didn’t.

I sincerely asked God to help me out. I went to the common room to check the newspapers, I loved reading the classified section, you can call it my hobby. Believe me when I tell you, I saw an ad to apply for scholarships to study a whole bunch of subjects and to my delight, B.ed. was one of them. I tore the piece of paper and thought perhaps destiny is smiling, I applied and won the scholarship.

My joy knew no bounds, I told myself ,’Ranu you won’t have to ask your brothers for money.’

I flew from Dhaka to Lahore(Pakistan). I was received by the superintendent of the residence where I was to spend the year.

My classmates  were exceptionally nice to me. Every day I was excited about the courses, History of education, Psychology, English,Math etc.at the end of the year I passed the course and came back to my home town  Comilla ,Bangladesh. I was happy I had qualified to get a job.

Wait a minute,’I said to myself what did I learn in one year, did they teach me how to handle,the ten, twelve or five year old students I’d face  ? No was the answer. How will I deal with it?’

One thing is encouraging, your mind automatically takes over, you take those baby steps and voila after a few cuts and bruises you are injury free.

Yes I had a piece of paper that assured the interviewers, I was a teacher,  I knew what the  piece of paper said but in my heart I knew I know nothing at all about teaching kids, even though I had a certificate to prove I was a teacher!

……………………………. 🙂